BRITON Lennox Lewis is poised to rule the world three times over.

That's the knockout verdict of York's one-time lord of the ring Henry Wharton on the eve of what's been dubbed the last great fight of the 20th century.

Lewis, the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion, bids to wrest the World Boxing association and International Boxing Federation crowns held by American gladiator Evander Holyfield.

The £19million fight - the biggest grossing boxing battle of all time - crackles into global action at Madison Square Garden in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

Eminent judges are evenly split over who will prevail in the engrossing encounter, which will decide who is The Man to rule the world.York's Wharton confirmed that this was one of the closest encounters of the hurting kind he had ever known to call.

But for all the relative merits of the protagonists he had tipped the scales in favour of the 33-year-old Lewis, whom he knows from their days as amateurs.

Declared Wharton: "I was talking to ten people the other night about the fight and five went for one, and five went for the other. It is that close.

"But if I were to side for one man against the other than I would go for Lennox Lewis. His heart is as big as him and he does rise to the big occasion."

Wharton, who knows what it is like in the lonely glare of world title heat having three times just being outpointed for the ultimate prize, acknowledged too that Holyfield was a worthy champion.

But he added: "I know that you can never say never with Lennox."

Besides settling the issue of who is the undisputed heavyweight king of the world, the match-up between the two warriors should also restore dignity to a division that in the last few years has been more pantomime than power thanks to the demise of Mike Tyson.

Both Holyfield and Lewis, the latter weighing at more than two stones heavier than the dual-champion, stand on the threshold of history. York's one-time hero believes Lewis can be the Brit to be the best.

Trainer Emanuel Steward is advising Lewis to forget about any notion of a chessboard strategy and simply unload on Holyfield. "Lennox should come out and take control of the fight from the first, and not be reactionary" said Steward.

"He cannot come out being a reactionary, that is what I do not like. He's got the be assertive and take control.

"I believe Lennox has a good chin, he has a very durable skin, and has never been cut in a fight. I have no worries about this fight.

"Lennox also has hand speed for a big guy, faster than Evander's. That is going to be the best surprise. Lennox is a fiercely determined fighter, and if he comes to the ring with that strong determination about him, Evander can forget it."

A confident Lewis said: "Evander has kept me waiting a long time and now it's my time to shine. The public have been waiting for this unification for a long time and it's going to help me prove I'm the best heavyweight on the planet. "Holyfield is a great boxer. He's a man and shows true grit, perseverance, warrior-like instincts, but it is time to step down."

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