Showtime? Not for Schulz
Pay-per-view operator nixes German as Tyson opponent
Posted: Monday February 01, 1999 01:54 PM
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With Axel Schulz out of the picture, the list of possible opponents for Mike Tyson (left) includes Lou Savarese, Shannon Briggs and Michael Moorer AP |
BONN (CNN/SI) - Pay-per-view television operator Showtime has vetoed proposals for an April 24 bout between Mike Tyson and Axel Schulz, the German fighter's manager said Tuesday.
Wilfried Sauerland said plans for a contest in Las Vegas had been blocked because Showtime was concerned about declining subscriptions.
"That's the end of all our dreams," Sauerland said.
He said Schulz may now meet Britain's WBC champion Lennox Lewis.
Schulz, along with Lou Savarese, Shannon Briggs and Michael Moorer, had been mentioned as a possible opponent for Tyson when a Showtime executive last week confirmed the April 24 fight date.
That, of course, is contingent on Tyson not going to jail next month when he's
sentenced on a no contest plea stemming from his assault on two men
following a traffic accident in Maryland.
Tyson's spectacular fifth-round knockout of Francois Botha on Jan. 16
saved him from a possible embarrassing defeat that would have derailed his
latest comeback and plans to fight four times this year.
Tyson had lost every round on the scorecards of two of the three ringside
judges when he flattened Botha with the punch.
Showtime said some 750,000 homes bought the fight at an average price of $45,
beneath the 1 million or so he had hoped for. But he said a short time to
promote the fight and a bad date brought on by Tyson's desire to fight quickly
cut into the buy rate.
Tyson made at least $10 million for the Botha fight.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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