Lewis Rallies to Win in Seven : Boxing: He retains title on powerful left hook after Bruno dominates the early rounds in chilly Wales.

Lennox Lewis, apparently on the road to defeat, suddenly found a short cut to victory with a devastating left hook in the seventh round that enabled him to keep the WBC heavyweight championship early Saturday morning.

Frank Bruno, the 31-year-old challenger trying for the third time to be a heavyweight champion, dominated the first half of the fight and had Lewis in trouble early in the seventh round. But Lewis unleashed a left hook that turned Bruno’s legs to rubber. Lewis followed with a barrage of head punches that sent Bruno into a neutral corner, where Lewis continued his attack.

Then, as Lewis hit Bruno with a left to measure him for a right, referee Mickey Vann pulled the champion back and warned him.

Lewis leaped back to the assault with another barrage and Vann stopped the first heavyweight title match between two Britons at 1:12 of the seventh round.

Judge Adrian Morgan of Britain had Bruno leading 59-55 after six rounds, but judges Tony Castellano and Jerry Roth of the United States saw it 57-57 each.

Before the fight, Lewis had said that British boxing fans would remember it forever. The 28-year-old champion, however, might choose to forget a performance that certainly won’t raise his stock in the United States, where he will be compared with unbeaten Riddick Bowe, who is recognized as champion by the International Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Assn.

Lewis went into the fight before an estimated crowd of 20,000 in the rugby stadium at Cardiff Arms Park as a heavy favorite.

“Bruno didn’t surprise me at all,” said Lewis, but the challenger surprised a lot of ringsiders. Bruno didn’t appear as tight and tense as in failed challenges against Tim Witherspoon for the WBA title in 1986 and against Mike Tyson for the undisputed title in 1989.

Witherspoon knocked him out in 11 rounds and Tyson stopped him in five.

When Lewis landed that thunderous left hook in the seventh, however, Bruno reacted as he had in his previous two challenges when he got into trouble. He didn’t react at all.

Lewis said he came out cold and that the chilly, damp weather “bothered me.” The champion entered the ring in a jacket, pants and a wool cap and spent each break between rounds wrapped in a blanket.

Bruno, meanwhile, paid no attention to the 40-degree cold.

Bruno, who weighed 238 pounds, nine more than the champion, seemed to control the first five rounds by forcing the action and landing several hard jabs, stiff left hooks and one especially hard right.

Lewis also landed numerous jabs, but most of them didn’t pack the power of Bruno’s punches. Lewis caused a swelling around Bruno’s left eye, but in turn he also got a swollen left eye and nick over it.

Lewis began to find the range in the sixth round with his right hand, which has been his main weapon in his unbeaten, 24-bout career, which now includes 20 knockouts.

Early in the seventh, Bruno landed a good left hook and a series of short punches to the head, and Lewis seemed to be in some difficulty when he turned the fight his way with the left hook.

Lewis now is headed for a defense against American Tommy Morrison sometime in March in Las Vegas. Bruno, a popular sports figure in Britain, where he often appears on talk shows, would appear to be at the end of his career. He now has a 36-4 record with 35 knockouts. All four of his losses have been by knockout.

Bruno earned $1.5 million for his third title challenge, which he had predicted would be the charm. Lewis made about $3.5 million.

Lewis might have lost some bargaining chips, however, when it comes time to negotiate for a match with Bowe for the undisputed championship.

Lewis became WBC champion last September when that organization withdrew recognition from Bowe for not signing to make his first title defense against Lewis.