Lewis Triumphs Over Tyson

Lennox Lewis made it a memorable weekend for Britain by beating the self-styled "baddest man on the planet" Mike Tyson in the early hours of yesterday morning, hot on the heels of England's victory over Argentina in the World Cup.

Each fighter earned around $20m (£14m) from what was billed as the biggest grossing fight of all time and which was expected to generate $150m in revenue.

Lewis, who dominated the fight for three of boxing's world heavyweight titles, in the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, knocked an exhausted Tyson to the canvas in the eighth round and the referee counted him out.

"In competition you have to admit when the better man's won and that's what happened here," Tyson said. "I take my hat off to Lennox Lewis. He was masterful."

The boxers were kept apart by a line of security men during the pre-fight preliminaries, with organisers fearful of a repeat of the scenes at the press con ference in January to announce the fight, when Tyson scuffled with the British champion and apparently bit his leg. But the fight was remarkably free from the predicted mayhem, with Lewis taking the sting out of Tyson's attack after an explosive first-round from the American challenger. "Mike Tyson behaved like a true professional," Lewis said. "I once thought whether he might punch me low or bite me. But I am glad he has been able to eat humble pie."