Byrd sees hopes of Lewis clash fly out the window

Jersey City, New Jersey (Agence France-Presse): Lennox Lewis, who won his first heavyweight title after former champion Riddick Bowe threw a belt in the garbage, relinquished his International Boxing Federation (IBF) crown Thursday.

Lewis (40-2-1, 31 KOs), also the World Boxing Council (WBC) champion, elected to give up the belt rather than face mandatory challenger Chris Byrd.

"Today I announced my decision to vacate my IBF heavyweight title," Lewis said in a statement.

"Prior to today, my team and I had already determined that there was no public interest in a Lennox Lewis/Chris Byrd bout.

"My decision was also based upon the fact that I believe, as I have said repeatedly, that Chris Byrd offers no competitive challenge to me.

"The fact is that the champion makes the belt important, not the other way around.

"Accordingly, in light of a court order and an IBF ruling that would have required me to fight a meaningless fight against Chris Byrd in order to keep the belt, I had no choice but to vacate.

"As I have recently stated, the world has yet to see the best of Lennox Lewis."

Lewis, who turned 37 on Monday solidified his standing as the best heavyweight in the world on June 8 when he pounded former champion Mike Tyson en route to stopping him in the eighth round.

"But after such a convincing victory, Lewis was left without an immediate opponent that would generate as much fan interest.

After the Tyson fight, Lewis spoke about retirement and did not seem interested in a bout with Wladimir Klitschko, holder of the lightly regarded World Boxing Organization (WBO) title.