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Holyfield: 'I will knock him out in third'
Then, to reiterate the point, he said it again.
"I'm not predicting," Holyfield said in a conference-call interview. "I'm telling you.
"It's not every day in one's life that you feel like this. I've been boxing 28 years. I have grown to the point where I can tell you ... I will knock him out in the third round.
"I'm not boasting. I'm only speaking the truth. Boasting is being pompous and being arrogant. I don't have a reputation for that ... Lennox will do well, but I will win. I'm telling you the truth. You have to see if Evander tells the truth."
This sudden prediction from Holyfield is completely out of character for the normally humble heavyweight champion. But lately, Holyfield and Lewis have attacked each other verbally, perhaps to build pay-per-view interest for their March 13 match at Madison Square Garden or more likely in an attempt to throw the other off this close to their much-awaited unification fight.
The other day, Lewis called Holyfield a "hypocrite" for preaching religion at the same time he has fathered nine children with five different women. Then Lewis went on to criticize Holyfield for fighting too long into his career.
"He wants to be a billionaire," Lewis said. "That's one way of doing it, keep boxing until you haven't any brains left."
Holyfield may be predicting an early knockout -- something he hasn't shown since he first won the title from James (Buster) Douglas in 1990 -- to try to goad Lewis into fighting aggressively right from the first round, something for which Lewis isn't noted.
"The fight won't go that long so we won't get to see about his (stamina)," Holyfield said. "Everybody gets tired. It's what you do when you get tired that counts.
"He has lumberjack power but no style. He never has had to show anything. March 13 would be a great time for him to show it ... but it's not going to happen.
"Why the third round? I know that's uncommon for a little man like myself to tell someone I'm going to do that. Usually I keep this to myself. There won't be any surprise this time. I've opened my mouth and I have knocked this guy out."
Holyfield is so confident of beating the WBC champion from London, Kitchener or Jamaica -- depending on his mood -- that he already is making plans for his followup fight, a mandatory defence against Henry Akinwande. The likely destination would be South Africa.
"To be honest, I don't see any strong point in Lennox Lewis," said Holyfield, who has wins over Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe, George Foreman, Michael Moorer and Larry Holmes.
Lewis' opponents hardly compare: Razor Ruddock, Andrew Golota, Ray Mercer, Frank Bruno.
"Lennox said a lot about me ducking him before the fight," Holyfield said. "Lennox didn't think this fight would ever happen. Now what's he going to do?"