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CNN Live Saturday

Tyson Will Square Off With Lewis Tonight

Aired June 08, 2002 - 12:40   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The countdown is on for tonight's heavyweight title fight between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. The two will square off at the Pyramid in Memphis. So far, things have been relatively quiet. CNN's Josie Karp is there, and joins us with a look at the calm before the storm. Hi there, Josie.

JOSIE KARP, CNNSI CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, hi, how are you. Tonight for the first time in his career Mike Tyson is expected to enter a boxing match as the underdog. That oddity caps a week that has really been strange even by boxing standards, because there was so much concern that if Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis were ever in the same place at the same time leading up to this fight, that it could be a volatile situation. The two boxers were kept away from each other, and that made for a very quiet week.

Normally in a fight like this, leading up to it, you have the two boxers together and they would verbally spar before they actually got in the ring. But all the talk you heard this week was mainly from each boxer's entourage. Even though there was not a lot of talk, there certainly was a lot of attention on this fight, and because of that, promoters and television executives are hoping that this will be the highest grossing pay-per-view fight in history.

That being said, though, behind me is the Pyramid. There are more than 19,000 seats available for this fight, and some of them are still available. You can go up and buy one at the box office, or you can even go out on the street here in Memphis and buy a ticket for less than face value. Those fans who will be watching on television and the ones who do come to the Pyramid will see two boxers who differ in stature. They have different boxing personalities, and they certainly have different personalities in general.

And tonight, each boxer says he's fighting for something different. Mike Tyson said he doesn't believe he's fighting for a place in history. He thinks that's already secure. He says he's fighting for himself.

On the other hand, Lennox Lewis says he thinks he's fighting for a legacy in the heavyweight division. A lot of people thought that this fight would never happen, that Mike Tyson would do something unpredictable, but we're only a couple of hours away, and it looks like this fight will actually go off as planned.

In Memphis, I'm Josie Karp. Fredricka, back to you. WHITFIELD: All right. As long as they keep them separate until it is time to get in the ring. All right, thanks a lot, Josie. Appreciate it.

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