LAS VEGAS -- You've paid a small fortune to witness Game 7 of the World Series. It's the bottom of the ninth. Two outs. Two strikes on the batter.

The game is all but over. One club has dominated the other in every imaginable way and you've stuck around not because the result is in doubt, but because this is a special event. The game was a disappointment, but you can get your money's worth by watching the players celebrate one of the greatest moments in sports.

	Don King's no dummy, and if you buy this fight he'll continue to prove it.

The leather pops. Strike three.

The victors rush the field and a pileup forms on the pitcher's mound. They are world champions. A cherished moment is unfolding before you.

A booming voice over the public address system hushes the frenzy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Major League Baseball commissioner's office has just voided this contest. The teams will play again at a later date. There will be no refunds. Tickets are on sale at the box office."

You were cheated. Your money, time and energy were wasted.

Would you pay to watch it all over again?

It's a ridiculous scenario, but one that's not too ridiculous for boxing, a sport that has obliterated the limits of the pathetic.

In an event that's gratuitous at best, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield will fight for the undisputed world heavyweight championship Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

It's a fight that should not be happening at all, yet promoter Don King and both fighters stand to double their money by putting on this pseudo show. It's tantamount to clearing the stadium after four quarters of an NFL blowout and charging fans all over again to watch overtime.

For those with short memories, Lewis clearly defeated Holyfield on March 13 at Madison Square Garden, but the bout ended in a draw, partly because of the unforgivably incompetent judging of Eugenia Williams, who claimed Holyfield won by two rounds.

People paid as much as $1,500 to see the fight in person, while 1.2 million households spent $49.95 to watch on TVKO pay-per-view.

Holyfield made $20 million that night, while Lewis got $15 million. King certainly made out like a bandit.

And, as the theory goes, the perpetrator always returns to the scene of the crime, and King is hoping to go on a spree of sorts. He has guaranteed each fighter at least $15 million, purses that will be bolstered by a pay-per-view price tag identical to the original bout, which wouldn't have lived up to its billing even if Lewis had been awarded the victory he deserved.

A heavyweight unification bout is one of the most glorious events in sports. But if ever there was a fight when even the most ardent boxing fan should bite the bullet and read what happened in the morning newspaper or on the Internet, this is it.

King thinks you're suckers. He thinks you're stupid. He thinks you enjoy getting punched in the gut and having your money stolen as he cackles away. Even his public comments insult your intelligence.

"It's a second chance for both fighters, and it's a remarkable testament to our country that it's going on," King was quoted as saying. "This will bring vindication to one fighter, and it can uplift the sport if the result is looked upon without a jaundiced eye.

"So much is riding on this: the physical prowess of two men, the rights and privileges of Americans. If any other country had a fight so vilified for crookery and trickeration, it would never have happened again. So this fight is more than a boxing match. It's a victory for America."

A false perception has been created that Lewis-Holyfield II is needed to resurrect the sport, when in fact the first bout is a prime contributor to boxing's woeful state.

This has been the worst year in the history of boxing. The IBF is facing racketeering charges. Boxers told the Miami Herald they took part in fixed fights. There was a seemingly endless stream of disappointing bouts (e.g. Lewis-Holyfield I, Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad, Mike Tyson-Orlin Norris, Naseem Hamed-Cesar Soto). Randie Carver died in Kansas City after a dirty, poorly refereed fight. Tyson almost lost to Frans Botha and then went back to prison. Top heavyweight contender Ike Ibeabuchi is awaiting trial on four charges of sexual assault. Tony Ayala got out of prison after serving 16 years for a brutal rape and immediately found a living beating up stiffs. For the first time in recent memory, a year went by where a match was not televised on any of the big three TV networks.

Boxing cannot be saved Saturday night. The simple fact this fight is taking place at all hurts boxing much more than it can possibly help it. Only in the shadow of the sports' other travails does Lewis-Holyfield II avoid further mockery.

It seems only drooling lobotomy patients would chase good money after bad and help perpetuate boxing's problem. Here's hoping they will be the only ones to do so.

The fight was inaccurately billed as a sellout shortly after it was announced because casinos had purchased blocks of tickets for their high rollers, many of the same people who were in Las Vegas only three weeks ago for Tyson's no-contest.

But people with a lot of money -- a prerequisite for a high roller -- usually have it because they are smart. They aren't coming back for Lewis-Holyfield II, and the tickets are being returned.

Other signs the public might be wising up come from TVKO's public relations approach. Network executives have been forbidden from discussing pay-per-view projections with the media, and none of the press materials contain the word "rematch," so as not to remind anyone of the first fight.

The reality of the matter, however, is there was a first fight. It was an abominable bout with an even lousier result. There's no reason Lewis and Holyfield should be fighting again.

If you pay one dollar to watch their rematch, then King is right: You're a sucker.

Not only that, but you're also part of boxing's problem.

Tim Graham covers boxing for ESPN.com and is based in Las Vegas.