Ready to Fight For No. 1 Before a Packed Garden

Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis were between championships nearly three years ago when they fought on the same card at Madison Square Garden and Mike Tyson was boxing’s main man.

Holyfield and Lewis will be on the same card again Saturday, but this time they will fight each other before a sellout Garden crowd of more than 20,000 to establish who is the world’s premier heavyweight.

With Tyson back in jail and no depth in the division, it easily is the most attractive heavyweight bout on the horizon.

“This fight is the last great heavyweight fight for two or three years,” said Emanuel Steward, Lewis’ trainer who once worked with Holyfield.

The intriguing, 12-round match will be held 28 years and five days after Joe Frazier scored a 15-round unanimous decision over Muhammad Ali in probably the greatest fight in Garden history.

Holyfield has won the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles since an easy but unimpressive five-round win over Bobby Czyz before 17,041 in the Garden May 10, 1996. Lewis has become WBC champion since that night, when he won a 10-round majority decision over Ray Mercer.

Since beating Czyz, Holyfield has enhanced his warrior reputation, especially with his two wins over Tyson. Holyfield, however, has been criticized for not practicing what he preaches outside the ring.

“He says he’s religious, but he’s a hypocrite,” Lewis said of Holyfield, who responded by saying, “Why can’t I be a man of God and make mistakes.”

Holyfield admitted in September that five of his nine children were born out of wedlock, two of them in the past year. Holyfield, also born out of wedlock, had three children with his first wife and has one with his second. He said he financially supports all of the children.

“There have been errors in a lot of parts of my life, and I’ve been able to overcome them,” the 36-year-old Holyfield said. “I’m not ashamed of the mistakes I’ve made.”

He also has said he must become as disciplined in his personal life as he is in boxing.

Holyfield’s popularity as a fighter has never been higher, thanks to his knockout of Tyson and his rematch victory over him in the Bite Fight. His place in boxing lore is secure no matter what happens Saturday night.

On the other hand, the 33-year-old Lewis, of Britain, needs a victory to improve a reputation that doesn’t match his 34-1 record, especially with American fight fans.

“If he doesn’t win, and win aggressively, he’ll never be [known as] a great fighter or even a good fighter,” Steward said.

Critics question Lewis’ competitive fire. One who doesn’t doubt it is Holyfield, who points to Lewis’ fight against Mercer, who some ringsiders believe won.

“He showed me more [heart] in that fight than in any of his other fights,” said Holyfield, who has been advised to retire on more than one occasion.

Holyfield actually did retire when he was diagnosed with a heart problem after his championship loss on points to Michael Moorer in 1994. But he got medical clearance to resume his career and won a 10-round decision over Mercer in 1995.

A lot of people feared for Holyfield when it was announced he would challenge Tyson, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission required him to undergo a battery of medical tests before he was allowed to fight.

In between beating Mercer and winning the WBA title by stopping Tyson in the 11th round in 1996, Holyfield (36-3) was stopped by Riddick Bowe in the eighth round of a non-title fight and beat Czyz, a blown-up cruiserweight. Holyfield believes his performance against Czyz encouraged Tyson to fight him.