Lennox Lewis' heavyweight championship homecoming could be his farewell because of boxing economics.
Lewis, London-born and Canadian-raised, is scheduled to make his first championship appearance in Brtain when he defends the WBC title against Frank Bruno shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday.It will be the first heavyweight title match between British boxers this century.
"They will talk about it forever," Lewis said of the British fans' reaction to the fight.
They might have to. And they might have to wait until Saturday night to see it. Co-promoter Dan Duva said that if rain makes the ring unsafe, the British Boxing Board of Control could postpone the match until 11 p.m. Saturday.
The weather forecast for the period of the fight is for light to heavy rain, with the temperature around 45.
Lewis' scheduled defense against Tommy Morrison in March and his anticipated match against Riddick Bowe, the WBA and IBF champion, certainly would be on U.S. pay-per-view.
An 11 p.m. EDT start means the fight wouldn't begin until 4 a.m. in Britain, which would devastate the live gate.
The Lewis-Bruno fight is scheduled to start at 12:55 a.m. in Cardiff Arms Park and be seen live on in the United States on HBO at 7:55 p.m. EDT on Friday. It will be shown on a delayed basis in the western United States at 7:55 p.m. PDT.
The Battle of Britons came about, Lewis said, "because the Tommy Morrison fight was pushed back and it seemed to be the best fight at the time. Frank Bruno realized the value of comming back."
Bruno will get $1.5 million for only his fifth fight since being stopped in the fifth round by Mike Tyson on Feb. 25, 1989. Under the contract, Lewis could make as much as $6 million, but probably will earn about $3.5 million.
Lewis weighed in Thursday at 229 pounds, Bruno weighed 238. The weigh-in was held under a canopy in the rain on the lawn of Cardiff Castle.