Lewis ready for war with Tua

Dean Juipe

Friday, Nov. 10, 2000 | 10:29 a.m.

The weigh-in was 55 minutes away when they opened the doors and the public streamed in, confiscating every available chair.

As far as these boxing fans were concerned, this was a big deal.

At the appointed hour heavyweights Lennox Lewis and David Tua were on a stage in a conference room at Mandalay Bay, dutifully going through the weigh-in ritual. They mugged, they posed, they acknowledged their supporters.

For Tua, it was a new experience at this level.

For Lewis, who will take part in his 14th world championship fight when he faces Tua Saturday night, it was a mere formality.

"He's not treating it any different," his promoter, Panos Eliades, said, comparing Lewis' mental outlook going into this fight with Tua to previous fights with the likes of Evander Holyfield, and, more recently, Michael Grant and Frans Botha.

"Lennox is a professional," Eliades added. "He treats every fight with respect because he knows to lose means to go back to square one."

Eliades doesn't believe his man will lose and bettors are tending to agree. The odds in the Mandalay Bay sports book remain Lewis minus 330 and Tua plus 270.

"It could be a very close fight but I personally believe Lennox will win maybe 10 of the 12 rounds and win on points," Eliades said. "It's not going to be an easy fight and, I admit, it could go either way.

"But if Lennox keeps Tua at the end of his jab, maybe it won't be that hard.

"But if he lets Tua get in close, then he could get hurt."

Lewis, 35, is 37-1-1 with 29 knockouts.

Tua, 27, is 37-1 with 32 KOs.

As of Thursday evening, fewer than 400 tickets were unsold for a fight that will be held in the casino's 12,000-seat Events Center. Of those 400, most are in the $500 section.

The 5-foot-10 Tua, a native of Western Samoa, weighed in at 245 pounds.

The 6-foot-5 Lewis, an Englishman, came in at 249.

The obligatory stare down followed their trips to the scales, with Tua looking deadly serious until Lewis turned away. Tua then smiled broadly and gestured to his supporters, some of whom may have seen him work out earlier in the day at his training site near Mount Charleston.

Tua invited some 150 countrymen and fans to the Prince Ranch Lodge, where the onlookers serenaded him and the fighter confirmed his commitment to winning a bout that will have Lewis' International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council championships at stake.

"It's tattooed in my mind that this is my destiny," Tua said, aiming to snag the belts Lewis has had in his possession on and off since 1993.

The main event and its companion attractions can be seen on pay-per-view and at 13 closed-circuit sites in Las Vegas. The first live fight is 4 p.m. and the televised portion of the card begins two hours later.

Tua -- who will earn $3.5 million -- and Lewis -- who will receive $8 million -- are due in the ring around 8:30.