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Sign on the dotted line Lewis set to defend title vs. Grant on April 29
Posted: Friday January 07, 2000 07:22 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Lennox Lewis is a signature away from defending the undisputed heavyweight championship against unbeaten Michael Grant on April 29 in Madison Square Garden. "No contracts have been signed yet," Donald Tremblay, a spokesman for Main Events, Lewis' American promoter, said Friday. "They are in the process of drawing them up. Everything has been agreed to in principle." He added that the site and date are definite, and the bout will be carried on pay-per-view by TVKO. The fight will be for the WBC, WBA and IBF titles held by Lewis. In London, Panos Eliades, Lewis' British promoter, said Friday a threat by the IBF to take its title from Lewis if he didn't meet No. 1 contender David Tua has been averted. Eliades said the IBF has agreed Lewis doesn't have to meet a mandatory challenger until November. Lewis, who unified the WBC, WBA and IBF titles when he beat Evander Holyfield on Nov. 13, thinks Grant is the best contender around. Lewis reportedly will get $10 million and Grant will get $3.5 million. "I only want to fight the best and out of all the people out there, Grant is the most creditable," the champion said. "I want to fight Grant to give the other organizations a chance to find a worthy man for me to fight. I'm very happy to be boxing again in April." Eliades flew to Jamaica to talk to Grant's advisers and said they appeared happy. "Lennox and I planned our strategy in those five days and everything has been agreed with Grant's handlers," the promoter said. "I have managed with my legal people to agree with the IBF that Lennox does not have to fight their mandatory challenger until November. The WBC accepted the Lewis-Holyfield fight as a voluntary defense and ruled the winner's next fight would be a WBC mandatory defense." Eliades said there was little chance Lewis would have to face the WBA's No. 1 contender, Henry Akinwande, for a second time. He beat Akinwande two years ago when the challenger was disqualified for repeatedly holding. "As far as the WBA is concerned, we lodged papers in court on the basis that there is no binding contract for Lewis to fight Henry Akinwande," Eliades said. "We wanted a final eliminator between the first and second contenders. Now Akinwande may be out and it makes a stronger case for the second- and third-ranked fighters to have a playoff." That means Holyfield possibly could get back into the picture. The former champion could take Grant's place in a WBC final eliminator against fellow American John Ruiz for the right to face Lewis a third time. Their first fight ended in a disputed draw.
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