Columnist Jeff Haney: Banker leaning toward Lewis in title bout

Wednesday, April 26, 2000 | 9:46 a.m.

Jeff Haney's sports betting column appears Wednesday. Reach him at 259-4041 or haney@lasvegassun.com

Boxing bettors who put money on Lennox Lewis in his last several fights not only cashed most of their tickets (the one exception was a disputed draw), but also found Lewis to be a relative bargain for a heavyweight champion.

In his most recent bout, last Nov. 13, Lewis was a minus 200 favorite against Evander Holyfield.

That's not a bad price considering most observers thought Lewis dominated Holyfield in their first meeting on March 13, 1999. In that fight, a controversial draw, Lewis was a minus 150 favorite.

In Lewis' two previous bouts, both against opponents of lesser caliber, the number was a bit steeper. Lewis was a 7-1 favorite in his 12-round unanimous decision over Zeljko Mavrovic (Sept. 26, 1998) and a 12-1 favorite in a fifth-round knockout of Shannon Briggs (March 28, 1998).

But a few months before the Briggs fight, Lewis was only a minus 120 favorite against Andrew Golota on Oct. 4, 1997. Lewis breezed to a first-round knockout in that bout.

Those are the kinds of prices that both bookmakers and gamblers can live with -- close enough to encourage betting on the fight, competitive enough to generate plenty of two-way action.

They also stand in stark contrast to the odds often seen when some of boxing's other big names step into the ring.

Mike Tyson, for instance, has been such a big favorite in many of his fights that recreational gamblers have had to resort to betting the round proposition rather than a side.

Roy Jones Jr. routinely commands prices between 20 and 30-1. And at the Hard Rock hotel-casino in January, "Sugar" Shane Mosley was something like 42-1.

But in Saturday's heavyweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, bettors can again grab Lewis at a much more reasonable price.

Lewis opened at minus 220 against challenger Michael Grant, and has been bet up to minus 300, according to odds listed at the Mandalay Bay sports book Tuesday.

Legendary Las Vegas sports bettor Lem Banker believes that price is right. Banker is leaning toward the champion.

"I've been following boxing for more than half a century," said Banker, a New York native and longtime Las Vegas resident. "I've seen practically every big fight. In this one I like Lewis."

Lewis brings a professional record of 35-1-1 (27 KOs) into Saturday's bout. He capped his amateur career by winning the gold medal for Canada in the 1988 Olympics with a knockout of Riddick Bowe -- a fight Banker still remembers well.

"He was a great Olympian," Banker said. "He beat Bowe, he beat everybody. In the pros, everybody's tried to avoid (fighting) him.

"He beat up Holyfield the first time. They say it was a draw, but that was a robbery."

Lewis' only loss came against Oliver McCall, a plus 550 underdog, on Sept. 24, 1994. McCall stunned Lewis with a second-round KO. That knockout punch has been described by some as "lucky" or even "sucker."

Banker prefers to call it "perfect."

"McCall hit him with a perfect punch in London, knocked him out," Banker said. "The first time, the only time, Lewis lost."

The takeback on Grant is plus 230. Unbeaten at 31-0 (22 KOs), Grant is coming off two fights in which he was a decided favorite: Andrew Golota lost to Grant on a 10th-round knockout as a 6-1 underdog last Nov. 20, and Lou Savarese, a 15-1 'dog, dropped a unanimous decision last June 20.

"(Grant) is an up-and-comer, a big strong guy," Banker said. "But he has a very mechanical style. ... I'm going with the favorite."

Incidentally, Banker, one of the most savvy boxing bettors in any city, made it a point to credit the Las Vegas print media for its coverage of the sport. That's a refreshing "old school" view in this digital age, when many handicappers would rather be sentenced to a lifetime of video keno than lose their Internet connection.

"You know how on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire,' you have a lifeline?" Banker said. "Well, (Sun boxing writer) Dean Juipe is one of my lifelines."

* FIGHT PROPS: The over/under on Saturday's Lewis-Grant bout is nine rounds, with the over at minus 160 at Mandalay Bay, bet up from an opening number of minus 130. The takeback on the under 9 full is plus 120.

Lewis by knockout is 8-5 (down from an opening line of 5-2); Lewis by decision is 9-5 (down slightly from 2-1); Grant by knockout is 4-1 (up from 3-1); and Grant by decision is 5-1 (up from 4-1). A 12-round draw, which opened at 18-1, is currently 20-1.

Bettors can also choose the knockout round. Odds range from 10-1 (Lewis 8th, Lewis in 9th) to 30-1 (Grant in 1st).