Boxing-fans slow to warm to Lewis despite masterful fight

By JOHN PHILLIPS

LAS VEGAS (November 12, 2000 7:32 p.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) - Despite giving a masterful performance in retaining his world heavyweight titles against David Tua on Saturday, Lennox Lewis still has not gained universal respect from boxing fans.

There were scattered boos throughout the 12-round fight that Lewis won on a unanimous decision, and there were grumblings after the bout that it was boring.

Whether the boos were directed at Lewis, at Tua, or at the overall fight does not matter, because the bout was all Lewis. He wrote, directed and choreographed it to the applause of the judges who unanimously awarded Lewis the decision on scores of 118-110, 119-109 and 117-111.

The big Briton was in absolute control throughout, fighting intelligently and giving his under-armed but always dangerous opponent an advanced lesson in "boxingology," as Lewis put it after the fight.

"He's never seen a boxer like Lennox Lewis. You could say I'm like fine wine - I get better with age," the 35-year-old champion said after the fight.

Lewis, with a 15-inch (38 cm) advantage in reach, was able to pepper Tua at will with a piercing jab. Lewis landed 213 jabs to Tua's 51. And when the opening was there, Lewis would explode with combinations to jar Tua and collect points from the judges before sliding safely out of range.

"He kept that left hand out there, halfway, so he could pop it in Tua's face to keep him off balance. Lennox always had Tua in distance with his jab," Lewis's trainer, Emanuel Steward, said on Sunday.

TUA LIKE A LITTLE KID

"I always thought that Lennox would beat him, but I thought Tua would always be dangerous. I said that this would be a more dangerous fight than Tyson. But I have to take that back," Steward said. Tua fought "like a little kid with a big brother. He couldn't do anything."

If Tua were Lewis's sparring partner, Steward said, "after the first day I would have sent him home. He was too slow and too small."

Mike Tyson is the biggest fight out there for Lewis in money and prestige. Lewis has said it would round out his career.

Steward said he would like Lewis to fight three to four times in the next 12 months.

Aside from Tyson, possible opponents Steward mentioned included Larry Donald, 1996 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist Wladimir Klitschko and Canadian Kirk Johnson.

Steward said a third fight with Evander Holyfield is possible and perhaps a rematch with Ray Mercer, with whom Lewis had a toe-to-toe slugfest in 1996 that went to Lewis in a very close decision.

Against Tua, Lewis fought with the confidence he says he finally achieved after beating Holyfield in their second fight.

LEWIS COMPOSED

Lewis never lost his composure against Tua. He was not hit hard often, but at the end of the second round, the Samoa-born Tua caught Lewis with a left hook, sending him reeling into the ropes. Coming off the ropes as the bell sounded, Lewis nodded as if to say, "Yeah, that was a good shot."

When the 27-year-old Tua was able to land a left hook to the head or get inside to drive punches into the midsection, Lewis would simply spin away, dance out of range or clinch and push Tua away.

It was apparent from the opening bell that Tua was in for a long night trying to get to the cagey British fighter. But at 5-foot-10 (1.77 m) and with the disadvantage in reach, he simply was too small, although to his credit he relentlessly chugged, bobbing and weaving, after his opponent.

"Lennox fought like a real veteran fighter, doing what he wanted when he wanted," Steward said.

So, with all of Lewis' talents amply displayed, why did the fans boo and others complain?

Perhaps it is the Larry Holmes syndrome.

Holmes, a wonderfully talented boxer, had the misfortune of following the incomparable Muhammad Ali as heavyweight champion and could never approach the respect and affection that Ali basked in during and after his career.

In a way, Lewis might suffer from following closely on the heels of Tyson. Tyson was never the beloved figure that Ali was, of course, but he did set a standard of pure, unadulterated power with a malevolence bent on destruction.

Fans attended Tyson fights with near certainty they would see a "rock 'em, sock 'em" war, however brief. And these days Tyson has added the possibility of all kinds of mayhem.

THE ANTI-TYSON

The polite Briton is the anti-Tyson, and it seems that many fans cannot forgive him for that.

"Part of Lewis's problem is his image. He hurts himself outside the ring as well as inside," said Steve Farhood, boxing analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and a writer for Fight Game magazine. "He makes no concerted effort to build an image, to reach out to the fans."

Inside the ring, Farhood said, Lewis "gives the impression of always seeming like he could do more. He used his right hand sparingly and landed it, but he used it just enough."

But it was more than enough to retain his International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council titles and go hunting for more prey, while awaiting a possible shot at Tyson and that elusive respect.

Lewis, Tyson on collision course

By TIM DAHLBERG

LAS VEGAS (November 13, 2000 11:53 a.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) - Lennox Lewis wants Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson says he wants Lennox Lewis.

Even in the convoluted world of heavyweight boxing, this is one fight that almost has to happen.

Why? Because too much money is at stake to do otherwise.

"Right now, the people want (me to fight) Tyson," Lewis said after disposing of David Tua. "Tell him I've been ready since the Holyfield fight."

Tyson has said he will be ready sometime next year for the one fight that can make both boxers the tens of millions of dollars they crave in a division that is otherwise lacking stars.

Of course, he's also said he is retiring, though few believe that yarn.

That was the reason Tyson's manager, Shelly Finkel, was at ringside Saturday night to watch Lewis put on a masterful performance in easily beating Tua in a lopsided 12-round decision.

And that was why Tyson dropped into one of Lewis' training sessions before the fight to check out the heavyweight champion.

Both fighters need each other more than ever, after Lewis took care of the one heavyweight many figured had a puncher's chance to end his reign as the IBF and WBC heavyweight champion.

Lewis and Tua drew a sellout crowd of more than 12,000 Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino not because Lewis is a terribly popular heavyweight champion. He isn't, as poor ticket sales in his native London proved in July for his fight with Francois Botha.

The public certainly doesn't want to pay to see Lewis fight the likes of Kirk Johnson or Larry Donald. Judging from Tyson's weak pay-per-view numbers against Andrew Golota, people are tiring of watching Tyson just for the sheer spectacle of it all.

But put the two together in a ring once and for all, and both can laugh all the way to the bank.

"Hopefully this fight will water his mouth a bit," Lewis said of Tyson. "I'm in it for the long run. I'm looking to build a legacy."

Lewis better hope that legacy is made inside the ring. It certainly won't be as a poet, though he tried to add a little Muhammad Ali-like excitement to the division with a challenge to Tyson after making an easy $8 million against Tua.

"If Tyson wants to come to test, I'll put him to rest. Lennox Lewis is the best," Lewis said.

Lewis certainly looked that way against Tua, who brought a left hook into the fight but not much else.

That was evident almost from the opening bell as the 6-foot-5 Lewis used his height and 15-inch reach advantage to frustrate Tua and keep him from landing his big punch. Lewis fought superbly with his left jab and an occasional right hand in a fight that didn't please fans who wanted to see a brawl but proved his technical superiority.

Compubox statistics showed Lewis landed almost three punches to every one landed by Tua. Of the 300 Lewis was credited with landing, 213 were jabs.

"At a certain point, he was just having fun out there," said Lewis' trainer, Emanuel Steward.

Indeed he was, showing that at age 35 Lewis is the class of today's heavyweights. In three title defenses this year, he stopped Michael Grant in the second round, did the same to Botha and picked apart Tua, the No. 1 contender in both organizations that Lewis heads.

"Like a fine wine, I'm getting better with time," Lewis said.