Lennox, Tyson weigh in for title bout

MEMPHIS, June 6 (UPI) -- Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson weighed in Thursday for their scheduled heavyweight title bout Saturday night, the last formal step prior to a fight that appeared might never happen.

The fighters weighed in separate appearances at the Memphis Cook Convention Center to prevent an incident like the one that took place in New York in January, when a promotional appearance featuring the two turned into a melee.

Lewis (39-2-1, 30 KOs), the WBC-IBF heavyweight champion, weighed 249 1/4 pounds. He showed up at the site at 1 p.m. Three hours later, Tyson (49-3, 43 KOs, 2 no-contests), the former undisputed champion, tipped the scale at 234 1/2 pounds.

In January, Lewis and Tyson were standing on separate podiums before the rumble began. Tyson got off his stand and approached Lewis, but the champion's bodyguard intercepted Tyson. Lewis missed Tyson with a punch as pandemonium broke out, with both fighters going to the floor.

The brawl resulted in Tyson turning to the crowd and shouting expletives. Lewis later displayed a bite mark on his leg that he claimed was inflicted by Tyson.

Tyson was scheduled to hold a formal news conference Tuesday, but it was canceled. On Wednesday, he broke his silence after working out in front of a select group of children at the Fitzgerald's Casino and Hotel in Tunica, Miss.

"In the reality of our situation, we are just two young men, two middle-aged men whatever you want to label us, fighting for the heavyweight championship of the world," Tyson said.

"I am very confident I am going to be victorious. All the talking, him calling me this and that, is nothing. Now he's got to prove everything he said, and I have to back up everything I said."

Meanwhile, Lewis held a brief workout before holding a formal news conference.

"This is a fight which is very important to me, especially for this era of boxers, this era of boxing," Lewis said. "It would be unfortunate for me and disappointing to me if I don't box the best boxers of this era."

In his last fight -- when he regained the titles from Hasim Rahman with a devastating fourth-round knockout in November -- Lewis weighed 246 1/2 pounds.

Tyson looked beefy, with additional muscle mass, and weighed a career-high 239 pounds when he dominated an overmatched Brian Nielsen in October 2001.