Boxing promoter Don King won the first round of a legal battle with WBC world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on Monday when a judge refused to throw his libel action out of an English court.
King is suing Lewis, his promotions company and American lawyer Judd Burstein for libel, arising out of interviews Burstein gave to two boxing websites.
Lawyers for Lewis applied to the High Court in London to have King’s libel action thrown out, arguing it could only take place in an American court. The promoter is seeking an apology, unlimited damages and an order stopping the allegations being repeated.
Justice Sir David Eady ruled it was a case that could be heard in the United Kingdom and will give his reasons later. The hearing, before a jury, is expected in the fall.
”I was accused of being a bigot and an unrepentant anti-Semite,” King said outside court on Monday. ”I was deeply hurt and offended by these remarks and I came to the UK to protect my reputation here.”
Burstein is the lawyer representing Lewis in his multimillion-pound action against King in New York in which the boxer claims the promoter was instrumental in stopping his rematch with Mike Tyson.
Lewis knocked out Tyson in eight rounds in Memphis in June 2002. — Sapa-AP