IF THE TV MONEY'S RIGHT, HOLYFIELD, LEWIS WILL MEET.

Byline: MICHAEL ROSENTHAL / Boxing

Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. It's a natural. And the most attractive - only attractive? - heavyweight matchup that can be made with Mike Tyson temporarily out of the picture.

Holyfield, coming off two victories over Tyson and now a monstrous knockout of Michael Moorer to unify the WBA and IBF championships here on Saturday, is the division's principal attraction. The idea of unifying the title is what drives him at 35.

Lewis, the WBC titleholder, appears finally to be realizing his immense potential. He understands he would be the force in boxing if he beat Holyfield and he's dying to try.

Let's get ready to rumble? Maybe, maybe not.

The biggest obstacle is what makes the boxing world go 'round: money.

The prospective promotional team for the fight will anxiously await the pay-per-view numbers from Saturday's bout. If they're high, great, let's start the negotiations. If they're low, well, we could have a problem.

Jay Larkin, head of Showtime sports, expected no fewer than the 650,000 the first Holyfield-Moorer fight drew but that was a guess, perhaps an optimistic one. Given the limited interest in the fight and a Thomas & Mack Center that was a third empty, that figure could be even lower. Remember, Lewis drew only 225,000 for a much-publicized matchup with Andrew Golota, which was a bad sign.

If it turns out that 1 million buy rates were suspended along with Tyson, the promoters admitted, it could be difficult to guarantee the kind of money Holyfield and Lewis are likely to demand: Perhaps $30 million and $20 million, respectively.

Lewis' manager, Frank Maloney, suggested a 1.2 million buy rate would be necessary to cover such gigantic purses. Assuming such a figure is based in fantasy, Maloney hinted, all parties might have to bend.

``It all depends on how the pay-per-view does,'' Maloney said. ``. . . We're going to have to come up with realistic figures to make the fight.''

Other obstacles exist, although promoters don't seem to think they will block the fight if the money is there.

No. 1: Marginal contenders Orlin Norris, who has filed a lawsuit, and Vaughn Bean contend they are next in line to fight for a world title based on corrupt ratings systems in each of the three sanctioning bodies. Those cases are being sorted out.

No. 2: Both fighters have mandatory defenses on the horizon. However, there is plenty of time to stage Holyfield-Lewis before any of the mandatories come due.

``None of that is a factor,'' said Dino Duva, Lewis' promoter. ``Economics is the main obstacle.''

An encouraging note is that all parties seem to want to make the fight or, in Don King's case, are at least open to it. And why not?

Even with the questions regarding the public's interest, no other fight could generate the kind of money this one would. Any other matchup likely would fall flat, hurting the fighters, the promoters, the division and the sport.

Now, let's wait and see how Saturday's fight did.

Ageless: To think that Holyfield had been written off as a has-been only a year and two days ago.

In November of 1995, he was knocked out by Riddick Bowe. Six months later, in May of last year, he struggled to a victory over cruiserweight Bobby Czyz, which seemed to confirm his decline.

Few could have predicted what would happen next.

On Nov. 9 of last year, at 34, Holyfield stopped Mike Tyson in the greatest performance of his career; he beat Tyson again in June in the infamous ear-biting fight; and, on Saturday, he destroyed a competent, game heavyweight.

It didn't start that way against Moorer.

Holyfield had difficulty with Moorer's left-handed stance and solid skills. Lewis' trainer, Emanuel Steward, said Holyfield failed to get to Moorer in the early rounds because he tried to fight from the outside.

Holyfield's response? He dropped his guard in an attempt to get Moorer to exchange punches with him and it worked. Holyfield then proceeded to dig vicious punches to both Moorer's flabby gut - which seemed to take the fight out of him - and head. Once he began to connect consistently to the head, he rendered Moorer helpless prey.

It was both a remarkable display of brute force and a masterful boxing performance. This, from a 35-year-old who has been in so many wars and was thought to be finished a year ago.

Plenty of guts: Moorer should be given credit.

Clearly, he was overmatched by Holyfield's strength and unrivaled determination. However, he took Holyfield's best shots and kept coming back - right until the end.

After the third of the five knockdowns, Moorer got up and summoned Holyfield with his gloves, implying: ``C'mon, give me more.'' That's guts.

``No, I wasn't surprised he got up,'' Holyfield said. ``It's his will. When you come to win, it shows the courage and desire that you have when you want to win. This individual showed that determination.''

COMING UP

Tonight: At the Forum, Oscar Vaquero Maldonado faces Francisco Tejedor in a 10-round bantamweight bout. Also, Jose Carita Lopez takes on Fernando Valencia in a 10-round flyweight matchup.

Tuesday: On USA television, John John Molina faces Moses James in a 10-round lightweight bout in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Saturday: P.J. Goossen of North Hollywood faces Roberto Duran in a 10-round super middleweight fight in South Africa. Also on that card, Vuyani Bungu defends his IBF junior featherweight title against Arnel Barotillo.

Also Saturday, on Telemundo, Cesar Bazan and Joel Perez fight for the vacant NABF lightweight title in Coachella, Calif.

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BOX: COMING UP (see text)