LAS VEGAS -- Lennox Lewis didn't dominate Evander Holyfield the way he did in their first fight. This time, though, he got a unanimous decision that made him the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
"I won the fight," Holyfield shouted shortly after the final bell. But the three judges clearly favored Lewis.The 34-year-old Lewis wasn't nearly as impressive as he was in the first fight, but he was still too big for Holyfield, who will turn 37 next Friday.
The first half of the fight was rather dull. Then Holyfield opened the second half by having a big round in the seventh, the best three minutes of the match.
Lewis, however, wouldn't let Holyfield take control.
The British fans in the crowd roared when the decision was announced and broke into song. There were also a lot of boos.
Judge Chuck Giampa scored it 116-112, Bill Graham had 117-111, and Jerry Roth 115-113 for Lewis, who added the WBA and IBF titles to the WBC belt he already held.
The AP scored it 116-113 for Lewis.
"It was little tougher than the first fight," Lewis said.
Most observers felt Lewis easily won the first match March 13 in Madison Square Garden, but it was scored a majority draw, which led to a grand jury investigation and several hearings.
In March, Lewis landed 348 punches to 134 for Holyfield, according to a CompuBox punch analysis.
On Saturday night, before an estimated 17,000 fans at the Thomas & Mack Center, Lewis was credited with landing 195 punches to 137 for Holyfield.