Lewis not ruling out a bout against Tyson

Dean Juipe

Friday, Oct. 15, 1999 | 9:50 a.m.

While his focus is riveted on Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis admits a fight with Mike Tyson could be in his future.

Lewis, the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion who will fight Holyfield Nov. 13 at the Thomas & Mack Center, said Thursday during a conference call that a fight with Tyson intrigues him.

"Tyson is the only other boxer I see (fighting in the future) right now," Lewis said, dismissing potential bouts with such heavyweight contenders as Michael Grant and David Tua. Tyson, of course, has a fight in Las Vegas that will precede the one involving Lewis, as he'll face Orlin Norris Oct. 23 at the MGM Grand Garden.

Should Lewis defeat Holyfield, who holds the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation championships, a Lewis vs. Tyson fight next year would prove to be a lucrative bout for each man.

But both have work to do before looking too far ahead. In Lewis' case, he must defeat a man who held him to a controversial draw when they fought March 13 in New York.

"Vegas is known to have good judging," he said, although the officials for his fight have yet to be selected. "Their judges have been looked at with a fine-toothed comb. I've got good confidence in the Vegas judges."

Asked for his greatest concern in his upcoming fight, Lewis said it was Holyfield's penchant to head butt his opponent. It's a complaint that Tyson also expressed and is the reason, he claims, that he bit Holyfield's ear during their 1997 fight in Las Vegas.

"I didn't realize until I fought him how much Evander uses his noggin," Lewis said from his training camp in upstate Pennsylvania. "He tries to come in with a head butt, so we've put in a defense for that.

"My only concern is his head butting. Being in there with him, he does it as a matter of quota. He actually practices his head butt on a heavy bag."

Lewis, 34, is 34-1-1 with 27 knockouts. Holyfield, 37 next Tuesday, is 36-3-1 with 25 KOs. Lewis is a slight betting favorite in Las Vegas sports books.

"It's an advantage (to have fought him once)," Lewis said. "He's had more big heavyweight fights, and I find I learn from each big heavyweight fight I have. It makes my job easier."

Lewis said he would look for a knockout victory while not taking any unnecessary risks.

"I really feel I need a knockout," he said. "I'm planning on trying to knock him out, but I'm not going in thinking 'boy, I've got to knock him out.' But I've been in there with him once, so I know it's definitely conceivable that I can knock him out."

And as for what Holyfield would have to do to defeat him, Lewis was blunt and to the point.

"The only way I lose this fight is if I stick my chin out and say 'Evander Holyfield, hit me,' " Lewis said of a strategic mistake he presumably does not expect to make.