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Byrd says lewis is dodging him
Los Angeles, June 21: Chris Byrd will have one of the best seats in the house for today`s world heavyweight title showdown between champion Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko at the Staples Center -- but not the one he wants.
Los Angeles, June 21: Chris Byrd will have one of the best
seats in the house for today's world heavyweight title showdown
between champion Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko at the Staples
Center -- but not the one he wants.
The way Byrd (36-2, 20 kos) sees it, he should be the one facing
Briton Lewis, not the WBC's mandatory challenger Klitschko.
As Byrd points out, he is responsible for the only blemish on the
record of Ukrainian Klitschko (32-1, 31 kos) and he holds the IBF
belt.
When Lewis's original opponent, Canadian Kirk Johnson, pulled out
two weeks ago through injury and promoters were left scrambling for
a replacement, Byrd said he was the first to offer his services. But
the American's request went unanswered.
''He (Lewis) keeps dodging me, that's what I'm frustrated
about'', Byrd said on friday. ''Retire if you really don't
want to fight.
''To me he's just stinking it up if he don't want to fight the major guys in the division.
''I put my name in at two weeks' notice to fight Lennox Lewis and I didn't get one word back. Every time my name gets mentioned it's like cockroaches, someone turns the light on and they scatter'', said Byrd.
''Lennox chose Johnson, who lost to John Ruiz. How did he get a chance to fight when guys like myself, who have a belt, who will fight anyone, don't get the major shot?
''It's a joke''.
The division's invisible man, Byrd is a ferocious competitor easier to ignore outside the ring than in it.
Despite his record, Lewis has repeatedly dismissed the IBF champion as being beneath him, saying, 'why would a lion fight a Byrd'.
Byrd has had no better luck trying to tempt Mike Tyson or Roy Jones Jr into the ring.
''No one wants to match up with me, nobody'', said Byrd, now negotiating for a fight with Hasim Rahman.
''I'm trying to be the number one heavyweight overall and the only way I can get to that position is by fighting guys like Roy Jones, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis, and how can I get there if they don't want to fight me?
Despite his persistent baiting, he is unlikely to get his wish to meet Lewis, who wants only one or two more big paydays before retiring, something Byrd cannot provide but Jones and Tyson can.
Bureau Report
''To me he's just stinking it up if he don't want to fight the major guys in the division.
''I put my name in at two weeks' notice to fight Lennox Lewis and I didn't get one word back. Every time my name gets mentioned it's like cockroaches, someone turns the light on and they scatter'', said Byrd.
''Lennox chose Johnson, who lost to John Ruiz. How did he get a chance to fight when guys like myself, who have a belt, who will fight anyone, don't get the major shot?
''It's a joke''.
The division's invisible man, Byrd is a ferocious competitor easier to ignore outside the ring than in it.
Despite his record, Lewis has repeatedly dismissed the IBF champion as being beneath him, saying, 'why would a lion fight a Byrd'.
Byrd has had no better luck trying to tempt Mike Tyson or Roy Jones Jr into the ring.
''No one wants to match up with me, nobody'', said Byrd, now negotiating for a fight with Hasim Rahman.
''I'm trying to be the number one heavyweight overall and the only way I can get to that position is by fighting guys like Roy Jones, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis, and how can I get there if they don't want to fight me?
Despite his persistent baiting, he is unlikely to get his wish to meet Lewis, who wants only one or two more big paydays before retiring, something Byrd cannot provide but Jones and Tyson can.
Bureau Report