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Can Mike Tyson regain the heavyweight crown? Read both sides, then vote in the poll below Al Bello/Allsport Absoulutely Mike Tyson will get another shot at the title. The word has come from above. Aboard Team Tyson's trans-Atlantic flight to London on January 16, the makings of a deal for Tyson to fight Lennox Lewis were laid on the tray-table. Seth Abraham, who signs the checks that pay HBO and TVKO's stable of fighters -- including undisputed champion Lewis -- was at cruising altitude when he started negotiating with Tyson's manager, Shelley Finkel. "If Lennox continues to win, and if Tyson continues to win, they will fight," Abraham told writers in London after they touched down. "It is only a question of when. It would be the biggest payday of Lennox's career. It would be his pension money." If Abraham and Finkel hadn't been travelling at supersonic speed aboard the Concorde, we might even have a deal in place by now. Lewis has already endorsed the match-up. After he decisioned Evander Holyfield last year, Lewis -- with dollar-signs in his eyes -- said fighting Tyson was his primary goal. According to Abraham, Lewis could get his wish by spring 2001. Now, can Tyson win this fight? Yes, he can. Lewis may be in his prime, and Tyson well past his, but there's no denying that the Tyson of old was one of the fiercest punchers in boxing history. So you've got to give him at least a puncher's chance against Lewis, a talented champion whose chin has been susceptible to the kind of bombs that Tyson, current vintage, has been working to regain for his arsenal. -- CNN/SI's Evan Kanew Al Bello/Allsport No way Mike Tyson might get another shot at becoming heavyweight champ, but he can never be heavyweight champ again. Too many trips to the pokey have worn away at the 33-year-olds skills. The thought of "Iron Mike" stepping into the ring used to have opponents trembling with fear and already beaten before the opening bell ever sounded. Not any more. The mystique is gone. Tyson can no longer depend on fear and a dangerous right hook to beat opponents, he now has to fight his opponents and "if he can't fight you, then he might bite you." Almost every expert will tell you Tyson will pummel poor Julius Francis. As well he should. Francis falls in line with the Frank Brunos, Bruce Seldons, Peter McNeeleys and Orlin Norrises of the world ... stepping stones along the way collecting a big paycheck for themselves. Tyson's camp says that after Francis is disposed of, they want a shot at Lennox Lewis. The troubled fighter may certainly get his shot, but Tyson no longer has the ammunition to reclaim what was once his. _ -- CNNSI.com's Dante McDowell

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