By Steve Ninvalle
Stabroek News
June 7, 2001

The World Boxing Association will on Monday hold a purse bid for welterweight champion Andrew `Sixhead' Lewis mandatory defence against number one ranked Ricardo Mayorga of Costa Rica.

Manager of the Guyanese fighter Nelson Fernandez told Stabroek Sport that he was made cognizant of the bid by way of a letter signed by WBA president Gilberto Mendoza.

The mandatory defence is scheduled for either September 9 or 15. Lewis' promoter Top Rank Inc will be sending a representative to the bid, Fernandez said.

The bid will take place at the Caesar's Park Hotel in Panama at 12 noon. Also bids will be entertained for a fight between Paulie Ayala and Eidy Moya.

According to Fernandez, the new development means that July 28 is the deadline for the champion's planned fight in Guyana. After that the next available date for Lewis to fight at home is late in 2002.

"After the mandatory defence, there will be another defence in December and have the `Sugar' Shane Mosley fight in the spring (February-April) of 2002. After `Six' defeats Mosley I'll be giving him a well deserved vacation. So as you can see, if we fight in Guyana it has to be late in 2002," Fernandez told Stabroek Sport.

Negotiations are being held to have Lewis fight a non-title bout in Guyana in July. Lewis arrived here on May 17 for an eleven day vacation which he later extended.

The undefeated champion is expected to return to the United States today to commence training. The rules of the WBA state that every champion, except in the heavyweight category, must defend his title at intervals of no more than nine months from when it was obtained or from the last defence.

When a fighter obtains the title of world champion in an eliminatory fight for a vacant title, in any category except the heavyweight division, he must defend his title against the leading available contender of his category within no more than 120 days from the date on which he obtains the title, the WBA rules state.

Lewis won the vacant WBA title following a seventh round KO of former champion James Page on February 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He successfully defended his crown against American Larry Marks, ranked in the top 10 by IBF, on April 28.