LAS VEGAS -- Mike Tyson's trainer says the former heavyweight champion wants to challenge Lennox Lewis for the heavyweight title this year.

Tommy Brooks said he thinks Tyson can recapture the title in the fall.

"Our goal is Lennox Lewis and that is what we're after," Brooks said. "But I don't think Lennox Lewis wants a piece of Mike."

Brooks spoke during a conference call promoting Tyson's Jan. 29 fight with Julius Francis in London. That fight might be in peril because of questions raised about Tyson's ability to enter England because of his 1992 rape conviction.

Brooks said if the fight occurs, he doesn't expect it to last long.

"Julius is in for a rude awakening," Brooks said. "We're going to put him in the cheap seats. He's in a world of trouble."

Brooks said Tyson, who has fought only six rounds since his infamous 1997 bite fight with Evander Holyfield, has looked exceptional in training in Las Vegas.

He said he wants Tyson to fight several times before challenging Lewis.

"We're going to try and fight as often as possible and try to get that title back," Brooks said.

If Tyson beats Francis, a journeyman British heavyweight, he is expected to fight in late March in New Jersey.