Let's make this clear: There is no savior in the heavyweight division.

Hasim Rahman and David Tua proved that Saturday in Philadelphia by fighting to a draw that most observers would have scored for Rahman.

Although he weighed a career-heavy 259 pounds, Rahman was able to stick-and-move and clinch whenever he needed en route to out-boxing the lethargic Tua over the majority of rounds in their 12-round elimination bout for the IBF title held by Chris Byrd.

Although neither man won the right to face Byrd -- one judge scored the bout for 116-112 for Tua, the other had it 116-112 for Rahman, while the third judge scored the bout a 114-114 draw -- the defensive wizard has nothing to worry about should he face either man.

Once again, there is no savior in the heavyweight division. The real heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis -- who has already defeated both Tua and Rahman and is semi-retired -- is spending more time suing the WBC (the only sanctioning organization belt that he holds) and doing international broadcast commentary for Don King, than in the gym.

Lewis will at least fight one more time -- on June 21. His opponent could be Mike Tyson (the former champion he beat up last year, who is still very shot, and still very derranged), Vitali Klitschko (the giant Ukrainian statue who once quit against Byrd while ahead on the scorecards), Kirk Johnson (a guy who was DQ'd against the hapless John Ruiz) and maybe, after Saturday, Rahman, a man Lewis nearly decapitated in November 2001, but a fighter who scored a moral victory versus Tua in their rematch just by going the distance.

Credit must be given to Rahman, who -- after firing his trainer three weeks prior to Saturday's bout and admitting to entering his training camp around 290 pounds -- was expected by many observers to be easy picking for the hard-hitting Tua. That was not the case.

Rahman (35-4-1, 29 knockouts) proved that he could box just as effectively today as he did in their first bout in December 1998 -- the first fight ending in controversy after Rahman, who was leading on the scorecards, was caught with a punch that landed after the bell late in the fight and was never allowed to recover from the illegal blow.

Tua didn't land any illegal blows Saturday, but he didn't land enough legal blows during the fight to make something happen.

Tua, along with Vitali Klitschko's younger brother Wladimir Klitschko, was viewed as a front-runner to rekindle excitement and public interest in what was once boxing's glamour division. But both power punchers have been exposed for what they are: The younger Klitschko can't seem to take a punch, and Tua can't seem to land one.

Where was the urgency in Tua? Where were the combinations? Even when he was able to hurt Rahman a few times in the later rounds, after being shut out in rounds one through five, Tua, now 42-3 (37), only threw one punch at a time. Rahman could have survived rocky rounds with his eyes closed.

And Rahman should have won this fight, by at least a seven- to five-round margin.

So get ready for Lewis-Rahman III or maybe Byrd-Rahman. Who knows? Maybe Tua will keep chugging away and gain another title shot in a year or two.

It doesn't matter what Rahman or Tua do from here on out. Even if either man manages to get lucky and win a world title -- hey, it can happen, there are four of those belts floating around out there -- it would only be a matter of time (perhaps in their very first defense) before Rahman is knocked out and Tua is completely undressed again.

You know there are no heavyweight saviors when the two best heavyweights are really middleweights.