The Cyber Boxing Zone Newswire

When they fought for the first time ever last March, Evander Holyfield's battle with the only top heavyweight he has not fought this generation was ruled a controversial draw. But on November 13, at the New Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Holyfield (36-3-1, 25KOs) and Lennox Lewis (34-1-1, 27KOs) will battle once again for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship. Only this time there will be a winner - no excuses!

Dating back to that infamous night in front of a sold out crowd of 22,000 at Madison Square Garden, fight fans were in shock as Lewis' huge 81" reach kept Holyfield at bay for 12-rounds. It was a one-sided beating administered by Lewis, which left literally no doubt that Holyfield did indeed surrender his WBA/IBF titles to Lewis, the WBC champion. However, at the end of the bout, judge Eugene Williams scored the fight 115-113 for Holyfield. While judge Stanley Chistodoulou scored it 116-113 for Lewis, Larry O'Connell had it 115-115 even.

Holyfield-Lewis I was the biggest robbery in professional boxing since Leonard-Hearns II back in 1989; the biggest robbery since Roy Jones, Jr.'s controversial points loss in the Gold medal final at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea.

"I felt the fight was even because I really didn't dominate and neither did he," said Holyfield, in regard to the his first meeting with Lewis. "Neither one of us took it from the other. You can't win a fight if you don't take it from the champion. We both champions, so we have to take it from the other."

Everyone who saw the bout from an objective point of view would admit Lewis won - hands down. However, they will also admit the fact that Holyfield was not at his best and will be at the top of his game when he faces Lewis again.

"I'm going in there thinking I've faced the worse Evander possible," Lewis admitted. "This fight in going to be the best Evander possible, so that is what I am preparing for."

When it comes to rematches, Holyfield has proven to be quite successful. When he defeated Dwight Muhammad Qawi (W 15) for the WBA cruiserweight title, Holyfield starched him the second time around (TKO 4). Holyfield also has key wins against Alex Stewart (TKO 8, W 12), Riddick Bowe (L 12, W 12), Michael Moorer (L 12, TKO 8), and Mike Tyson (TKO 11, W DQ 3).

Holyfield must now do the same when he meets Lewis again.

"Some people don't learn from their mistakes and some people do," Holyfield added. "That is why I have been able to win rematches and I concentrate on not making those same mistakes."

While Hoyfield admits to his mistakes, Lewis must admit that he was not as aggressive as he should have been and has to close the show.

"He says I never came at him in the fight. I'm saying, everytime I did come at him, he butted me," commented Lewis, on Holyfield's heat-butting within the clinches. "I think in the second fight I will be taking a lot of different risk but he will be taking a big risk. When he finds himself in positions to be hurt terribly by Lennox Lewis does he want to or not go on."

The pressure will be on both fighters, as Holyfield will try to prove that at age 36, he can still bang with the world's best. As for Lewis, he wants to prove to the world the first was indeed no fluke, and that he is the uncrowned champion.

"Preparing for the first fight won't be as hard as preparing for the first fight, because I have been in there, I know what to expect," Lewis added. "The game plan may change but I'm a person that can adapt."

Holyfield can adapt to any conditions suitable. He has done that his entire career. Can't nobody do it better than Holyfield.

"I had a game plan before the fight," Holyfield concluded. "I had a plan to jump on that boy in the first two rounds and would have wished I got him out and knew that was going to be all she wrote in the third round. But when I got in their I was off balance that I didn't do nothing or anything to lead up to him going out."

Well, both fighters will have a chance to improve on their performances, as they get to do it again.