LEWIS LEAVES FANS UNFULFILLED.

Byline: MICHAEL ROSENTHAL Boxing

LAS VEGAS - If Lennox Lewis is content to win, earn big paydays and protect his health, fine. He can continue to fight as he did in his dominating victory Saturday over David Tua.

If he wants to be known as a great fighter, however, he must learn to entertain the fans.

The heavyweight champion's performance was brilliant in some ways. He rendered the second-best heavyweight in the world an amateur with his remarkable skills and ring intelligence.

No heavyweight in the world can contend with Lewis at the moment. He could be champion for several more years - even at 35.

So why are those who watch his fights left unfulfilled?

Fans want at least one of the two things from their heavyweight champions: a Muhammad Ali-like personality (and nobody else has that, so forget it) or a Mike Tyson-like wrecking-ball mentality and the punch to back it up.

Lewis has neither of those traits and he puts fans to sleep as a result.

Again, not many heavyweights in history have his physical talents or brains. However, he's destined to go down in history as merely a fine technician because he has been utterly unable to capture the public's imagination.

Lewis fought the perfect tactical fight against Tua: keep his hard-punching challenger at bay with his left hook, hold or move out of harm's way when Tua got close and keep his right hand near his head to protect against the left hook.

He also landed three times as many punches as Tua, 300-110, to win a ridiculously easy decision.

However, again, the fans felt cheated. Few pay to see a tactical fight, particularly if heavyweights are involved. The fans want action, they want to know that the heavyweight champ has courage and a sense for the dramatic in addition to fundamental skills, they want spectacular knockouts.

Lewis fights cautiously by nature, engaging his opponents only when he has to or has no respect for his opponent's power. That's not what a heavyweight champion does, at least that's not the public perception.

A heavyweight champion breaks heads, he doesn't dance, even if it means risking his own well being.

Lewis' trainer, Emanuel Steward, has said for some time that Lewis must have a ``breakout'' victory - a victory so spectacular that the public couldn't possibly ignore it - if he wants to raise his name recognition.

And, while he was pleased with his fighter's one-sided victory over a dangerous opponent, he admitted the day after the fight he's still waiting for that breakout fight.

``Maybe it'll be against Tyson,'' Steward said. ``I think Tyson will come after Lennox like Tua did, but I don't think Tyson has the chin Tua has.

``I think Lennox would knock him out.''

Lewis had better do something - unless he can accept being ignored.

--Tua's injury: Tua probably did suffer some sort of rib injury during training. And a right by Lewis to his body probably did cause him extreme pain and discomfort.

However, should it have been brought up after the fight?

A few hundred people at the postfight news conference didn't think so. They booed promoter Dan Goossen as he tried to explain what had happened.

Lewis and Steward agreed with the fans.

``I had a knee injury and nose injury and an ear injury. I wonder if they were aware of that,'' Lewis said sarcastically when he was asked whether he was aware of Tua's injury.

Steward was even more angry.

``Tommy Hearns broke his hand in two in the first round when he fought Marvin Hagler,'' said Steward, who trained Hearns. ``. . . Afterward, he told me not to mention it because he didn't want to take away from Marvin's glory.

``It's part of boxing. Let's move forward. Let's leave the injury alone.''

To his credit, Tua acknowledged he was injured only when his handlers brought it up.

--Tyson: Many obstacles stand in the way of a Lewis-Tyson fight, the only possible matchup with any intrigue as long as Lewis is involved. Among them:

One, Tyson says he's retired. However, most believe he's just talking.

Two, Lewis has ties with HBO, Tyson with Showtime. That's a tricky dilemma but solvable.

Three, Tyson, who knows he's not the fighter he once was, might simply decide he doesn't want to get beaten up - even if it means sacrificing a payday that could exceed $20 million.

Steward believes the two will meet one day.

``I think the media is going to put so much pressure on Tyson that he'll have no other choice but to fight Lennox,'' he said.

It's not a good matchup but should be more entertaining than Lewis-Tua in spite of the fact Tua and Tyson have a similar style.

Lewis doesn't have as much respect for Tyson as he does Tua. He'll probably take more chances. And, don't forget, such comments as the one in which Tyson said he would eat Lewis' children haven't exactly endeared the former champ to the current one.

Lewis would loooooove to knock out Tsyon, both for what it would do for his career and personal satisfaction.

--The numbers: Tua averaged only 41 punches per round.

Lewis connected on 300 of 674 punches (45 percent), Tua 110 of 413 (27 percent), according to punch stats.

Lewis landed 213 of 527 jabs (40 percent), Tua 51 of 288 (18 percent).

Lewis connected on 87 of 147 power punches (59 percent), Tua 59 of 125 (47 percent).

--Rabbit punches: Staples Center is among sites being considered for the Naseem Hamed-Marco Antonio Barrera fight March 3. . . .

Olympic gold medalist David Reid, coming off his one-sided loss to Felix Trinidad in March, faces Kirno Garcia in his first middleweight fight Nov. 26 in Las Vegas.

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Photo: Lennox Lewis, who was a winner Saturday, needs to be more of an entertaining fighter.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press