BOXING NOTES: LEWIS GETS A BOOST FROM HIS ENGLISH FANS.Byline: Michael Rosenthal Staff Writer The weigh-in Thursday for the Lennox Lewis-Evander Holyfield fight became a rally for Lewis. Hundreds of energized English fans, among the 6,000 expected for Saturday's title-unification fight here, yelled yell v. yelled, yell·ing, yells v.intr. To cry out loudly, as in pain, fright, surprise, or enthusiasm. v.tr. To utter or express with a loud cry. See Synonyms at shout. n. and screamed their support for their hero. Lewis, not one to show his emotions, beamed. And he had another reason to be happy: He should be a bit quicker in this fight than he was when the two drew in March. He weighed 242 pounds, four fewer than the first fight and the least he's weighed since he was 242 against Henry Akinwande Henry Akinwande (born October 12, 1965) is a professional heavyweight boxer and former WBO world champion. Akinwande was born in Lagos, Nigeria but turned professional in England. He made his professional debut in 1989 against Carlton Headley in London. in July of 1997. ``That says a lot,'' said television analyst Larry Merchant Larry Merchant (b. February 11, 1931 ) is a former sportswriter and longtime commentator for HBO Sports presentations of HBO World Championship Boxing, Boxing After Dark and HBO pay-per-view telecasts. In 1978, Merchant joined HBO Sports as an analyst. , implying that Lewis appears to be in excellent shape. Holyfield, who received only a smattering of applause when he was introduced, weighed 217, two more than he weighed the first time and equaling the second-most he's weighed in his career. He weighed 218 when he fought Mike Tyson Noun 1. Mike Tyson - United States prizefighter who was world heavyweight champion (born in 1966) Michael Gerald Tyson, Tyson the second time, in June of 1997. Inside info: Bill Benton, who operates the Houston gym at which Holyfield has trained his entire career, said the fighter wasn't fully prepared before the March bout. ``The energy just wasn't in camp like it was for the (Mike) Tyson fights,'' he said. ``He was dragging, everyone was dragging. When you're on the outside looking in, it's easy to see. ``And I know he wasn't feeling well (as Holyfield claimed after the fight). Nothing was quite right.'' What was the problem? ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. ,'' Benton said. ``Maybe he just didn't feel good, maybe he thought, `I'm Evander Holyfield Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield (born October 19, 1962 in Atmore, Alabama) is a professional boxer from the United States and a multiple world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. ,' and took Lewis lightly. ``I can tell you this, though: It's not like that this time. There was a spark spark, in electricity: see arc. (language) SPARK - An annotated subset of Ada supported by tools supplied by Praxis Critical Systems (originally by PVL). http://sparkada.com. . I don't think Lewis is going to be any better than he was last time. I know Evander's going to be a lot better.'' Tickets: Tickets remain for Saturday's fight. They're priced between $300 and $2000. Information: (702) 892-3285. |
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