Boxing: Tyson selects Williams for comeback fight

Danny Williams will fly to New York on Sunday to put his name on a contract for a fight against Mike Tyson that will give the former British heavyweight champion from Brixton a large chunk of his pension.

Williams was selected from a long list of hopefuls for the chance to meet Tyson in Louisville, Kentucky, on 30 July, in a fight that he is expected to lose. In many ways, however, it is a fight in which he has absolutely nothing to lose.

There are still some contractual difficulties, but that is not unusual with Tyson and the fight is understood to be a done deal. Williams and Tyson are expected to meet on Tuesday to shake hands.

For Tyson it will be the 29th time that he has received in excess of $1m (£547,000) for a fight, but for Williams it will be the first time that he has been paid in excess of £200,000 for walking into the ring.

Williams, like Tyson, has his critics and during a career that started nine years ago he is the first to admit that he has not reached the level that his talent warrants.

Tyson, meanwhile, has admitted that after nearly 20 years at the top he has squandered over £164m, but now believes he has turned the corner and is ready to resume the career that he once had.