Columnist Dean Juipe: Holyfield, Lewis could salvage ‘99

Dean Juipe

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 1999 | 10:40 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@vegas.com or 259-4084.

Barely a year has gone by in this century without the sport of boxing appearing as if it's on its last legs and that it couldn't get any worse.

It must be an illusion, but each year seems less tolerable than the one that preceded it.

On the one hand, the fact that boxing still exists (and prospers) proves its fans are relatively indefatigable and have a huge tolerance -- if not appetite -- for the tawdry side of the sport that includes endless mismatches, allegations of fixes and disgusting letdowns. For those who care, it's as if boxing's few glimmering moments are a sufficient trade-off for its many exasperating disappointments.

Along those same lines, sources say wealthy cable networks HBO and Showtime have committed to pouring greater resources -- i.e., money, dates and exposure -- into boxing during the year 2000.

And yet 1999 nears a close with the sport in its typical state of perpetual disarray and in the midst of a year that has failed to produce a major fight that lived up to expectations.

Consider: Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis March 13 in New York City turns out not to be a fight worthy of determining the undisputed heavyweight champion, but ends in an unbelievable draw that leads to governmental inquiries and a belief in many quarters that the bout was out-and-out fixed; Felix Trinidad vs. Oscar De La Hoya Sept. 18 in Las Vegas falls well short of its advance hype and turns into a monotonous evening in which the two welterweight sluggers may as well have worn skirts; and Mike Tyson vs. Orlin Norris Oct. 23 in Las Vegas is aborted after a single round when Tyson throws a late punch and Norris may have feigned an injury.

In addition, needless sanctioning organizations have done nothing but continue to propagate; supposed pound-for-pound champion Roy Jones has become invisible; budding superstar Naseem Hamed has emerged as more clown than prince; and none of the marquee mid-weight champions (like David Reid and Fernando Vargas) want to risk fighting one another.

Into this dismal backdrop comes the Holyfield vs. Lewis rematch Nov. 13 at the Thomas & Mack Center, and both men are fully aware of how badly the sport needs a fulfilling action-packed fight to at least partially soothe the earlier embarrassments of 1999.

"You're right," Lewis said during a Tuesday conference call from his training camp in Pennsylvania. "The world is starving for an exciting fight and I'm going to do my part. I think it's really important (and) I'm going to do my utmost best."

Holyfield, speaking from Houston, promised "I'm coming to fight" when asked about ending the year on a high note, although his credibility suffered when he maintained "there's no doubt I did my part the first time."

He's fibbing with that latter remark, as he did little to earn his draw with Lewis in New York. But boxers rarely are on the up and up, and, as Lewis added, "boxing has never had a clean book."

That's for sure, as this is a sport riddled with improprieties, colossal injustices and degrading practices. But it is what it is, and a century of mishaps have yet to inch it toward the grave.

That said, it would be nice to see Holyfield and Lewis break the trend and produce the kind of fight people want to see. But there's no guarantee they will.