Attorney for Vitali Klitschko Says Reports of “Collapse” of Talks on Lewis-Klitschko Fight Are Inaccurate

27.01 – Ron DiNicola, the attorney representing boxer Vitali Klitschko, said today that “any suggestion that talks about the planned Spring fight between Lennox Lewis and Vitali have collapsed is inaccurate.”

Mr. DiNicola was responding to an Associated Press report that quoted a Lewis representative as saying that talks to finalize the planned April heavyweight championship bout between Lewis and Klitschko had broken down, and that Lewis would instead fight Mike Tyson in June.

“An agreement outlining the key terms for the Lewis-Klitschko fight was reached last year between Universum Box Promotion, for Klitschko, and Lion Promotion, for Lewis. On December 20 both sides issued a press release saying the bout would take place on April 12 or 19. From Vitali’s perspective, discussion of the remaining points was proceeding normally, and he was surprised by Lewis’ decision to back out of the fight,” Mr. DiNicola said.

“Now, for no clear reason, Lewis appears to be unwilling to face Vitali. If this is true, boxing fans worldwide are being denied the opportunity to see Lewis face a real contender,” he added.

“We are exploring our options to see that this fight takes place before June,” Mr. DiNicola stated. He noted that Vitali Klitschko, with a 32-1 record and 31 knockouts, is the number-one-ranked contender and mandatory challenger for Lewis’ World Boxing Council heavyweight title.

Mr. DiNicola is a partner with the Los Angeles law firm of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, and represents a number of boxers and other sports and entertainment professionals.