Temperatures may have touched 94 degrees in Memphis yesterday, but it is not the heat and humidity that has the money-men behind Saturday's clash between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson sweating.
Fears are growing that the organisers of this weekend's showdown may have overdone it with their low-key build-up to the big fight. The bout has long since been hailed as the richest in history, with gate receipts alone tipped to bring in USD23million.
However, the lack of hype surrounding the two protagonists since their ill-fated New York press conference may prove fatal for promoters looking to make a killing in Memphis. Lewis and Tyson have both said they will not attend a head-to-head press conference and that they intend to weigh in separately, three hours apart. There will be no music when the fighters make their way into the ring. Instead, they will be ushered through the crowd by a police guard. They will not engage in the traditional touching of gloves before the first bell.
All this should guarantee the fight does at least take place, but it is not helping to capture the public's imagination.
Reports of a sell-out crowd for Saturday night's world heavyweight title showdown at the Pyramid Arena appear to have been exaggerated. Lewis' team have returned nearly half of 6,000 fight tickets allocated to them for British tour operators because fans do not want to travel.
It means a fight being billed as the biggest since the halcyon days of Muhammad Ali could take place in front of rows of empty seats at the 20,000 capacity Pyramid Arena.
Filed by Sinéad Gleeson
