HOLYFIELD SHOULDN'T LET BUCKS DERAIL LEWIS BOUT.

Byline: MICHAEL ROSENTHAL Boxing

Evander Holyfield has long claimed that his primary motivation these days is to unify the heavyweight title. He said it again only days ago.

Well, he'll soon have a chance to back it up with deeds.

First, there's Henry Akinwande, the reasonably talented but gutless No. 1 WBA contender who will try but fail to take away Holyfield's WBA and IBF heavyweight titles on June 6 in New York.

After that fight, it will be time to put the focus back on WBC champion Lennox Lewis.

Negotiations for a Holyfield-Lewis fight broke down in January over the one thing Holyfield has said doesn't drive him: money.

Holyfield refused to accept less than a guaranteed $20 million, the amount he received from Showtime when he knocked out Michael Moorer in November. However, Time Warner's TVKO, which has the rights to Lewis' fights, wouldn't go that high and Holyfield walked away.

The champion said afterward the reason he balked was loyalty to Showtime. He said Showtime employees told their bosses they could do no better than $20 million. How would they look, Holyfield reasoned, if he accepted less from rival TVKO?

As crazy as it sounds, Holyfield probably was trying to be ethical to some extent.

At the same time, he should give us all a break: This is a business, a rough business. You make the best deal you can, sign on the dotted line, fight and then begin negotiations for the next deal.

For Holyfield's sake, the next deal had better be with Lewis.

If money stands in the way again, his sterling reputation is going to suffer. After two failures to make the only compelling heavyweight fight out there, it will be clear his top priority is money, not his legacy.

Of course, there's Mike Tyson, who is expected to have his license reinstated in July. However, he probably wouldn't be ready for a lucrative Holyfield-Tyson III by the end of the year, which leaves time for Lewis and a unified title.

A recent comment made by Holyfield isn't encouraging.

He blamed the inability to make the unification bout on a ``dispute between two networks.''

``I choose to fight on Showtime because they treat me right,'' he said. ``They give me the opportunity to maximize the dollars as well. One network (TVKO) doesn't want to risk the chance of losing their heavyweight (Lewis), to sacrifice and give the public what they want.''

That doesn't sound like a guy who wants to unify the title.

Clearly, it's in Holyfield's hands: He could draw some much-needed attention to the heavyweight division and make a significant chunk of cash or he could stick to his guns and everyone will suffer.

Akinwande? No one thinks much of Akinwande after he was disqualified in the fifth round for clutching and grabbing Lewis in a title fight in July.

Holyfield had to reach when asked about the legitimacy of the bout.

``One thing that you have to realize is that I tend to bring the best out of people who I'm fighting,'' he said. ``They always go up another notch. I never fought anybody who fought below their standards.

``I don't look for Akinwande to lay down.''

A lot of people will be surprised if he doesn't.

Argh!: George Foreman-Larry Holmes? For how many millions? Oh no.

Ol' black and blue eyes: Frank Sinatra, whose father had a short pro career, was a huge boxing fan.

In the 1940s, when bobby soxers were swooning over him, he was an adviser to heavyweight contender Tami Mauriello, who was knocked out by Joe Louis in his only title shot.

Sinatra also had a significant presence in boxing in Los Angeles.

He promoted a heavyweight championship-elimination bout between Jersey Joe Walcott and Joey Maxim at the old Gilmore Field. The winner, Walcott, went on to face Louis for the title and lost a controversial decision.

Sinatra also co-managed lightweight contender Sisco Andrade. He played a central role in an incident that preceded a bout between Andrade and Art Aragon at Wrigley Field, another venue that no longer exists.

Aragon, a bleeder, came out of his dressing room with a protective substance called collodion on his brow. Andrade's other manager, Ralph Gambina, threatened to pull out of the fight as a result until Sinatra stepped in.

``Ralph said, `There'll be no fight.' Then Frank said, `There's going to be a fight. Get into the ring,' and the fight went on,'' said John Hall, a longtime local sportswriter.

``He was always a terrific boxing fan. He loved the heavyweights.''

Hall recalled the night he, fellow scribe Bud Furillo and Rocky Marciano met Sinatra on the 20th Century set when he was filming ``Can Can.'' The four went to Sinatra's Beverly Hills restaurant and spent the evening together.

``Frank loved seeing Marciano. It was a great night,'' Hall said.

Future matchup? Olympian Fernando Vargas of Oxnard will fight Anthony Stephens in a 10-round junior middleweight bout June 23 in Philadelphia.

Olympic champion David Reid will face former world champ Simon Brown four days later also in Philadelphia.

``Four days apart and four blocks apart,'' said Lou Duva, Vargas' co-manager. ``Unfortunately, that's as close to a boxing ring as Fernando Vargas will get with David Reid because America Presents (Reid's promotional firm) doesn't want any part of Fernando.

``We'd fight David tomorrow. Just show us the dotted line.''

The trash talk between two of the world's most promising fighters has begun.

COMING UP

Tonight: At the Forum, Ed Mahone faces Ernesto Moreno in a 10-round heavyweight bout. Also, Nester Garza takes on Freddy Cruz in a 10-round junior featherweight matchup.

Tuesday: On USA, Wayne McCullough faces Juan Polo-Perez in a 10-round featherweight bout in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Friday: On ESPN, Bronco McKart faces Carl Daniels in a 12-round junior middleweight bout in Monroe, Mich. Also, Adolpho Washington faces Orlin Norris in a 12-round cruiserweight fight.

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BOX: COMING UP (see text)