LACKING PUNCH; PROMOTERS, TV AND POLITICS ARE REASONS FIGHTS LIKE HOLYFIELD VS. LEWIS ARE NOT BEING MADE.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer

Ask those in boxing what ails the sport most and they point at each other.

The promoters blame the television people. The television people blame the promoters. And no one is crazy about the organizations that rank fighters and sanction championship bouts. Some even blame the fighters themselves.

One thing everyone agrees upon is the sport isn't giving the public the fights it wants to see.

What was the last truly big fight? Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield II - last June 28. And there's nothing on the horizon.

While boxing remains a viable money-maker, those who make their living in the business fear the sport will continue to suffer if it doesn't change its ways.

``It'll survive. It always does. The thing is, it could be a vibrant sport and it isn't,'' said Bob Arum, one of the biggest promoters in the business.

Because of its inherent violence, boxing will always have its detractors. Others oppose the greedy promoters and handlers, who exploit fighters for the almighty buck. The sport's governing bodies, with questionable scoring and sanctioning bodies, create credibility problems. And, of course, there is the strange behavior in the ring.

Each of the above has been a part of the sport since the first pair of gloves were laced up. A sport this violent can only be made so safe. And greed, well, that's a part that won't go away as long as million-dollar purses are prevalent. But the inability to stage the big fights - a relatively new problem - is what's turning fans off. Where's Ali-Frazier? Leonard-Duran? Holyfield-Bowe?

In the old days, there were eight weight classes and one champion atop each. Top contenders had no choice but to face the best opposition if they wanted a championship bout and a chance at the big money.

Today, there are 17 weight classes and 51 ``champions'' in the three major boxing organizations: the WBC, IBF and WBA.

These titleholders, who once had to climb over one another to get to the top, fight lesser opponents while the most compelling challengers do the same in their respective organizations.

``Look at (IBF lightweight champion) Shane Mosley. Fighters are saying, `I can't beat him. Why fight him? I can fight another champion.' Well, once upon a time, they didn't have a choice. When you have so many champions, you do have choice,'' said television analyst Larry Merchant.

The best, or worst, example is the welterweight division. The champions - Oscar De La Hoya (WBC), Felix Trinidad (IBF) and Ike Quartey (WBA) - could create a series of bouts to rival the days of Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler.

Instead, to date, they have yet to meet each other in the ring (although it appears Trinidad and Quartey, under the same promoter, will fight this year). Simply, they don't have to fight one another. Take De La Hoya. The Olympic gold medalist from 1992 made a reported $33 million last year without fighting any of the above, or the dangerous Jose Luis Lopez.

And, in one sense, who can blame him? Why take the risk of losing a fight and marketability that has been built over many years?

``When Naseem Hamed, the De La Hoya of Europe when it comes to popularity and money-making ability, told his promoter that he wanted to come to America to fight the best fighters, other promoters were shocked,'' said Merchant, whose network, HBO, has Hamed under contract.

``This is a franchise player, it could jeopardize that promoter's livelihood by taking such risks that aren't necessary.''

TV's influence

Many believe television has become part of the problem.

HBO, a division of Time-Warner, has a stable of big-name fighters under exclusive contract. That means they cannot fight on another network. One is WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, who recently signed a seven-year deal reportedly worth $50 million.

Some believe such an arrangement is a problem for at least two reasons.

One: Lewis, like De La Hoya, has limited incentive to face the best challengers. He'll fight whomever is put in front of him and collect millions.

And, two: his affiliation with HBO and Holyfield's loyalty to Showtime were at least part of the reason they couldn't make the most-anticipated fight in boxing. Exclusive ties to a particular network works counter to a free-market system, which, if promoters would cooperate, might be the best way to deliver the best fights.

``Imagine if each TV network had its own football team that could play on their network,'' said Jay Larkin, head of Showtime Sports, which has Mike Tyson under contract and admits the limitations of that arrangement. ``What if the (NBA's) Utah Jazz could only play on NBC and the Chicago Bulls could only play on CBS? How would they ever get together? That's what we're faced with in the top echelon of boxing.

``By now, we should have seen De La Hoya-Trinidad, De La Hoya-Quartey, Holyfield-Lewis. I think the fans are pretty disgusted.''

HBO's reaction?

Lou DiBella, vice president of HBO Sports, said his network has nothing to gain by televising inferior bouts and pointed the finger back at Arum, who had suggested television was the problem.

``The promoters themselves control whether fights happen,'' said DiBella, echoing the thoughts of many. ``He (Arum) needs to stop blaming other people. His actions are taken in his own self interest. Ultimately, big fights happen if promoters want them to happen.''

Sanctioning insanity

Almost everyone agrees there's a problem with the sanctioning bodies.

In addition to the big three, there are at least 13 more for-profit organizations based in and out of the United States that sanction fights.

In the absence of a governing body, like the NFL or NBA, the bodies have served a purpose. They provide a means for recognizing champions. They rank fighters, which theoretically provides a ladder to the top. They provide rules. And, more recently, they've put some effort into improving fighters' safety.

The problem - and it's a big one - lies in the rankings, which mean nothing.

In general, rankings have less to do with the ability of the boxers than they do with the influence of promoters and managers who want to position their fighters for big-money bouts.

It's almost accepted in boxing circles that promoters and managers pay sanctioning bodies to rank their fighters, although no one seems to have proof. Arum did admit freely he simply calls a sanctioning organization to have one of his fighters ranked - although not No. 1 - and it's done.

It's not difficult to understand why fighters like De La Hoya end up facing No. 1-ranked opponents like Patrick Charpentier, who have no business in the ring with the world's most-talented boxers.

And the titles themselves have become almost meaningless as the rankings.

The term ``title fight'' carries minimal clout, otherwise the organizations would cease to exist. However, the WBC championship belt - once revered like a religious symbol - not long ago ended up in a trash can courtesy of Riddick Bowe and no one seemed to mind.

``The absolute foundation of boxing is rotten,'' Larkin said. ``And you can't build anything on a rotten foundation and expect it to stand very long.''

WISH LIST

Boxing has had a pathetic dearth of compelling bouts because the sport's biggest stars tend to avoid one another. If these 10 fights could be made in the next year and half, it would give boxing a blast of momentum going into the year 2000.

Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis

The two best heavyweights in the world would provide the ultimate show.

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad

Oscar needs a test. This could kick off a Leonard-Duran-Hearns-Hagler-like welterweight series.

Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson III

OK, Tyson is no longer Tyson. Still, the interest in this one would be overwhelming.

Roy Jones Jr. vs. David Reid

The best pound-for-pound fighter vs. the Olympic champion. A sure winner.

Naseem Hamed vs. Arturo Gatti

Half the fans want to see Hamed's antics. The other half wants to see him lose.

Tyson vs. George Foreman (at 50)

No typo here. Think about it: Who wouldn't want to see this?

De La Hoya vs. Ike Quartey

This could be Part II in De La Hoya's riveting road to immortality.

Roy Jones Jr. vs. Holyfield (or another top heavyweight)

Yes, this is a stretch but an intriguing prospect.

Shane Mosley vs. Arturo Gatti

The classic boxer-puncher vs. the classic brawler is a can't-miss lightweight hit.

Fernando Vargas vs. David Reid

For a change, how about a matchup of two future greats while they're on the rise?

Others

Lewis-Michael Grant; Hamed-Angel Manfredy; Hamed-Johnny Tapia; Tapia-Mark Johnson; Tyson-Andrew Golota; Mosley-Floyd Mayweather; De La Hoya-Vargas; De La Hoya-Reid.

--- Michael Rosenthal

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO (Color) no caption (Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis)

Daily News Photo Illustration

BOX: WISH LIST (see text)