World heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis has been given 10 days by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) to decide whether or not he's going to fight American contender Chris Byrd for the IBF title. If Lewis, who also holds the WBC and IBO belts, refuses to fight Byrd, he could be stripped of his IBF crown.
In the event of the parties failing to reach an agreement, Byrd could fight the winner of Evander Holyfield and Hasim Rahman, who fight in Atlantic City on June 1, for the IBF title should Lewis be stripped of his crown. " I don't care who I fight, but I just want to fight because I have earned my right to a title shot.
"Lennox has promised me a fight later this year, if and when he beats Tyson - but I think he will retire and not meet me. Now that I have the chance to meet either Holyfield or Rahman I'm sure that something will happen, because that would be a big fight," Byrd told The Sunday Mirror newspaper.
Filed by Tom Grealis
