|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Signed and ready Challenger inks deal to fight Tyson, but questions remain
NEW YORK (AP) -- David Izon is signed to fight Mike Tyson, but there are several important details to be worked out before he gets into the ring with the former undisputed heavyweight champion. "It's close, but it's not yet done," Jay Larkin, in charge of boxing for Showtime, said Thursday. "David Izon has signed a contract, or an agreement, to fight Mike Tyson, but we're not certain at this moment about the venue and promoter." Larkin said The Palace at Auburn Hills, Mich., is the leading candidate as the fight site, and the date would be either September 8 or September 9. A Sept. 9 bout would go up against Roy Jones Jr.'s light heavyweight title defense against Eric Harding at New Orleans. That fight is scheduled to be carried by TVKO, HBO's pay-per-view arm. Larkin said a Tyson-Izon fight would be shown on Showtime, not on pay-per-view. The 31-year-old Izon (26-3, 22 knockouts), a Nigerian living in Pensacola, Fla., reportedly would make $650,000. "He's beatable," Izon told The Pensacola News Journal. "Maybe they feel I'm no threat to him. That's why they chose me." Another stumbling block could be Tyson's attitude. Will he think five weeks is enough time to prepare for the veteran Izon? Has he been working out since he dispatched Lou Savarese in only 38 seconds June 24 at Glasgow, Scotland? That fight originally was scheduled for Milan, Italy, but was postponed because Tyson said he needed more time to prepare. The time between the Savarese match and a fight September 8 or 9 would be 11 weeks. The last time Tyson had two fights in that short a span was in 1996, when he stopped Bruce Seldon in the first round September 7, then was stopped in the 11th round by Evander Holyfield November 9, nine weeks later. In fact, Tyson has fought only 67 full round plus 1:41 in nine years. Tyson's goal is to challenge heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, but he has said he wants two or three more fights before that happens. Tyson needs work. Izon figures to give Tyson some rounds, but then so did Savarese, who was knocked down by a left hook to the side of the head only seconds into the fight. After the fight was stopped, Tyson continued to hit Savarese until pulled away. That and other actions in the ring could block a fight at Auburn Hills. David Sebastian, chairman of the Michigan State Boxing Commission, said he wants answers to questions stemming from Tyson's conduct in the ring. Besides punching Savarese after the fight was stopped, he also knocked down Orlin Norris after the bell ending the first round and that 1999 bout was ruled a no-contest when Norris couldn't continue. Tyson, of course, was disqualified and had his license revoked for biting Holyfield's ears in 1997.
| ||||||||||||||||
