X-DoNotUse-Sports

Lennox Lewis Sues Don King

January 21, 2000 / 6:41 PM EST / AP

Lennox Lewis has sued promoter Don King, charging that King fraudulently got him to sign a contract that obligates Lewis to fight a sick man.

The lawsuit centers on the contract the undisputed heavyweight champion signed with King last Aug. 24 for a title bout between Lewis and then-champion Evander Holyfield. The fight between the two on March 13 ended in a disputed draw.

For Lewis to get a second shot at Holyfield's title, court papers say, King had required him to agree that if he won the bout, he would fight then-No. 1 WBA contender Henry Akinwande.

The Aug. 24 contract says that if Lewis refuses to fight Akinwande, he must give up the WBA championship belt.

In negotiations for the rematch, which Lewis won on Nov. 13, Lewis had refused to say he would fight Akinwande. He insisted that he would make mandatory defense against whoever the leading available contender is.

Lewis' lawsuit asks the court to declare the Aug. 24 contract void on the ground that King and his company, Don King Productions, fraudulently failed to disclose, although they knew, that Akinwande had hepatitis.

Akinwande, one of King's fighters, tested positive for the hepatitis B virus June 5, 1998, the day before he was to fight Holyfield to try to take his WBA and IBF belts.

Court papers say he had not had any fights since he was diagnosed with hepatitis and he has not recovered from the disease. One scheduled bout, which required a blood test, was abruptly canceled, court papers say.

Lewis has agreed to fight Michael Grant in an undisputed heavyweight title showdown on April 29 in Madison Square Garden. The bout will be televised on pay-per-view by TVKO.

"In his sick, ill and lame condition Akinwande is not a suitable opponent for Lewis, regardless of his status in the WBA," Lewis' court papers say.

King's lawyer, Peter Fleming, said he had not seen Lewis' court complaint and therefore he could not comment.