Jones Lines Up Holyfield Payday

Roy Jones seems likely to make a first defence of the WBA version of the world heavyweight title he recently took from John Ruiz against the former champion Evander Holyfield after saying it would take a prohibitive $100m (£64m) to tempt him to get into the ring against Mike Tyson.

Tyson had said he was unhappy about being steered towards a rematch against the WBC champion Lennox Lewis until he has had more competitive action than the 49 seconds it recently took him to beat Clifford Etienne. That was the only fight Tyson has had since being destroyed by Lewis in Memphis last June.

The reluctance of Tyson to face Lewis prompted speculation that America's two big players in television, HBO and Showtime, might press for a Jones-Tyson contest. But Jones's financial demands make the contest unlikely at the moment.

It seems inconceivable that Jones will take on Lewis and he sounds distinctly cool over the prospect of a possible title unification match against the IBF champion Chris Byrd.

He added: "A fight with Byrd would be a waiting game and people would get bored. I don't want to put the heavyweight division through a disgusting fight."

There remains speculation that Jones could be tempted to return to the light heavyweight division where he is regarded as the undisputed No1. But the financial lure of fighting Holyfield, who is clearly a declining force as he campaigns past his 40th birthday, may prove irresistible.

"I don't think any heavyweight can beat me," Jones said.

Byrd, though, could face the South African heavyweight Corrie Sanders, who upset the plans being mapped out for Lewis when he knocked out the WBO champion Vladimir Klitschko. Although Sanders has promotional ties with Lewis's Lion Promotions, making a fight against Lewis a possibility, it is unlikely the all-important American television companies would support it.

So Lewis is still hoping Tyson will honour his contract for a June rematch.

Meanwhile, though Naseem Hamed's backers had been investigating the possibilty of a fight in Dubai this summer, those plans have been put on ice because of the situation in Iraq, prompting speculation that the former world featherweight champion may have been pushed closer to an announcement that he will retire.

Hamed has fought only once since losing to Marco Antonio Barrera almost two years ago and has voluntarily relinquished the lightly regarded International Boxing Organisation version of the world title rather than face the potential ignominy of being stripped of the belt because of his inactivity.