BC-NV—Tyson-Lewis,565

Friday, March 22, 2002 | 1:04 a.m.

With a final deadline looming to make the Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis fight, promoters headed back to Memphis for another set of meetings Friday that could land the city the lucrative heavyweight title bout.

It was the third trip to Memphis in the last week by representatives of Tyson and Lewis, signaling that the city had the inside track to host the June 8 fight.

Tyson's manager, Shelly Finkel, was among those going to Memphis, and said a decision on where the fight would be held was imminent.

"Hopefully tomorrow we'll know," Finkel said.

Washington, D.C., and Detroit were still trying to get the fight, but the chances of the two cities were fading among indications they didn't have viable financial backing for a reported $12.5 million site fee.

That apparently isn't the case in Memphis, where local promoter Brian Young said that he was eagerly awaiting Friday's meetings with hopes of making a deal.

"It's just a matter of putting everybody on the same page," Young said Thursday. "The money is solid, the venue has been approved by everybody and Mike Tyson's license has been done. We feel good in our position."

Finkel and Gary Shaw of Main Events, the fight's promoter, have set a Monday deadline to make a fight that was originally scheduled to take place April 6 in Las Vegas.

The deadline coincides with one by the International Boxing Federation to strip Lewis of its version of the heavyweight title if he isn't signed to fight either Tyson or No. 1 contender Chris Byrd.

The stakes are large for both the fighters and those trying to resurrect a fight thrown into disarray when Nevada boxing officials denied Tyson a license to fight in the state Jan. 29.

Tyson and Lewis are both reportedly guaranteed $17.5 million to fight for the IBF and WBC titles Lewis holds, and could earn millions more if the fight grabs the attention of the boxing public.

Promoters also stand to make a bundle, with projections that the fight could gross $100 million from the site fee and pay-per-view sales.

Washington, D.C., had appeared to be the front-runner for the fight up until last week when Finkel and Shaw canceled a scheduled meeting with representatives of the MCI Center and turned their attention toward Memphis.

Michael Brown, a member of the D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission and the point man in the city's effort to land the fight, said there were no new meetings set but "extensive discussions are still going on" to try and find a way to put together financing for the site fee.

Tyson's representatives were reportedly ready to help come up with the fee, but those plans dissolved after the Lewis camp last week said the champion didn't want to fight in Washington because it was a pro-Tyson area.

If the fight is held in Memphis, it will be at the Pyramid arena, which will seat around 20,000. Ringside ticket prices would be as high as $2,500.

Pyramid general manager Alan Freeman said attorneys were busy drawing up contracts for the bout.

"I don't know if we're going to have anything read to sign by tomorrow or not," he said. "If they're ready to make an announcement tomorrow we could say that we have an agreement in principle."