Boxing: LEWIS REIGN IS HAUNTED BY GHOST OF TYSON PAST.

Byline: John DILLON 

LENNOX LEWIS'S life is haunted every day by Mike Tyson, but tonight he must confront and quell a spectre he has met only once before.

The prospect of an unthinkable defeat chills Lewis's clash with David Tua here like few before in his 39-fight career - and certainly like none since he ascended to the throne of undisputed world heavyweight champion.

While the boxing world continues to chatter excitedly and incessantly about a potential meeting between Lewis and Tyson next year, Samoan Tua could be the man who shatters all of the grandiose plans.

Lewis, in his cool, easy way, is insistent there will never be a repeat of the single blemish on his professional record, the defeat in 1994 by Oliver McCall, which cost him a world title belt and wrecked a similar set of ideas for the future.

But both Lewis and his trainer Emanuel Steward agree that the bullish, destructive Tua presents a greater threat than Tyson, who may be ringside at the Mandalay Bay casino on Las Vegas's Strip.

Lewis said: "Fighting Tyson could be like fighting a ghost of his old self. Fighting Tua may be much more difficult. But I need a dangerous fight now to keep my adrenalin going and to bring out the best in me.

"I have beaten all of my competition. What I want is a test and Tua will give me that because he seems to have power. It is not enough to beat me, no way He has never been up against anyone of my standard and the guys he has knocked out were not in my class.

"But you have to rate the power of anybody who weighs more than 240 pounds like Tua."

Steward added: "Tua is more dangerous than Tyson, believe me. This guy could take you out with a single blow. It is realistic to say that Lennox could be just one punch away from losing his title.

"Yeah, Tyson has always punished opponents with more speed and intensity, but he eventually slows down at some point in the fight.

"Tua is dangerous all the time. He can punch good early, middle and late in a fight."

It is ironic that the biggest threat to the year-long reign of the 6ft 5ins Lewis as undisputed world champion should come from a fighter who is only 5ft 10ins.

Tua, 27, licks his hair into a crazy, electric-shock style using lemon juice to make it stand on end and give the impression of extra height.

The real power surges through his squat and stocky 245lbs frame and it has helped him knock out 32 of his 37 victims.

They include some of the fringe top 10 contenders of recent years, including John Ruiz, David Izon, Hasim Rahman and the Russian Oleg Maskaev. Ruiz was knocked out in the first round, but significantly Izon was dispatched in the 12th and Maskaev in the 11th.

That shows stamina and the ability to explode near the end of a fight.

Such qualities are the product of a tough childhood on an island in the South Pacific in which Tua's father went out daily recruiting fighting partners to test his boy's strength and spirit.

"My dad would be watching with a strap in his hand - to hit me if I didn't win or the opponent if he did not try hard enough," said Tua. "It was hard but he was doing it to help me succeed."

When Tua's family moved to the same gritty district of Auckland in New Zealand, which produced rugby star Jonah Lomu, it toughened him up still further. The reward was a hugely successful amateur career and a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

A devastating left hook is the weapon which has hoisted him into the position of being the mandatory challenger for Lewis's IBF version of the world title.

He has never been put down or cut and has been beaten just once, losing a controversial points decision. Tua has knocked out eight of his nine opponents since, although most have been men who would not threaten the lucrative prospect of a meeting with Lewis.

Tua said: "I am not a boxer. I know that. I am a fighter. The only way I am going to win is to knock him out. I am not going to let it go to the judges. No sir. I am going after him. I am going to seize the moment." What will crush those plans are the immense size, strength and experience of Lewis.

At 35, he has hit his peak - as his two victims this year, Michael Grant and Frans Botha, have both testified after he knocked each out in two rounds.

Lewis believes in his own skills. And since his historic defeat of Evander Holyfield last November, he has discovered a new belief in the strength of his mind and character as well.

It will give him the confidence and patience to out-box and wear down Tua rather than riskily go gunning for him.

Lewis added: "This isn't just a business. It is a sport too and I am trying to show some of its sweet science.

"Defence, attack, combination punching - these are the things people should be looking at the sport for.

"But if Tua only has power to bring to the table, all he is going to be doing is walk into my punches.''

Lewis could stop Tua late in the fight, probably the ninth round.