They’re Perfectly Matched : Boxing: Holyfield, Bowe put unblemished records on the line for the undisputed heavyweight title.

For only the seventh time in the last 100 years, an undefeated, undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion will face an undefeated challenger tonight.

In Nevada Las Vegas’ 19,000-seat Thomas & Mack Center, Evander Holyfield, 28-0 and champion since he knocked out Buster Douglas 25 months ago, meets Riddick Bowe (31-0).

The 6-foot-2 1/2 Holyfield, who weighed in at a surprisingly light 205 pounds Wednesday, will look like a light-heavyweight against Bowe, who is 6-5, 235 pounds and has an 81-inch reach.

In 1892, when challenger James J. Corbett upset John L. Sullivan in New Orleans and won the undisputed championship, it marked the first time in boxing’s modern era that two unbeaten fighters had met for the title.

Since then, on only five occasions have unbeatens fought for the undisputed championship:

--Jim Jeffries vs. Jack Monroe, 1904.

--Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali, 1971.

--Frazier vs. George Foreman, 1973.

--Mike Tyson vs. Tyrell Biggs, 1987.

--Tyson vs. Michael Spinks, 1988.

This will be Holyfield’s fourth defense since he knocked out Douglas, who had taken the title from Tyson. In the interim, Holyfield, 30, has defended against Foreman, Bert Cooper and Larry Holmes.

Holyfield was in difficulty in all three of those matches, which explains the nearly even odds for tonight’s fight.

Bowe, 25, a suspect fighter since his uninspired loss in the gold-medal match against Lennox Lewis at the 1988 Olympics, has beaten a lackluster roster of opponents to get his championship opportunity.

The challenger’s most difficult fight was a narrow 10-round decision over veteran Tony Tubbs in 1991.

Those picking Bowe tonight point to a common opponent, Cooper, who nearly knocked Holyfield out a year ago in Atlanta. Holyfield was down for the only time in his career against Cooper, whom the champion finally stopped in the seventh round.

Cooper was a substitute who had only a week to train for Holyfield.

By comparison, Cooper trained seven weeks to fight Bowe in 1990, and Bowe finished him in two rounds.

The only other common opponent is Pinklon Thomas, a loser in nine rounds to Bowe in 1990 and in seven rounds to Holyfield in 1988.

Holyfield, according to his manager, Shelly Finkel, will earn $14 million to $18 million tonight, depending on pay-per-view sales. Bowe will earn a flat $7.5 million.

Finkel also said Holyfield will become the world’s wealthiest 1992 athlete after tonight. Forbes magazine recently ranked Holyfield’s projected 1992 income at $28 million, second to Michael Jordan’s $35.9 million.

“That was wrong,” Finkel insisted. “Evander will go well past Jordan with this fight.”

Tale of the Tape heabyweight title fight between undisputed champion Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe to be held tonight at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

HOLLYFIELD BOWE 30 years Age 25years 205 lbs. Weight 235lbs. 6-2 1/2” Height 6-5” 77 1/2” Reach 81” 43” Chest (normal) 46” 45” Chest (expanded) 50” 16” Biceps 17” 12 1/2” Forearm 12 1/2” 32” Waist 36” 22” Thigh 26 1/2” 13” Calf 16 1/2” 19 1/2” Neck 17 1/2” 7 1/2” Wrist 8” 12 1/2” Fist 13 1/2”