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CNN Saturday Morning News

Tyson Fights Lewis Tonight

Aired June 08, 2002 - 09:45   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In less than 13 hours, fight fans will be treated to a unique clash of the titans when Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis step into the ring at the Pyramid in Memphis.

Josie Karp for CNN Sports will be watching that heavyweight battle in Tennessee and joins us with a preview.

I bet you got the best seats in the house, Josie.

JOSIE KARP, CNNSI CORRESPONDENT: Well, I hope so. I haven't checked it out yet. But because of Mike Tyson's unpredictability, Kyra, there are a lot of people in the boxing world who thought that this day might never come. And I guarantee you that there's still some people here in Memphis this morning who are holding their breath and crossing their fingers that around 11:15 Eastern time this evening, these two boxers actually make it to the ring.

You remember, back in January Mike Tyson touched off a brawl with Lennox Lewis at a press conference originally scheduled to announce this fight, and because of that, extraordinary measures were put into effect this week to ensure that Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis never got near each other.

We saw that at the weigh-in on Thursday. Normally that would have been done at the same time, both fighters would have been there. Instead, it was done individually, three hours apart.

We're going to see a continuation of those extreme measures this evening. The referees will give the instruction to each boxer in his own dressing room, not together, and then each boxer will be escorted to the ring by police officers. There won't be the traditional touching of the gloves in the ring, because there are actually going to be police officers in the ring keeping Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis away from each other until that bell rings to signal the start of the first round.

And then, of course, people will heave a sigh of relief that this fight actually started. But also at that time, Kyra, a whole new set of concerns opens up because of Mike Tyson, because of his volatility and unpredictability. You then wonder, is this about boxing, or does it degenerate into something else?

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right, Josie Karp, thank you so much.

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