Let's get right to it: Evander Holyfield is still the heavyweight champion of the world.

Just like Herbie Hide. Just like Brian Nielsen. Just like Lou Savarese, Joe Bugner, and Iran Barkley.

	Lennox Lewis triumphed in the public's eyes, but not the judges'.

Yes, Iran Barkley is currently the heavyweight champ, too.

Perhaps you're not familiar with the champions of the WBO, IBO, WBU, IBA, and WBB, respectively. Right now, they are as legitimate as the WBA and IBF, two of the three so-called major-league organizations. The "big three" of the alphabet boys -- including the WBC, of which Lennox Lewis is the champion -- are the most prominent because we, the media, recognize them. Pay no attention to them, and they are no longer legitimate.

Why are these corrupted sanctioning groups the governing bodies of this sport? Because they say they are. That's all. Right now, Holyfield, having made his unholy alliance with Don King, is as much a "world champion" as Bugner and Barkley.

Repeat after me, and try to remove the stench wrought upon us Saturday night: Lennox Lewis, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

Ignore those who tell you otherwise.

Fight night
It's not easy being right. Check my prediction: Lewis by decision. I felt Holyfield, even with his delusional third-round prediction, would be unable to penetrate the jab and straight right hand from a 6-foot-5 guy with more character than most would give him credit for.

All week long, I had listened to our analyst Al Bernstein, USA Today's Jon Saraceno, and the rest of our SportsCenter crew give Lewis little chance to stand up to the holy assault. Then, as the fight progressed, Bernstein, doing the round-by-round scoring for SportsCenter, called it out to the truck, over and over again: "10-9 Lewis."

Despite predicting a Holyfield victory, Bernstein couldn't ignore what he was seeing. If only judge Eugenia Williams had that type of intelligence or integrity.

I scored the fight 10 rounds to two in favor of Lewis. Bernstein had it 11-1! I gave the third round to Holyfield, based mostly on his misplaced aggression to fulfill his holy revelation. Bernstein hadn't, citing a discrepancy in the number of punches landed before the CompuBox punch stats were displayed to back up his analysis. Bernstein hung tough in not giving Holyfield a "mercy" round, where you reward the man losing the fight who suddenly makes it more competitive. The numbers back up Bernstein's card.

As the decision was announced, we never saw it coming. Not even with Don King promoting the bout. Not even after Pernell Whitaker was robbed of a win in 1993 during a similiar King promotion, with another beaten King fighter: Julio Cesar Chavez.

As the first judge's card was announced, our heads snapped toward each other in shock: "115-113."

115-113! Are the judges out of their minds? In that millisecond, part of the horror came crashing down. They don't get it. Or they can be influenced. Or they can be corrupted. There could be no way anyone would have Lewis winning by that slight a margin.

Then the hammer fell when the rest of Williams' score was announced: "115-113 ... HOLYFIELD."

Now it was clear. It stunk. From the start. While we were concentrating on the fighters, styles, and heavyweight history, we had missed the point. Barring a knockout, it was a done deal. Lewis had no chance.

When Stanley Christodolou's card was announced, we were still angry. He didn't get it, either. He wasn't close, either. However, he at least picked the right guy. We held our breath for sanity to be restored. Another judge in favor of Lewis could still pull out a split decision for the man who dominated the bout.

But Larry O'Connell didn't come through: "115-115." A draw. How about that. How convenient.

Before Don King even came into the press room, we knew the punch line. "Let's do it AGAAAIIINN."

Try telling a friend who doesn't like boxing this fight wasn't fixed. Then let me know how you did it. I've stopped trying.

Williams takes the fifth
Judges have to really blow it to make their scorecards look corrupt.

When Ken Morita had Oscar De La Hoya beating Ike Quartey 116-112, he had just two questionable rounds. I thought his scoring was way off, yet I didn't think he brought a carry-on bag loaded with cash back to Japan. It's very easy to swing a fight one way in a subtle fashion.

Morita, by the way, is the judge who had Mike Tyson leading Buster Douglas before Douglas had the good fortune to knock Iron Mike out. Had it gone to the cards, guess what? Maybe no "greatest upset of all time." Take a guess who promoted that fight.

Back to Holyfield-Lewis. We have a new boxing term to add to the sporting vernacular: In terms of judging, there's bad, and then there's "Jean Williams bad."

Williams should've been smarter. But she went too far to be a mere incompetent; she scored the fifth round for Holyfield, a round Lewis thoroughly dominated. CompuBox had Lewis out-landing Holyfield 43 punches to 11. Mere punching statistics don't tell the whole story about a fight, but in this case, the numbers didn't lie. The scoring in the fifth round might constitute the most egregious in modern boxing.

Williams, though, also gave Holyfield the fourth round, another one that Lewis easily won. She made sure of this one early.

Unfortunately, she had help in discrediting an entire sport.

Clueless O'Connell not blameless
At least Larry O'Connell has already come out and said he made a mistake in scoring the bout. Give him credit for that and then send him a one-way ticket to Palookaville.

O'Connell saved himself by not being shameless enough to give Holyfield the fifth round. The seventh round, though, was probably the second-most convincing round for Lewis. How convincing? Jean Williams actually scored it for Lewis! Holyfield was hurt twice in the round. But not hurt enough for O'Connell. His card for round 7: 10-10.

If O'Connell had gotten that one right, we would've had a split decision and a proper outcome.

Williams and O'Connell aren't fit to judge the undercard in a Hoosick Falls Armory Amateur Box-Off. They're done. Forever. We'll never know if they had a bad night, bad angle, or bad credit suddenly remedied. We do know this: No state commission should grant them access to the sport again. They can check the IOC for openings.

States must take over
As various probes begin, realize that decent people can take over from the slime. Don't say "big government will just make it worse." We are the government. Officials are put into place by us.

The state commissions must begin now by appointing all judges and referees. For this bout, the New York State Athletic Commission rubber-stamped the judges appointed by the bogus governing bodies who routinely do Don King's bidding. Want quick proof? Before his bout with Mike Tyson, Peter McNeeley cracked the top 10 heavyweight rankings.

There are plenty of officials in New York alone with enough integrity to insure an honest sporting event. They should've been on the stools ringside. If the promoter doesn't like it, tell him to take it elsewhere. One positive result from all of this is that now the states realize they must hold firm in taking control of these events. Having a promoter select the judges, pay for their travel, pay for their food, and pay for their time, is a structure that will lead to favoritism or corruption.

TVKO/HBO judge Harold Lederman said he was outraged no New York state judges were given a chance to judge the state's biggest fight in 28 years. I'm willing to go a step further: name Lederman permanent championship judge for any fight on a Time-Warner telecast. Absurd? Yes. Compared to what we saw Saturday, it's brilliance. Pulling off his headset would insure honest judging in virtually every big fight. Have a better idea?

Another positive effect is possible. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) has his Ali Boxing Reform Act in Congress now. Its modest proposals should be run through Congress faster than Williams can cash her check. Had this bill been law years ago, King wouldn't have been able to sink his hooks into Holyfield for four fights.

Holyfield had to give up options for four bouts to get a shot at Tyson. McCain's law stipulates any option contract cannot extend beyond one year. The law should be taken a step further: eliminate options altogether. No more legalized extortion. A mess of this magnitude may be enough to at least start the process toward reform.

Competitive advantages
Friday Night Fights analyst Max Kellerman had a strong take, saying the fight was "fixed." He also said he feels badly for Main Events and promoter Cedric Kushner.

"How do you compete with King?" Kellerman said. "Getting to the judges gives him an unfair business advantage."

Last words from Saraceno after we wrapped up early Sunday morning: "I can't believe it. It's like it never happened."

Boxing really had a chance to crack back into the mainstream culture. But back we go, radio callers comparing a sport with so many noble people to professional wrestling. In wrestling, they at least stopped trying to fool you.

Holy hypocrite
Lewis caused a pre-fight stir by calling Holyfield a "hypocrite." Not much of a stretch there. The man who quotes scripture and touts himself as a role model has five children out of wedlock with four different women.

Despite his hypocrisy out of the ring, Holyfield's moral stock takes a major plunge with this whole affair. Aligned with King, he offered no truth after the fight. He said he does the fighting, not the judging. I'll buy that, but you know what, he's seen the tape by now, and we haven't heard a thing from the Un-Real Deal.

Not long ago, a heavyweight champion was humbled before the world. He had boldy predicted a knockout, but instead was beaten up himself. After the bout, he went right to the new champion, admitted defeat, and apologized for his arrogance. That was Tyson after his first meeting with Holyfield.

Now it's Holyfield's turn. I'm not holding my breath. Until he comes clean, he doesn't measure up to the standards of a man currently in prison.

Holyfield's attorney, Jim Thomas, is now saying Holyfield was sick over the weekend.

"I don't want to sound like a guy who says, 'Well, here's the excuse,' " Thomas said.

Well, then don't. Spare us.

New York, New York
It would be a shame if New York City got out of the fight business. Fight week was superb. Having grown up near the city, and gone to school in it, I can say New York is in the best shape I've ever seen.

I walked around Manhattan at all hours, without seeing any violence or hint of threat. My father, a former NYPD detective, says the city, under its current mayor, has changed greatly over the last few years, and for the better.

Strong leadership can do that. Perhaps it's not too late for boxing, either.