THE New Jersey Supreme Court yesterday upheld a lower court's order that Mike Tyson's next fight must be against Lennox Lewis, the British fighter's promoter said.
The ruling prevents Tyson, the World Boxing Council (WBC) champion, from fighting World Boxing Association title holder Bruce Seldon in July as scheduled.
Seldon's bid to have the court injunction amended so he could fight Tyson also was rejected, said Mike Boorman, a spokesman for Lewis' promoter Main Events.
The ruling also prevents the WBC from sanctioning any heavyweight title fight in the meantime that does not involve Lewis, Boorman said.
In a news release, Boorman quoted Lewis saying Tyson "calls himself the Baddest Man on the Planet, but all he does is send his lawyers in to do battle in the courts rather than simply fight me in the ring."
"A total of 11 different judges in three different courts have upheld this injunction," said promoter Dino Duva, president of Main Events.
"It's not going to go away," Duva said. "We're ready to negotiate a deal or go to purse bid tomorrow. If he has any dignity left at all, Tyson will tell (promoter Don) King to stop playing around and just make the fight."
Meanwhile, a deal designed to beat Don King in the race to stage a Tyson Lewis fight will begin to take shape in London this week.
Seth Abraham, the head of the American cable network, Home Box Office (HBO), will arrive in London today to put together figures which, if they reach their potential, could result in a £66.6 million package.
The masterplan will involve HBO, exclusive cable stations in Britain, terrestrial television on a delayed basis and a closed circuit operation, augmented by Lewis's backing of hotel and casino giants Caesars.
Lewis is contracted to HBO while Tyson fights for King's Showtime channel, so the rivalry and politics will be intense and clearly Abraham's plan is to produce enough revenue to make a Lewis fight simply too good to ignore.
Meanwhile, the dust continues to settle on Lewis' near thing against Ray Mercer at Madison Square Garden in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The American media thought Lewis had lost - as did a section of the British press contingent - but Maloney said: "I'm just laughing at the reports. All you can do is win a fight."
