STUBBORN HOLYFIELD KO'S BOUT VS. LEWIS.

Byline: MICHAEL ROSENTHAL Boxing

The biggest reason the Evander Holyfield-Lennox Lewis fight wasn't made was this: Holyfield refused to accept less than a guaranteed $20 million, the amount he earned when he knocked out Michael Moorer in November.

The question is: Was boxing's greatest citizen being unreasonable?

Yes - with qualifications.

The Holyfield-Moorer fight, to unify the IBF and WBA titles, had a reported pay-per-view buy rate of only 550,000. Showtime SET, which televised the bout, lost as much as $10 million.

Time Warner's TVKO, which has the rights to Lewis' fights, was willing to guarantee the equivalent of a 650,000 buy rate for Holyfield-Lewis, to unify all three major championships, and give Holyfield and Co. all the profits exceeding that figure.

Given consistently low buy rates in non-Mike Tyson fights, the Holyfield-Moorer debacle being the latest example, it was a fair offer.

However, the 650,000 would be enough to guarantee Holyfield only about $18 million - $2 million below his asking price. In the end, he wouldn't budge.

Holyfield has an explanation.

When he negotiated with Showtime for the bout with Moorer, Holyfield, given his litany of accomplishments, said he would take part in a unification bout for no less than $20 million. Ultimately, Showtime gave him what he wanted.

Now, in negotiations with Time Warner, Holyfield believes he must stand by his earlier demand for ethical reasons.

``It's not about a few million dollars,'' said Jim Thomas, Holyfield's attorney. ``It's about hanging people out to dry. They (the Showtime negotiators) went to their bosses and told them they did the best job they could do, but Evander wouldn't budge.

``Now, what would it do to them if he budges with someone else (rival Time Warner)? He wants this fight. And he would be sacrificing human beings to get what he wants.''

Of course, it's not difficult to believe Holyfield would take a noble stand. He's that type of person.

However, this one doesn't wash.

No. 1, pride is playing a role here: Obviously, Holyfield believes he's worth no less than his asking price for a fight of this significance. As Thomas put it, ``Why should he go backward in his career?''

No. 2, business is business. Each fight is different, each negotiation period is different. You haggle for all you can get based on prevailing factors, sign the papers and get into the ring. That's how it's done.

And, No. 3, Holyfield would have to agree that the public must play a role in negotiations at some point.

For example, what if the Holyfield-Moorer fight had had a 220,000 buy rate, as the Lewis-Andrew Golota fight did? Would Holyfield be asking for the equivalent of a 1 million buy rate to fight Lewis? Of course not. He would have to bend to make it work, as he should have in this instance.

Thomas also said that Time Warner's offer was risk-free. If the fight did the 650,000, as it likely would, it could pay the principals and make a profit off international television, merchandising and other forms of revenue.

Meanwhile, he said, Holyfield would incur risk in that the fight would have to do better than expected for him to reach his $20 million.

Ahem. Risk? A guaranteed $18 million? That's the kind of risk we'd all like to take.

Now, Lewis might also be culpable here to some extent. He could've come down from the $10 to which he agreed and still receive his biggest payday.

However, he reportedly had already accepted less than his original asking price and he did have an agreement with all parties before negotiations with Holyfield began.

And Lewis is the WBC champion, after all. Eighteen million for Holyfield, $10 million for him doesn't seem too much to ask.

And what role did Don King, Holyfield's promoter, play in the demise of talks?

Dino Duva, Lewis' promoter, places all the blame on King. He, like so many others, believes King's agenda is to have Holyfield fight Tyson - the only big draw in boxing - a third time when he's reinstated. All parties, including King, would make unprecedented sums.

So why risk a loss to Lewis? With that question in mind, Duva believes, King scuttled the talks most significantly by controlling Holyfield.

``Evander could've said to Don, `Make the fight or I'm gonna do it myself,' and then do what you need to do legally (about their contract),'' Duva said. ``Evander didn't do that.

``Maybe Evander decided he wanted to wait for Tyson. I just don't think Evander used any kind of strength dealing with Don.''

Thomas holds out hope that the fight will take place, primarily because he insists his client wants it. However, he acknowledges it won't happen soon: The fighters are going their separate ways for now.

Lewis agreed to fight Shannon Briggs on March 28 in Atlantic City, N.J., a mismatch.

Meanwhile, Holyfield is exploring the possibility of fighting Francois Botha in South Africa in April or May, of which the most interesting thing is the site. He also has unattractive mandatory defenses against Vaughn Bean and Henry Akinwande.

And Tyson could be reinstated in July, which means Holyfield-Tyson III could take place this year.

All of which makes one thing clear: It's a shame Holyfield-Lewis couldn't be made.

Rabbit punches: Assuming IBF junior middleweight champion Yory Boy Campas beats Anthony Stephens on March 23, he could face Oscar De La Hoya, according to Top Rank Boxing officials.

I don't think Campas would have much of a chance. However, it would be interesting while it lasted: Campas is a classic brawler who doesn't back up for anyone. . . .

In a poll that accompanied a column by Rich Marotta on KFI-640's Website, 25 percent said they want to see De La Hoya fight Pernell Whitaker again.

Obviously, there are a lot of masochists out there. Sure, Whitaker is a great fighter. He's also a great cure for insomnia. Seventy percent said he should fight Felix Trinidad. Amen. . . .

Julio Cesar Chavez and Miguel Angel Gonzalez are set to fight for the vacant WBC super lightweight title on March 7 in Mexico.

The fight originally was scheduled for Oct. 25 of last year but was postponed when Chavez was injured.

Chavez will win if he's in reasonable shape. He's much more talented and, fighting in Mexico, his pride will be a significant factor. He's also 35 and aging quickly, which works in Gonzalez's favor.

Dan Goossen, Rafael Ruelas' promoter, is negotiating to get the winner. . . .

Two and a half years after the fact, Peter McNeeley defends his trainer's decision to stop his bout against Tyson after 89 seconds even though it didn't seem as if McNeeley was seriously hurt.

Vinny Vecchione forced a disqualification when he jumped into the ring to save his fighter.

``When Vinny grabbed me and put me on the stool, I thought the round was over,'' he recalled. ``In reality, only a minute and a half had gone by. That means I was a little fuzzy.''

Said Vecchione: ``I have no regrets whatsoever. People die in the ring.''

McNeeley should never have been in the ring in the first place. . . .

Tyson, reportedly negotiating with the World Wrestling Federation to appear as a referee, should avoid such folly. His reputation is bad enough and he doesn't need the money. . . .

Arturo Gatti (29-1, 24 KOs) should be involved in another war when he faces hard-punching Angel Manfredy (22-2-1, 18 KOs) in a lightweight bout Saturday in Atlantic City.

Also on the card, on HBO, unbeaten Michael Grant faces David Izon in a battle of good, young heavyweights.

COMING UP

Tuesday: On USA, Israel Cardona fights Sam Girard for Cardona's USBA lightweight title in Mashantucket, Conn.

Friday: On Fox Sports Net, Lawrence Clay-Bey takes on Anthony Green in a 10-round heavyweight bout in Atlantic City, N.J.

On ESPN2, Kenny Keene faces Richard Lamontagne in a 12-round cruiserweight bout in Boise, Idaho.

Saturday: On HBO, Arturo Gatti faces Angel Manfredy in a 12-round lightweight bout in Atlantic City.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO Evander Holyfield's refusal to budge from a guaranteed payday of $20 million prevented a unification bout vs. Lennox Lewis.

Associated Press

BOX: COMING UP (see text)