World heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis has confirmed he would prefer a rematch with Vitali Klitschko to a big-money bout with Roy Jones Jr.
Following a bloody sixth-round technical knockout of Klitschko two weeks ago in Los Angeles, Lewis was expected to turn his attention towards a fight with Jones.
One-time middleweight Jones captured the imagination of the boxing public last March when he defeated John Ruiz to claim the WBA heavyweight title.
But in a surprise move Lewis said negotiations for a rematch with Klitschko, a German-based Ukrainian, were already underway with December 6th the most likely date for the bout.
"I'm opting more for the rematch," said Lewis. "I enjoyed that fight. It was just a fight, we just went at it. I felt I was in good shape.
"You have to realise a year's layoff to be able to comeback and take a fight in basically 10 days' notice and do that to his eye . . . it may look like I was tired but he was just as tired.
One possible roadblock for a rematch is the condition of Klitschko's left eye. The Ukrainian required over 50 stitches to close gashes above and below the battered eye that ultimately resulted in the fight being stopped.
"We want our own independent doctor to go there and check the eye and if he will be available," said Lewis, adding that those discussions were also going ahead on Wednesday.