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Friday, May 4 NEW YORK – Mike Tyson filed suit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Friday in an effort to force a fight with Hasim Rahman, the new WBC-IBF heavyweight champion. Rahman knocked out Lennox Lewis in the fifth round April 21 in South Africa. "The action I took today was not something that I wanted to do, but needed to do," Tyson said in a statement Friday. "There are people trying to abuse the system to prevent me from an opportunity to fight the new heavyweight champion." There was a rematch clause in the Rahman-Lewis contract, and Lewis contends Rahman should fight no one else before he fights him. HBO, which has a contract with Lewis, wants the rematch to be held in September. When Rahman won, he inherited a WBC mandatory defense, which would be against Tyson, who is the WBC's No. 1 contender. Shelly Finkel, Tyson's adviser, said the suit seeks to make the WBC conform to its rules, which, he said, forbids an automatic rematch. Tyson is scheduled to fight David Izon on June 2 at Washington, D.C., on Showtime, which has a contract with Tyson. Rahman is not contracted to either HBO or Showtime. The Izon fight would be canceled should Tyson get a shot at Rahman. "I have nothing but respect for Mr. Rahman and his recent accomplishments," Tyson said. "He has publicly stated that he wants to fight me next. Rahman vs. Tyson is the fight the public most wants to see. I hope this helps clear the path for us to meet very soon." |