The real pressure is on Holyfield

Evander Holyfield sees himself as a lion-hearted pugilist turned religious crusader. But the would-be Atlanta evangelist will need to shed his saintly mantle to adopt the role of a bar-room brawler if he is to beat Michael Moorer in the world heavyweight title unification match in Las Vegas tonight.

The advice comes from no less than an authority that WBC champion Lennox Lewis, who is fervently hoping Holyfield wins to add Moorer's IBF title to the WBA version of the heavyweight crown which he won and subsequently defended so unforgettably against Mike Tyson.

Holyfield has said the only fight he would be interested in taking after tonight's dust up would be Lewis. Moorer would be more likely to pursue an improbable but infinitely less dangerous re-match against 49 year-old-George Foreman, the one man to have beaten him, if he prevails, leaving Lewis to contemplate less glamorous outings against the likes of James `Buster' Douglas.

The betting money on the Strip suggests Holyfield will have his revenge over Moorer, who beat him on points in 1994 when the `Real Deal' was out-jabbed and out-boxed. Holyfield is quoted at around 3 to 1 on but some experts argue that is an emotional selection based on the heart rather than the head.

Lewis will be at ringside and he said: "It should be an even money fight. Maybe Evander had a health problem last time, perhaps he had a shoulder injury, but he took a beating. He tried to out-box Moorer and couldn't do it. Heavyweights don't come up against many southpaws and he couldn't cope with the style. He looked really bad.

"This time he must assert himself more because I don't think Michael takes a shot too well. If he gets hit, he goes into his shell. Evander's on a high because he's coming off the Tyson win, but the message must be that he has to turn this into a brawl."

To report that Holyfield looks in wonderful condition is a little like saying Tyson has a screw loose: glaringly obvious. He goes into the ring 9lbs lighter than Moorer at 15 stones 4lbs, 6lbs less than in his last meeting with Tyson, with his chiselled torso in contrast to that of his fleshier opponent.

Much has been made of the unpredictable Moorer's state of mind, but it may be Holyfield who has the bigger problems and this could be the key to an intriguing contest. After the cauldron atmosphere of the Tyson fights, Holyfield admits to a sense of anti-climax this week and his weakest performances throughout his long career have invariably arrived when he lacks a true sense of challenge.

He has confounded the odds so many times and endured so many ring wars that some question his wisdom in continuing. Even Lewis says "`It would have been a smart move" for him to quit.

Holyfield chose to explain to 15,000 people at a religious rally he organised at the Las Vegas baseball stadium on Thursday night that the word `quit' did not come into his thinking. After the crowd heard from various gospel choirs and church ministers, he spoke without script or notes for 45 minutes in an extraordinary public affirmation of his Christian faith.

To rapturous applause he described his two wins over Tyson:"I can't tell you how I did it, but I know how God did it. I trusted in the Lord and he got me through. People said when he bit me, `How did you handle that pain?' The Lord said `People need to know what forgiveness is really about.' Because I didn't let myself get lured into doing what he did, God got the praise and the glory. He gave me the opportunity to show how a Christian is supposed to handle adversity."

While Don Turner is nominally his trainer, Holyfield has no doubt a powerful force is alongside him. Moorer has protested:"I believe in God, I pray too," but the crowd chooses not to hear him. At the weigh-in, jeers and boos almost drowned out the amplified voice of the master of ceremonies when Moorer stepped forward and few voices will be heard in his support tonight.

The finest engines ever built wear out one day. Holyfield's celestial reserve tank might see him through another day. If sufficiently inspired he might win by stoppage around the 10th, but his time is running out.

Guardian Service