BOXING / TIM KAWAKAMI : A Wild Week in Heavyweight Division

This was a week of chaos and goofiness in the heavyweight division, and it was hard to keep up even if you were one of the principals involved.

“Last night, we were very, very close to a deal to fight Lennox Lewis for the undisputed title in the spring,” Michael Moorer’s manager, John Davimos, said Friday. “And I wake up this morning hearing that they’re announcing a Lewis-Riddick Bowe fight.

“I knew they were talking, but yeah, I’m surprised.”

The dramatic Bowe-Lewis announcement, a bout tentatively set for November but which also could be delayed until spring of 1995, capped seven strange days of maneuvering and manipulating among heavyweights as Mike Tyson’s release from prison draws nearer.

The developments:

--Moorer’s camp completed a deal to fight George Foreman in November, probably at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, on HBO, and had only a few details to negotiate before signing a multi-fight deal with Time Warner, HBO’s parent company.

--Tyson’s appeal for a sentence reduction was rejected, making a May, 1995, release probable. The intensity of the coverage before the appeal rejection only reinforced the belief that Tyson remains the most fascinating fighter in the world--by far.

--Former champion Evander Holyfield went to a faith healer in Philadelphia and said he felt cured of the heart problem that only recently prompted his retirement. Late this week, Holyfield underwent tests and might be cleared--at least by his personal doctors--to fight again.

--On the verge of an agreement to fight Moorer, Lewis’ promoter, Panos Eliades, struck a surprising deal with Rock Newman, Bowe’s promoter, and both Eliades and Newman said that the winner of Bowe-Lewis should be viewed as the real champion.

The only sticking point preventing Moorer-Lewis, according to Davimos, was a demand from Eliades that Lewis be guaranteed an immediate rematch should he lose. Davimos said he’d think about it and get back to them. Before he did, Eliades cut the deal with Newman, who, like Eliades, had grown weary of jumping through hoops to get his man into the ring with Moorer.

“He panicked,” Davimos said of Eliades. “He gave away the store, and he didn’t have to. He could have had us for the undisputed title in the spring. Instead he has a very difficult fight for less money. Stupid.”

According to those knowledgeable about the deal, Bowe will get 35% of the gross earnings, Lewis 65%--and, unusual for a championship match, Lewis will get no cut of Bowe’s future earnings.

Ironically, Bowe will be seeking to regain the World Boxing Council belt he threw away--and Lewis picked up--after Bowe had beaten Holyfield in November, 1992, for the undisputed title.

Eliades said he spoke with WBC President Jose Sulaiman, no fan of Bowe or Newman since the belt trashing, and said he had Sulaiman’s word that the WBC would look favorably upon a Bowe fight.

“Whoever wins this fight is in the strongest position in boxing,” Eliades said.

The new deal throws Bowe’s scheduled July 15 fight against Buster Mathis Jr. at Hollywood Park into serious jeopardy, given Bowe’s recent cancellation of a bout because of back problems and Newman’s stated desire to keep things safe and sane for Bowe leading up to a Lewis fight. Newman was uncertain when asked about the Hollywood Park fight.

Lewis also has a mandatory title defense in September against Oliver McCall, scheduled for London.

So, what does this all mean? It means multiple champions for the foreseeable future, and it means Tyson is the only fighter who really controls his own destiny--once he is back in the picture.

Moorer has the World Boxing Assn. and International Boxing Federation belts, Lewis has the WBC title, and Tyson has the ability to draw more attention than both men combined.

“Unless Mike Tyson doesn’t return to the ring, I don’t think you’re going to see a unification fight for a very long time,” said Dan Duva, who has promotional interests in Moorer, Lewis and Holyfield.

“When Mike Tyson gets out, the opportunity for either Moorer or the winner of Bowe-Lewis to fight Mike Tyson will be far more seductive than to fight each other for the undisputed championship.”

By the time Tyson ambles out of prison, he will have his choice of champions to fight for huge money: Moorer, if he beats Foreman, or the winner of the Lewis-Bowe grudge match.

Tyson could also fight former champion Holyfield, his old nemesis, if fate, attending physicians and some boxing commission should approve.

So what happens to Moorer? Assuming he gets past Foreman, Moorer could fight Tyson in late 1995, Davimos said, or fight the winner of Bowe-Lewis. Or, he added, half seriously, “I think Evander wants to fight us again.”

Lewis, meanwhile, badly in need of legitimacy in the United States, is gambling that he can beat Bowe and get instant respectability--and possibly recognition as the true heavyweight champion.

Duva said he disagrees with that logic.

“Michael Moorer is the heavyweight champion of the world,” Duva said. “He beat the man who beat the man who beat the man. He’s the one who won it in the ring. In the public’s perception, Michael Moorer is the heavyweight champion of the world.

“Ask me who the public thinks is the best heavyweight in the world: He’s sitting in prison in Indiana.”

Calendar

Friday: Jeremy Williams vs. Bert Cooper, heavyweights; Johnny Tapia vs. Rafael Granillo, flyweights. Grand Olympic Auditorium, 6:30 p.m.

Friday: Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Mike Espinoza, bantamweights; Shibata Flores vs. Roland Herrera, welterweights; Chico Castillo vs. Angel Aldama, featherweights. Forum, 7 p.m.