Lewis Demands $30m to Fight on

The world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis could be on the brink of announcing his retirement after demanding a prohibitive $30m (£19m) pay day, the highest of his career, for a rematch against Mike Tyson.

Lewis, 36, was speaking after receiving his CBE medal from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace yesterday, and his exorbitant demands may mean the US television companies HBO and Showtime lose interest as a result of being unable to afford to stage the contest.

Only Tyson and Evander Holyfield have ever been paid as much as $30m for one fight; both were guaranteed the sum for their rematch which ended in one of boxing's nights of disgrace when Tyson bit a chunk out of Holyfield's ear before being disqualified and subsequently banned from boxing.

When Lewis knocked Tyson out in eight rounds of a one-sided fight in Memphis last month, each fighter was guaranteed a minimum of $17.5m, although Lewis's cheque may have been boosted closer to $25m by a share of pay-per-view revenue which reached a record of over $100m in the United States alone.

But the overwhelming manner of Lewis's victory over Tyson makes it inconceivable that such high viewing figures could be generated for any rematch and Lewis emphasised the point after receiving his medal by saying: "People don't want to see that again because of the way I destroyed him. People felt sorry for him. He's already put in a bid for a rematch, but it's up to the TV company. If they don't pay $30m I will retire.

"This is the perfect opportunity to retire, and it's the pending question. Retirement is definitely floating around as an option for me, but we will have to see."

Lewis's statement seems to rule out any possibility of a fight against the World Boxing Organisation champion Vladimir Klitschko of the Ukraine, who is reckoned to be the most dangerous heavyweight not to have fought Lewis after his recent brutal six-round knockout victory over Ray Mercer.

It also makes a September fight against the American Chris Byrd, which many expected as a safety-first pay day in London for Lewis, less likely unless a Tyson date can be nailed down as a certainty to follow.

Only two heavyweights in the history of the sport, Gene Tunney and Rocky Marciano, had the sense to quit boxing as world heavyweight champion after running out of all genuine challenges. It now seems likely Lewis is about to become the third.