Boxing: Mike Tyson is a coward and a biter.. they might have to put him in a muzzle; GRAPPLE IN THE APPLE: LENNOX LEWIS REVEALS ALL.

Byline: John DILLON Boxing Correspondent

CHUMP OUT OF CHAMP: Lewis points to where Tyson bit him on the legLENNOX LEWIS has always been a fighter who takes calculated risks rather than gambles. He usually likes the odds stacked nicely his way too.

So he will face one the most testing decisions of his long heavyweight career if his proposed clash with Mike Tyson is somehow dragged back from the brink of total collapse and resurrected away from Las Vegas.

It is one that will involve a careful analysis of the possibilities of Tyson perpetrating another of his infamous ring outrages upon Lewis.

And, no doubt, involve a study of the large, grisly scar imprinted upon the world heavyweight champion's right thigh by a crazed and savage Iron Mike in their brawl in New York last week.

As boxing went into a demented spin yesterday following rejection of Tyson's application for a licence to box in Nevada and the subsequent scrapping of his April 6 showdown with Lewis, nobody knew what would happen next.

Lewis still wants to fight. He wants to hammer Tyson and he wants the projected pounds 30million he could pick up for doing so.

But amid all the confusion, he knows - just like mutilated Evander Holyfield does - that there is extraordinary danger in inflicting humiliation upon Tyson in the ring.

Lewis said last night: "I am a boxer and a fighter. Mike Tyson is a coward and a biter. They might have to put him in a muzzle.

"How can you guarantee that he won't try to bite me again? You can't, and that has to be a big concern.

"You can't listen to what he promises. He said nothing would happen at the press conference in New York, but as soon as he stepped on the stage he came marching at me and threw down his hat, then threw a punch.

"Even if you put in a clause saying he would lose all his money if he bit me, he wouldn't care. That is the type of guy he is. He has just walked away from 20 million dollars, hasn't he?

"I would fight him in any country, but I would also want him to seek help. He needs it. I'd want that before I would get in the ring with him.

"But it would be difficult to bite me a second time. Last week I wasn't expecting it, just like Evander Holyfield wasn't expecting it back in 1997. My talent and skill would help me as far as that goes. Even so, biting is the kind of thing you can't prepare for."

Right now in America, Tyson's management team are trawling around for some easy-going state or some welcoming foreign nation which will grant Tyson a licence, despite his history of outrages in and out of the ring, his two previous jail terms and the threat of new charges for rape which could hit him by the end of the week.

The NSAC were prompted to reject him not so much by the punches Tyson threw during the melee in New York but by the manic, four-letter tirade of sexual insults he then sprayed around the Hudson Theatre.

I watched that all happen and I believe the Commission's decision is correct. Tyson is clearly a man in need of psychiatric help rather than the millions of dollars he can earn from fighting Lewis.

However, Lewis said: "I am optimistic the fight will take place because there is a lot of money involved and a lot of people still want it to happen."

As an intelligent and articulate man, Lewis knows the public is enthralled by the prospect of the giant, talented good guy Lewis taking on the rampant beast Tyson.

"People will want to tune in to see if he is going to bite again," said Lewis. "That is the fascination for a lot of people."

His comments seem callous, but they are just honest. Big, softly-spoken Lewis is a man with a bigger conscience than most in boxing. As Tyson told the commissioners in Las Vegas that he never had a friend in the world, Lewis watched on TV and felt sympathy. He also fears for what might happen to Tyson if his boxing career is now to end.

Lewis added: "I definitely felt sorry for him. You can't help but feel that. At least boxing gives him a purpose.

"I would worry for him when it is all over. Boxing is what he does. He is better off in camp rather than on the street getting into problems. It keeps him occupied.

"Everybody's suspicion was that he staged the punch-up to try to get out of the fight and I go with the consensus. Now, if we do fight, I think I'll have the psychological advantage. He's scared of me. I've proven I am not scared of him."