NEW YORK -- The Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson heavyweight title fight was the highest-grossing pay-per-view event in history.

HBO said Tuesday that its joint venture with Showtime had grossed $103 million on 1.8 million buys, $3 million more than the previous high, the second bout between Tyson and Evander Holyfield.

``This exceeded even our expectations. This was a night that truly lifted the sport,'' said Mark Taffett, senior vice president for HBO Sports. Taffett would not say what those expectations were, but reports put it in the $100 million area.

Lewis dominated the fight Saturday night and knocked out Tyson in the eighth round.