Seven years down the line, Lewis remains an also ran

Seven years down the line, Lewis remains an also ran
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

New York, April 29: Muhammad Ali was simply ``The Greatest''. Larry Holmes and George Foreman dominated. Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield had glorious moments. Mike Tyson was amazing until prison time took its toll.

In their wake comes Britain's Lennox Lewis, the undisputed heavyweight champion entering Saturday night's showdown with unbeaten American challenger Michael Grant here at Madison Square Garden, an arena echoing memories of legends.

Toiling for years as the janitor of heavyweights, Lewis waited as promoter Don King shuffled titles among his stable of fighters. It took nearly seven years for Lewis, now 34, to go from ``a'' champion to ``the'' champion.

``Lewis is the first champion who needed two good fists in the ring and two good lawyers outside of it,'' said Lewis' promoter, Panos Eliades.

Even as Lewis enjoys the pinnacle, critics decry his cautious approach in the ring. ``He is not what people want,'' said Don Turner, who has trained Grant, Henry Akinwande and Holyfield to face Lewis. ``They'd rather see Tyson or Holyfield. It's unjust. He wins. You don't be a two-time champion and Olympic champion without having something. He just fights differently. People don't want to accept that. He's a typical English fighter.''

Even Lewis' trainer, Emanuel Steward, has become frustrated with his fighter not fulfilling the promise in fights that he shows in workouts.

``I no longer can brag about this great talent if it doesn't come out in this fight,'' Steward said. ``I'm tired of saying it. I know it has never been shown.''

Steward has pushed Lewis to make the risky move of dumping the sport's sanctioning bodies and fighting on his reputation as the world heavyweight king, a notion not done since Ali's glory days more than 30 years ago.

``Lennox Lewis, with his talent, would have been a strong fighter in any era,'' Steward said. ``Even if you don't have big names to fight, if you are impressive and exciting, people will want to see you. If you start dominating that way, you can still get acclaim.''

But the question lingers -- is Lewis one for the ages or merely number one until he ages?

``My legacy won't be apparent until I'm through boxing,'' Lewis said. ``In America, I'm judged the outsider. They only respect American boxers. But maybe that's the reason I have become so successful. Different barriers have been put in my way and I have had to strive to clear them.''

``I'm an outside guy who worked his way in and who kept away from bad managers and bad promoters.''

He means King, who forced upon Lewis such foes as Oliver McCall, who suffered an emotional breakdown in the ring, and Akin Wande, who hugged Lewis through a humiliating disqualification.

``Promoters have frozen me out. Opponents have hugged me, have broken down in the ring. Each situation has only helped me get stronger,'' Lewis said.

A sign of boxing's troubles is on display only a short drive from the Garden in a federal courtroom where International Boxing Federation officials face bribery charges for taking pay-offs to manipulate rankings and create specific world title match-ups.

With King among the promoters accused of buying into the scheme and US lawmakers again considering a boxing reform bill aimed at fight backers, the corrupt system Lewis fought for so long might at last face change.

That would leave Lewis only one rival of his era unchallenged -- Tyson. The convicted rapist and once-banished ear-biter's oft-postponed bout with fellow American Lou Savarese is now set for June 24, most likely in Glasgow, Scotland, instead of Milan, Italy.

``I'm sure the public would love to see me fight Mike Tyson. But he has other things on his mind right now,'' Lewis said. ``I don't believe Tyson wants to fight right now.''

Tyson attracted big attention at his January's second-round knock-out of Julius Francis in Manchester. And Tyson advisor Shelly Finkel is quick to jab at Lewis.

``Lennox has the belts. But aside from that, look at Lennox's drawing ability as opposed to Mike's even in his own country,'' Finkel said.

Lewis plans his next fight in July at London Arena, his first European fight in five years and first London bout since suffering his only defeat there in 1994 to McCall.

South Africa's Francois Botha, Ukranian Wladimir Klistschko and New Zealand's David Tua, the top-rated IBF contender mandated a title fight by mid-November, are likely future foes for Lewis.