HOLYFIELD FINALLY SOLVES MOORER: 5 KNOCKDOWNS.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer

It wasn't easy for Evander Holyfield to get to Michael Moorer. Once he did, though, the end came in spectacular - but not merciful - fashion.

Holyfield, coming off two fantastic victories over Mike Tyson, made it three thrillers in a row by knocking down Moorer five times and stopping him after the eighth round on Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center.

Holyfield, the ageless WBA champion, thus took Moorer's IBF crown and is one victory - over WBC champ Lennox Lewis - from unifying the three major titles.

He also avenged a 1994 loss to Moorer, one in which he claimed to have injured his shoulder in the second round and fought one-armed.

Moorer (39-2, with 31 knockouts) made it clear from the start that he would be difficult to solve, just as he was in that first fight. For the first several rounds, Holyfield (34-3, 24 KOs) seemed unable to contend with Moorer's left-handed stance and considerable skills. After six minutes, Holyfield hadn't landed a decent punch while Moorer was pecking away with his right jab and apparently building confidence.

In the third round, Holyfield finally was able to unload some hard punches. He trapped Moorer in a corner and got the better of a prolonged and fierce exchange, a theme that would continue through the rest of the fight.

Also in that round, Holyfield suffered a cut to the outside of his right eye - the result of a head butt - that didn't appear to be a significant factor.

``My corner finally told me, `Stop trying so hard,' '' Holyfield said. ``Once I pulled back, once I started to just tap a little and get his confidence up he could fight inside, that's when it started to change.''

The first truly big moment of the fight came with about 20 seconds remaining in the fifth round, when Holyfield, still not in complete control, landed a left, then a devastating followup right that sent Moorer staggering to the canvas. It was the beginning of the end.

In the seventh, Holyfield began to find his target with his best punches - many to the body - and with punishing regularity. Moorer went down from a left-right combination and then with a hard right uppercut.

Then came the end. Moorer, tiring and hurt, went down two more times in the eighth round yet somehow survived to reach his corner. However, Dr. Flip Homansky had seen enough: He advised referee Mitch Halpern to stop it and he did.

``When I checked him the last time, he did not focus and he did not look at me the way I needed him to,'' Homansky said. ``It was my impression that he could not go on.''

Moorer disagreed.

``No, the fight should not have been stopped,'' he said. ``Flip looked at me and I told him I was fine. . . . I still got up and fought.

``I beat him the first time. He beat me this time. Let' do it a third time.''

Not likely.

Holyfield's victory sets up the most attractive heavyweight matchup possible: Holyfield-Lewis, if the fight can be made.

Holyfield's goal - and source of his motivation - is to hold a unified championship. And Lewis is well aware that a victory over Holyfield would catapult him to the top of the boxing world.

Holyfield the unified title until he was outpointed by Riddick Bowe - his first loss - in 1993. Shortly afterward, Bowe gave up the WBC title and no one has been undisputed champion since.

At the post-fight news conference, promoters Dino Duva (Lewis) and Don King (Holyfield), said they would work toward that end.

``Lennox Lewis wants to unify, Evander wants to unify,'' Duva said. ``I hope we can sit down with Don and get it done.

``It's what boxing and the heavyweight division needs as soon as possible.

Holyfield is aligned.

``That's the only thing driving me,'' he said. Holyfield weighed 214, Moorer 223.

In preliminaries, Fabrice Tiozzo (37-1, 23 KOs) of France took the WBA cruiserweight title from Nate Miller (30-5, 26 KOs) by a close, but unanimous decision.

Tiozzo, the 34-year-old former WBC light heavyweight champion, won the fight primarily because he was much busier than Miller, who suffered a cut near his left eye in the middle rounds that didn't seem to bother him.

Neither fighter was seriously hurt.

The judges gave Tiozzo the nod 115-113, 115-113, 117-114.

Miller, who fights out of Philadelphia, scored an eighth-round knock out of Orlin Norris in 1995 to win the title. This was his fifth defense. He, too, is 34.

Wilfredo Vazquez (50-7-3, 37 KOs) of Puerto Rico outpointed unknown Genaro Rios (16-4, seven KOs) of Nicaragua to retain his WBA featherweight crown - a decision some believed should have gone the other way.

Vazquez won by scores of 116-112, 117-113, 115-114.

Rios, who thought he had won, wants a rematch and Vazquez says he'll oblige.

``I was surprised,'' Vazquez said. ``I thought he was going to be easier. He has a good heart. He does deserve a rematch.''

Vazquez, who won the title when he stopped Eloy Rojas in May of last year, was defending for the fourth time. The three-time champion is 36.

And Imamu Mayfield (17-1, 13 KOs) easily outpointed Uriah Grant (26-13, 24 KOs) to win Grant's IBF cruiserweight championship.

Mayfield, 25, was too young and too quick for the older man. With Mayfield running all fight, Grant simply couldn't catch him to hit him with any consistency.

At the same time, Mayfield landed enough punches to build a big lead and hold it. He knocked down Grant and hurt him with a left hook in the fifth round but couldn't finish him.

The judges scored it 115-112, 116-111, 117-110 in Mayfield's favor.

Grant defeated Adolpho Washington on points in June to win the championship - his third title shot - and was making his first defense. He won his only title at 35, after 13 years in the ring.

``My hat is off to Uriah Grant,'' Mayfield said. ``I saw him fight Al Cole twice (two losses). I knew he took a long hard road to get the title.''

Mayfield weighed 188, Grant 190.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Evander Holyfield hits Michael Moorer in the first round.

(2) Holyfield had trouble in the early rounds with Moorer's left-handed stance but eventually landed some damaging right uppercuts in avenging an earlier defeat.

(3) Holyfield, left, decked Moorer twice in the seventh and three times in the eighth to claim the IBF title.

Associated Press