Lewis Has Fighting Words for Holyfield

Lennox Lewis says it’s all clear to him now.

Never missing an opportunity to try to goad Evander Holyfield into the ring, Lewis is taking his jabs again after watching Holyfield’s successful but lackluster title defense last Saturday night against Vaughn Bean in Atlanta.

“I wasn’t really too impressed,” Lewis said. “I realize now why he won’t fight me, if he has trouble with a guy like that. He seemed different. He looked tired, susceptible, especially to the things in my arsenal.

“I realize that styles make fights and that what works on one guy is not necessarily going to work on another guy. But he didn’t look like such an unbeatable force. He looked very beatable.”

Lewis has a fight of his own on his hands tonight as he puts his World Boxing Council heavyweight title on the line at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., against Zeljko Mavrovic of Croatia, the WBC’s No. 1 contender and unbeaten at 27-0 with 22 knockouts.

But Lewis (33-1, 27 knockouts) is looking past Mavrovic, whom he admits he knows little about. Lewis wants the other two-thirds of the heavyweight title and the respect he figures he long has been denied. And the only way he can get that is to beat Holyfield, the World Boxing Assn. and International Boxing Federation heavyweight titleholder.

So Lewis takes his verbal shots at Holyfield and hopes that Holyfield’s pride will push him to sign on the dotted line.

“I think right now [Holyfield] is susceptible to everything,” Lewis said. “His right hand is not as good as mine and he’s not as strong a puncher. He hooks to the body, but that’s all he has.

“I’ll tell you, if he fights Henry Akinwande and he fights like he did [Saturday night], Akinwande could beat him.”

It appeared after Holyfield had beaten Michael Moorer last November that Holyfield and Lewis would meet in the spring to finally unify the title. But once the promoters met and the money offers came in and the pay-per-view outlets got involved, it didn’t happen.

Lewis doesn’t buy all that. He points his finger squarely at the man he’d like to point his fists at.

“Holyfield doesn’t want to fight me,” Lewis said. “He says he has to take all these mandatory fights to keep his belts. But if he really wanted a big fight, like one with me, all the governing bodies would allow it. That’s just an excuse.”

The Canadian-born fighter now living in England says his countrymen think it’s more than that.

“They think it’s some kind of conspiracy to keep the titles in America and I’m inclined to agree,” Lewis said.

“It’s frustrating. I can’t prove I’m the best on the planet because he won’t fight me. What can I do? I can’t grab him by the scruff of the neck and say, ‘You have to fight me.’ ”

At this point, that might be what it takes.

MATCHMAKING

Nobody questions the talent of IBF lightweight champion Sugar Shane Mosley, who got the nod from Sugar Ray Leonard earlier this week that he is truly deserving of the nickname.

Leonard said it after watching Mosley, of Pomona, improve to 29-0 with 27 knockouts by stopping previously unbeaten Eduardo Morales (27-1) in the fifth round Tuesday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

What Mosley needs now, to go with his nickname, are some big-name opponents to define him and enable him to take his place among the sport’s blockbuster draws.

Like who? Like Arturo Gatti, or if they come up five pounds, Angel Manfredy, Gabe Ruelas, or the winner of next week’s Genaro Hernandez-Floyd Mayweather fight.

QUICK JABS

Last week’s Oscar De La Hoya-Julio Cesar Chavez rematch at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center was bought by 650,000 to 700,000 homes across the country, and brought in $31 million, making it the third-most successful non-heavyweight bout.

Two Forum fighters with title aspirations on their minds will be in action tonight and Monday. Marco Antonio Barrera (45-2, 33 knockouts), the former World Boxing Organization junior-featherweight champion, will fight Pedro Javier Torres (30-12-7, eight knockouts) at Caesar’s Tahoe tonight. Barrera hopes a victory will lead to a shot at regaining his crown. In the main event Monday night at the Forum, North American Boxing Federation junior-middleweight champion Rodney Jones (21-2, 12 knockouts) will defend his title against William Ruiz (23-11, 12 knockouts). Jones, making his fifth title defense, is in line to fight Harry Simon for the WBO title. First Forum fight Monday night is at 7:15.