by Steve Ninvalle
Stabroek News
June 12, 2001

Andrew `Sixhead' Lewis' purse for his mandatory defence against Ricardo Mayorga will more than double that what he made in his first defence.

Lewis will make a reported US$312,000 to fight Mayorga in his World Boxing Association welterweight title defence scheduled for early September.

The purse is the largest ever to be earned by a Guyanese, creating another first by Lewis in the "Land of Many Waters".

His manager, Nelson Fernandez, disclosed that Top Rank Inc., which promotes the undefeated champion, won the purse bid held yesterday in Panama.

Lewis and the challenger will share a total of US$416,000 with the champion collecting 75 percent and the challenger 25 percent. The purse is more than two times the amount Lewis received for his first defence against Larry Marks in April.

Then, the hard-hitting `Albouystown Cyclone' pocketed US$150,000.

Mayorga will take home US$104,000. The fight, Fernandez said, was set for September 8 in St. Louis, Missouri, on HBO KO Nation but the date, venue and television network may have to be reviewed.

"The fight was first scheduled for HBO KO Nation but it is impossible to put it there with such a high purse," Fernandez said via telephone yesterday.

"KO Nation is the lower end where the new people go on. It's impossible to put the fight on KO Nation for that amount of money (purse)," Lewis' manager said.

The champion made his first defence on KO Nation on April 28 when he survived a first round scare to pound out a unanimous 12-round decision over Marks.

"I have already called Bob Arum (president of Top Rank Inc) but will have to call him again,"Fernandez disclosed.

Mayorga hails from Nicaragua (birth place of lightweight legend Alexis Arguello) and not Costa Rica as was previously reported.

He is the current Latin American champion and has lost three times in 25 fights with 18 victories by knockout. Lewis, undefeated in 22 fights, has a knockout percent average of 86 percent the third best by any current world champion.

Ahead of the Guyanese are WBO junior lightweight champion Brazilian Acelino Freitas who has knocked out all 29 opponents and WBC welterweight champion `Sugar' Shane Mosley who has stopped 34 of 37 opponents for a 91 percent knockout average.

The southpaw Lewis returned to the Parris Gym in Patterson, New Jersey yesterday following a three-week vacation in Guyana. "We have already secured tapes of Mayorga's last three fights so Andrew knows who he is coming up against," Fernandez said.

"I'm happy that it's all over and Top Rank won the bid. When everything is over `Sixhead' will still be the champion," Fernandez concluded. The defence against Mayorga will be Lewis' 23rd professional fight and his third this year.