A friendly wager

Manager, promoter agree loser will donate $100,000

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Posted: Friday November 12, 1999 07:16 PM

If Holyfield wins, Maloney will donate money to a U.S. charity, and if Lewis wins, King agreed to give to a British charity. John Gichigi/Allsport

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) -- The would-be mayor of London may soon be running around New York's Time Square naked, but now a U.S. charity may get $100,000 in the process.

The stakes for Saturday's heavyweight unification rematch between Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis got a bit higher Friday as promoter Don King and Lewis' manager, Frank Maloney, made their own impromptu wager in this gambling mecca.

Maloney, who is running for mayor of London and has said he would run naked through Times Square if Lewis loses the fight, also agreed to donate $100,000 to a U.S. charity.

The flamboyant King, never one to be outdone, responded in kind, saying he would donate $100,000 to a British charity if Holyfield loses.

"We're not betting; we're donating," said King.

Neither Maloney nor King identified which charity would benefit from the wager.

King declined an offer to run naked around London's Trafalgar Square if Holyfield, 37, lost the bout.

"Oh no, I'm not physically fit for that," said King, who displayed a G-string that would protect Maloney from the elements of a Manhattan jog.

"You gotta do a naked run, not that anybody would want to see that," he told Maloney.

He also declined to wager his trademark hair, which is combed standing straight up from his head.

"The Lord gave me my hair. I'm keeping it," King said.

The 34-year-old Lewis (34-1-1) is now a 2-1 favorite to win the scheduled 12-round bout for the undisputed heavyweight crown. He is the World Boxing Council champion.

Holyfield (36-3-1) holds the World Boxing Association and the International Boxing Federation belts.

The first fight between the two ended in a controversial draw last March amid overwhelming views that Lewis had won the Madison Square Garden bout.

King expressed dismay at a suggestion that this fight could also end in a draw.

"Under no condition should there be allowed to be a draw," he said, joking that he would rather see the fighters in a "sudden death play-off round."

 

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