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Odds are against a draw, but not another snoozer
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- In this city's sports books, the odds are 12-1 that Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield won't stage a repeat of their controversial draw that did nothing to settle the heavyweight championship.There are no odds, though, on whether tonight's fight will be another snoozer.
Boxing fans apparently think so, even though the two fighters insist that the rematch will come to a definitive conclusion and give the world an undisputed heavyweight champion.
"This definitely may be one of my greatest fights," Holyfield said.
A fight that lured 1.2 million households to put up $49.95 the first time the two met eight months ago might not even get half those buys tonight when the two meet in a scheduled 12-round fight at UNLV's campus arena.
Even tickets are widely available, with casinos who overestimated the fight's attraction to their high rolling gamblers reportedly stuck with many leftovers.
Memories of a cautious Lewis against an aging and clumsy Holyfield in the first fight at Madison Square Garden have been hard to overcome.
"The fighters understand this has been a hard sell," said Lou DiBella, who heads boxing for HBO. "They also understand part of it is their responsibility."
Lewis and Holyfield will both earn $15 million when they attempt once again to unify the three portions of the heavyweight title for the first time since Riddick Bowe threw the WBC belt away after beating Holyfield in November 1992 for the undisputed title.
Holyfield brings his WBA and IBF titles into the ring, while Lewis is risking the WBC crown.
"I'm going to do everything in my power to knock him out," Lewis said. "I think we'll go at it a bit more this time."
Oddsmakers have Lewis a 2-1 favorite in the rematch, which tops a card of three other WBA title fights and is expected to begin about midnight EST.
Lewis has size, weight and reach advantages, but Holyfield has always fought well in rematches and his courage and tenacity have never been questioned.
Lewis (34-1-1, 27 knockouts) landed nearly three punches to every one for Holyfield in the first fight, only to leave the ring with a disputed draw in a bout that most ringside observers thought he won handily.
"Lennox Lewis had the perfect opportunity the first time to be undisputed champion and he didn't take that chance because he didn't want to get caught," Holyfield said. "Some people just don't have the fortitude. Some people aren't ready to get out of the comfort zone."
The comfort zone for Lewis, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighed in at 242 pounds for the rematch, is on the outside, where he likes to dominate with his jab and can punch with power.
Yet many believe he remains so haunted by his only loss -- a one-punch second round knockout five years ago by Oliver McCall -- that he is afraid to take the kind of chances needed for a knockout.
"In the first fight maybe I was a bit cautious. In the second fight I won't be as cautious," the 34-year-old Lewis said. "I didn't really want to take that chance and leave myself open."
Holyfield (36-3-1, 25 knockouts) is nearing the end of a career that has seen him go from a light heavyweight in 1984 to become a three-time heavyweight champion. But, at the age of 37, he has been in some ring wars and his reflexes appear to have slipped.
Holyfield resurrected his career before, with a shocking upset of Mike Tyson giving him the heavyweight title once again. But Tyson was more than obliging to fight the straight ahead style that Holyfield prefers, and he has had trouble with big men who move such as Lewis and Riddick Bowe.
"Lennox Lewis is a bad style for Evander Holyfield," said Emanuel Steward, who once trained Holyfield and now trains Lewis. "I believe Lennox Lewis has the ability to knock out Evander Holyfield within six rounds if he so desires."
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