Boxing: Maloney issues warning to Lewis

Frank Maloney believes he has been made a scapegoat for Lennox Lewis’ world heavyweight title defeat to Hasim Rahman in April.

Maloney is furious that he has been axed by Lewis just 10 days before the Las Vegas rematch.

And he believes that had he had more say in the build-up to the initial contest, the clash a week on Saturday would never have been necessary.

Lewis, effectively preparing under his own steam for the first time, did not arrive in South Africa until eight days before the first bout and admitted recently that that had contributed towards his demise.

Maloney said: ‘‘I was critical of his preparation and handling and the way it (the Rahman fight) was done.

‘‘I believe this time Lennox has been working hard in training camp but sometimes you can’t catch up on lost time and time is not on Lennox Lewis’s side.’’

Maloney is taking legal advice over the split, which became increasingly acrimonious yesterday despite Lewis’ initial insistence that he wanted to remain friends with the man who had managed his career for 11 years.

‘‘I am certainly disappointed in the way Lennox has behaved,’’ Maloney said.

‘‘You come to expect it from people when you create a monster and that’s obvious for all the world to see in the way he behaves and treats people.

‘‘He is not the Lennox Lewis that I first knew and worked with for quite a while.’’

Maloney was axed after refusing to sign a new deal which would effectively have relegated him from the role of boxing manager to that of consultant.

Maloney blasted the new offer as ‘‘unliveable with’’ and added: ‘‘Lennox hasn’t even had the decency to pick up the phone and tell me. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 weeks and all there has been is a fax from his office.’’

The dissolution of one of British sport’s most famous partnerships had become inevitable ever since Maloney’s one-time partner at Panix Promotions, Panos Eliades, was sacked as Lewis’ promoter before his fight with Frans Botha in London.

Lewis was clearly intent on going it alone and Maloney, once glued to Lewis’ side in his famous Union Jack suit, was often conspicuous by his absence at big-fight press conferences.