By Leading With Mouth, Holyfield Leaves Opening

Where have you gone, Evander Holyfield?

Where have you gone, Evander the humble?

Where have you gone, Evander the devout?

Where have you gone, Evander the dedicated?

The ending to tonight’s battle for the undisputed heavyweight boxing championship at Madison Square Garden between Holyfield and Lennox Lewis seemed a foregone conclusion only a few weeks ago.

Holyfield (36-3, 25 knockouts), who holds the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Assn., titles, was already considered the legitimate champion by many. Having twice beaten Mike Tyson with a combination of superior strength, greater punching power, supreme confidence and endless patience, Holyfield seemed to stand alone atop boxing’s premier division.

On the other hand, Lewis (34-1, 27 knockouts), holder of the World Boxing Council’s title, couldn’t seem to get out from under the questions. There were questions about his courage, his stamina, his chin, his hand speed, his ring sense and his killer instinct.

And, he was the fighter who couldn’t finish off Oliver McCall when McCall was having a nervous breakdown in mid-fight. The bout was finally stopped by the referee.

So when Holyfield signed to meet Lewis, most of the opinion makers in boxing and wagering gathered in Holyfield’s corner.

But then, a different Holyfield began to emerge. And the transformation that has prompted a reassessment of tonight’s fight has made the outcome far less certain.

Holyfield seems different in three areas:

* Evander, the humble.

Suddenly, he’s Muhammad Ali without the charm. Ali used to have fun with his predictions, announcing, “They all shall fall in the round I call.” But Holyfield put his reputation and relationship with God on the line when he announced he would knock out Lewis in the third round.

Period.

“Lennox is a good fighter,” Holyfield said. “Lennox will do a good job. But he will still be knocked out in the third round. I’m just telling you the truth. Now we’ll see if Evander tells the truth.

“I’m not used to letting the cat out of the bag like this. I’m used to just doing it. But I thought I’d let you guys know how it’s going to be. It’s going to be a short night.

“I’m putting myself out on a limb to be judged. You will judge if a man of God is true.”

With those words, Holyfield changed the nature of the fight. One of his strengths has always been his control in the face of whatever was happening around him. In the first fight against Tyson, Holyfield stayed with his fight plan, even when the rest of the boxing world was shocked by how he was manhandling the once-feared Tyson. Holyfield didn’t try for the quick knockout, but continued to wear Tyson down until all opposition had faded.

After the initial shock of getting part of an ear bitten off by Tyson in their second meeting, Holyfield was able to refocus in the brief period before the fight was stopped.

But tonight, he can’t do that because of his own big mouth. Tonight, he has to go after Lewis in the third round to back up his boast. Tonight, he has to emerge from his normal methodical attack and swing for the fences.

And Lewis, knowing this, can wait for the onrushing Holyfield in the third round and work on counterpunching a man who figures to leave all sorts of openings.

And it’s not just the third round that figures to be a problem for Holyfield. If he fails to knock out Lewis, his disappointment may drain him.

Even Ali never picked a round of doom for quality opponents like Joe Frazier and George Foreman. Ali only did it early in his career when he was facing Archie Moore, who was over the hill, or Charlie Powell, who never quite made it up the hill.

So why did Holyfield make this prediction?

That brings us to the second area.

* Evander, the devout.

Holyfield has made much of his faith. He has worn his religion on his sleeve without apologies.

But Lewis is the first fighter to attack that image, calling Holyfield a hypocrite for fathering five illegitimate children with four women while claiming to be a man of deep religious values.

“I only speak from reality,” Lewis said. “If I say that I don’t drink, but yet, I go out and drink, then I am a hypocrite. Simple as that. . . . I’m not saying anything in a mean sense. I’m just stating reality.”

Holyfield’s response?

“People make mistakes all the time,” he said. “The question is whether you can overcome them. I am not ashamed of the mistakes I have made.”

But Dino Duva, Lewis’ promoter, thinks Lewis’ hypocrite remark spawned the prediction by Holyfield.

“I think Lennox got under Evander’s skin,” Duva said. “I think Evander felt Lennox got the edge and he needed to get it back. And I think it has worked to Lennox’s advantage.

* Evander, the dedicated.

He always has been obsessed with staying in shape and focused before a fight.

But he awoke at dawn last Friday in Houston, worked out, then flew to Los Angeles and went on three television shows, held a news conference, looked over a documentary on his career, went to a Laker game and took a red-eye flight back to Houston.

All this eight days before the fight. Think he’s taking Lewis seriously?

The bottom line: Holyfield is the superior fighter, despite Lewis’ height and reach advantage. If Holyfield can get through the third-round expectations and its aftermath, he should win. If he loses, it will be because of the problems he brought on himself.

All that said, look for Holyfield to overcome the self-inflicted problems and win by knockout, not in the third round, but by the 10th.

Also on tonight’s card, Fernando Vargas of Oxnard (15-0, 15 knockouts) will defend his IBF junior middleweight title against Howard Clarke of England (26-10-2, eight knockouts), James Page (23-3, 18 knockouts) will defend his WBA welterweight crown against Sam Garr (25-2, 23 knockouts), and Johnny Ruiz (33-3, 24 knockouts) will defend his WBA North American heavyweight championship against Mario Cawley (21-1, 16 knockouts).

TONIGHT

Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis

Pay-per-view

6 PST

Madison Square Garden, New York

Tale of the Tape

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HOLYFIELD LEWIS 215 Weight 246 6-2 1/2 Height 6-5 77 1/2 Reach 84 43 Chest (normal) 44 45 Chest (expanded) 46 16 Biceps 17 12 1/2 Forearm 15 32 Waist 34 22 Thigh 26 13 Calf 18 19 1/2 Neck 18 1/2 7 1/2 Wrist 8 12 1/2 Fist 12

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