Holyfield, Lewis Agree on Money for Rematch

One of the biggest hurdles in setting up an Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis rematch has been cleared--money. Now promoter Don King must find a date and a site willing to pay millions for a tarnished rematch.

King said Sunday that both fighters want the bout in September and that each would be guaranteed $15 million for the rematch. Possible sites include New York, Las Vegas, London and South Africa.

The fight is far from a done deal, however. Among the issues remaining are terms of a pay-per-view deal with HBO, and whether the network and promoters for Lewis will agree to a fight in which King retains a major role.

Additionally, HBO has already reserved a September pay-per-view date for its other star fighter, Oscar De La Hoya.

The paydays would represent a $5-million cut for Holyfield and a $5-million increase for Lewis from their March 13 fight that ended in a controversial draw.

“The only corrective we have in boxing . . . when we have a dispute is to have a rematch,” King told Fox News Channel.

Holyfield kept his World Boxing Assn. and International Boxing Federation titles while Lewis retained his World Boxing Council title when three judges decided the 12-round bout that Lewis appeared to dominate was actually a draw.

The fighters hadn’t even left the ring when King began trying to promote a rematch.

Though the first fight was a financial success, selling out Madison Square Garden at prices ranging from $100 to $1,500 a seat and drawing 1.1 million pay-per-view buys, selling the rematch may be more difficult, because of the decision and the slow pace of the fight.

Madison Square Garden paid $8.5 million to stage the fight and sold some $11 million in tickets. But it’s doubtful the same kind of money would be paid for the rematch.

Tennis

Patrick Rafter, 5-6 this year, dropped a third-round grudge match to Nicolas Kiefer, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, in the Lipton Championships at Key Biscayne, Fla. Rafter was eliminated by Kiefer two weeks ago at Indian Wells in a match that produced hard feelings, with Rafter later complaining Kiefer was too cocky. The rematch produced no fireworks, however, just the same outcome.

Carlos Moya, protecting his new No. 1 ranking, rallied past Jason Stoltenberg, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 7-5. Pete Sampras, bidding to reclaim the No. 1 ranking this week, beat Jonas Bjorkman, 7-5, 6-3.

On the women’s side, top-ranked Martina Hingis beat Amy Frazier, 6-1, 6-1. Lindsay Davenport, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles also won.

Track and Field

Philip Tanui of Kenya pulled away with about five miles left and won the Rome Marathon in 2:09:55.

Former world high jump record-holder Patrik Sjoberg has announced his retirement from competition. . . . Joanne Dow led all the way in breaking her U.S. 20-kilometer racewalk record with a time of 1 hour 33 minutes 27 seconds to win the women’s section of the National Invitational Racewalk at Manassas, Va.

Miscellany

Michigan will make its ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division I hockey championships. But it’s the number 10 that holds more significance for the Wolverines.

Michigan has the opportunity to claim a record 10th championship. Accomplishing that won’t be easy.

Seeded fifth in the East during Sunday’s selection, the Wolverines face fourth-seeded Denver in the first round of the 12-team tournament, which starts Friday.

The Arrowhead Pond will play host to the final four--two semifinal games April 1 and the championship April 3.

About 3,000 tickets remain for the event. The seats are $75 and $90 for the three-game package.

Lennart Johansson, president of European soccer’s governing body, is reported to have asked for an investigation into a claim that 20 officials were bribed to ensure that Sepp Blatter beat him in last year’s election for FIFA president.

Yang Yang A of China won the 3,000-meter race in the world speedskating championships at Sofia, Bulgaria, her second title at the meet. She won the 1,000 meters earlier. Chinese skaters wound up with six gold medals. . . . The women’s super-G race at the U.S. Championships at Huntsville, Utah, was postponed to Tuesday after changing weather left the hill in no condition to race.