Dan Duva

You never hear about the people with the slide rules and computers and buttoned-down minds who even now are hard at work on creating the NHL schedule for 1994-95.A will play B, C will play D, then everyone from A to W gets in the playoffs.Boxing is a bit more sophistica ted. The fans want Fighter A to confront Fighter B. He probably doesn't want to because he doesn't think he's good enough, but that's where the money is, so OK, but only if the pay-per-view does not conflict with a Madonna concert and the Las Vegas casinos aren't crowded with a convention of rubber duck salesmen.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Promoter Don King once cracked that World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis could walk through Times Square in rush hour and remain invisible.But the unbeaten Briton looked like a tower of strength last night in destroying Phil Jackson, of Miami, at 1:35 of the eighth round at Convention Hall.Lewis (25-0, 21 KOs) said fighting a 10-1 underdog like Jackson was a no-win proposition. But after looking less than impressive in his first two title defenses, against Tony Tucker and British rival Frank Bruno, Lewis improved his reputation in this overwhelming performance.

LAS VEGAS -- Before Evander Holyfield lost his heavyweight crown to Riddick Bowe two years ago, the champion and his entourage were depicted as a model family with all the virtues of Bill Cosby's Huxtables.But since regaining his title from Bowe in a memorable 12-round fight last November, Team Holyfield has become Team Turmoil. And the fighter nicknamed "The Real Deal" is now being portrayed as "The Raw Deal" by the people cut loose from his purse strings.On the eve of his championship defense against unbeaten Michael Moorer, there is growing concern that all the changes in Holyfield's corner could lead to his downfall.

About 40 years ago, noted baseball tactician and grammarian Charlie Dressen surveyed the National League standings and concluded, "The Giants is dead." Were Dressen still with us and deciding to apply his skills of observation to the state of boxing on television, he might say, "Boxing are dead."And he'd probably be just as wrong as he was about his Brooklyn Dodgers' pennant prospects.Boxing, long a television staple, is still there. But, just like other forms of programming, it is moving away from the networks.

WASHINGTON -- The site and date of heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield's April title defense against George Foreman should be determined today when promoters meet with Donald Trump.Trump, who bid $11 million to stage the fight in Atlantic City, N.J., will meet in New York with co-promoter Dan Duva and Holyfield's manager, Shelly Finkel. Trump, scheduled to make a payment of $2.5 million, has invoked a war clause in the contract, and is attempting to renegotiate a lower fee.But Duva and co-promoter Bob Arum, have objected, and may shift the bout to Las Vegas, where it would be held about a week later that the April 19 Atlantic City date.

Baltimore junior middleweight contender Vincent Pettway has signed to fight Juan Rondon of Miami at the Pikesville Armory on Oct. 9. But Pettway also is looking at a future title match with Chad Parker of Mississippi or a lucrative bout with former welterweight champion Mark Breland.Stuart Satosky will promote the Pettway-Rondon fight in conjunction with Leonard "Boogie" Weinglass, the millionaire clothing chain owner who is interested in furthering Pettway's ring career.Pettway (31-4) is ranked No. 10 in the junior middleweight class by the International Boxing Council.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Co-promoters Bob Arum and Dan Duva were predicting record pay-per-view income from last night's fight based on early sales at $40 a household. Income from the venture could climb past $50 million.The fight last night was the first boxing venture produced by the new TVKO network, a subsidiary of the Time-Warner conglomerate.Ross Levinsohn, TVKO's director of marketing, said: "We're running 10 to 25 percent ahead of any other fight ever shown on pay-per-view. "We have 18 million addressable homes, and . . . would set a record" if 1.3 million bought the service.

Facing mounting pressure from the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association, heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield has agreed to make his next title defense against unbeaten Michael Moorer in April or June with Las Vegas as the likely site.Holyfield, who reclaimed the IBF and WBA championship belts by upsetting Riddick Bowe in November, had hoped to fight World Boxing Council champion Lennox Lewis in a unifying title match this spring. But both the IBF and WBA insisted that he first face Moorer, their mandatory challenger, or risk having his titles stripped by their sanctioning bodies.

Cosell doing well after cancer surgeryBroadcaster Howard Cosell is doing well after removal of a cancerous tumor from his chest earlier in the week, according to his boss at ABC Radio."

The Mike Tyson-Razor Ruddock rematch, scheduled for June 28 in Las Vegas, has been postponed. But as is often the case in matters involving Tyson and his promoter, Don King, the exact reason is a mystery.According to a statement released by King's office last night, Ruddock "agreed to step aside to permit Mike Tyson to fight Evander Holyfield for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world."But the announcement came as a shock to Dan Duva, Holyfield's promoter, who certainly would be aware if a Tyson-Holyfield fight was close to being made.