Boxing: Foreman willing to fight on

George Foreman has left the door open for a return fight against Michael Moorer and possibly a match with Mike Tyson after extending his retirement deadline beyond this year.

Tyson is scheduled to box Peter McNeeley in Las Vegas on 19 August in his first bout for more than four years following his release from prison in March. He served three years for a rape conviction.

Foreman said he understood why Tyson wanted to fight the little-known and lightly-regarded McNeeley. The 46-year-old said: "Mike Tyson hasn't had any tune-ups. He is uncertain himself of how good he is going to be when he gets into the ring, so he is going to start off slowly and see if he can get his confidence. I'm a grandfather, I already got my confidence."

Without Tyson to fight and with the other top two heavyweights - Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield - expected to meet later this year, Foreman revealed he is ready to give Moorer a rematch.

Foreman won the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association titles, knocking out Moorer in a stunning upset last November to become the oldest heavyweight champion ever.

Foreman has said frequently since then that he will not fight beyond this year. But he said he could be persuaded to wait until February to have the Moorer bout on pay-per-view television if the price was right.

He added that regardless of being stripped of his titles by the IBF and WBA for not fighting their mandated opponents, he will still be fighting as a world champion.

"I won it in the ring and I will only lose it in the ring. If they can knock me down and whip me, they can have it," he said.