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Holyfield, Lewis address media
NEW YORK (Ticker) -- After a lost year in boxing, heavyweight champions Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis promise to bring their own version of "March Madness" to Madison Square Garden in 1999.While this year will go down as among the worst in the history of boxing, 1999 promises to get off to a good start with the early jewel of the schedule being the title unification match in the heavyweight division on March 13th at the undisputed "mecca of boxing."
After repeated contractual breakdowns and delays scuttled any opportunity for Holyfield and Lewis to unify the belts, it appeared as recently as early this fall that this fight would not take place. Today at a news conference in New York, the two fighters made it official, along with promoter Don King.
Holyfield, who holds the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association titles, will receive a reported $20 million for the fight. Lewis, the World Boxing Association champion, reported will get $8 million.
The fight will be televised by TVKO, which is the pay-per-view extension of the HBO cable network. HBO has a multi-fight deal with Lewis, who has been persistent in his bid for a shot at Holyfield.
The 36-year-old Holyfield has a multi-fight deal with Showtime and SET, the PPV arm of the cable network. Holyfield's desire to unify the title before retiring may have been enough to force both Showtime and HBO to work out their differences.
"I've been waiting a long time," said Lewis, who paused at the podium to look at Holyfield before adding, "a long time for this fight. I'm glad it's going to be in New York City, at the Garden, the `Mecca of Boxing.' I think March 13th is a special day for me. I don't expect the fight to be easy, I'm fighting a man who some people say shows true grit. That's what they can say about Evander Holyfield -- he is a man with true grit."
But Lewis, who is 34-1 with 27 knockouts and made his fourth successful defense of the WBC title in September with a 12-round decision over Zeljko Mavrovic, was crystal-clear with his prediction.
"When I step out of the ring, I will be stepping out with three belts and be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world," Lewis proclaimed.
Holyfield, whose last fight was an uninspiring 12-round win over unheralded Vaughn Bean in September, took an understated jab at Lewis' incessant and repeated requests for his title shot.
"A lot of times when you wait, you cry for what you want, you eventually get it," said Holyfield, who lost the WBC belt to Riddick Bowe in 1992. "On March 13th, Lennox Lewis will get his opportunity to cash in on what he wants."
Holyfield, who is 36-3 with 25 knockouts, then made his claim to winning all three belts, stating, "I will be the undisputed champion, I am the undisputed champion right now and on March 13th, I will be wearing my belt."
There has not been an undisputed heavyweight champion since Bowe defeated Holyfield on November 13th, 1992 and literally dropped the WBC championship belt in a garbage can several days later, rescinding the crown. The three titles have been split ever since.
Holyfield regained the WBA and IBF titles in November 1993 by defeating Bowe, only to lose them again five months later to Michael Moorer. Holyfield regained the WBA title by knocking out Mike Tyson in November 1996 and his win over Moorer the next year unified the WBA and IBF titles.
Lewis, who lost the WBC belt to Oliver McCall in his only loss in 1994, regained it in a rematch almost three years later.
The showdown will be the 10th heavyweight title fight in the history of the current Garden. While there have been memorable heavyweight fights held at the Garden dating to the days of former champion and boxing legend Joe Louis, only recently has the Garden returned to prominence as a venue for top-notch pro boxing.