Evander Holyfield, fresh from victory over Michael Moorer, wants to take on Britain's Lennox Lewis in a bid to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion.

Holyfield, known as The Real Deal, says the fight would probably bring the curtain down on his career whether or not he won.

Now 35, and a multi-millionaire, he is loathe to 'quit' before settling once and for all who is the real champion.

He says: "I have beaten all the best fighters of my time except Lennox Lewis. To unify the title is the only thing out there for me."

Lewis, for his part, says: "I want the fight. He wants the fight. Everyone wants the fight. There really is no other fight out there. It's ordained.

"Finally I will get my opportunity to prove to everyone what I have been saying for so long -- I'm the best heavyweight in the world.

"Evander Holyfield might want to say he is. But he hasn't fought Lennox Lewis. So how can he say that ?"

Lewis says he was not impressed by Holyfield's performance and adds: "It seemed like a big struggle. He just turned it on at the end.

"To me he looked a bit raggedy...Maybe those fights with Tyson have worked to his detriment."

Holyfield, who already held the World Boxing Association (WBA) title, added the International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt to his trophy cabinet when he dethroned Moorer in savage style on Saturday night.

Lewis is the holder of the only other widely respected belt, that of the World Boxing Council (WBC), and a match between the two now looks inevitable.

But there are obstacles to the fight. Lewis's American promoters, Lou and Dan Duva, are tied to the HBO television channel while Holyfield comes under the auspices of Don King, who has a contract with the rival Showtime network.

A unification fight would also require the agreement of the WBC, WBA and IBF, who make a considerable amount of money from sanctioning title bouts.

All three also have mandatory challengers - Zeljko Mavrovic (Croatia), Frans Botha (South Africa) and Vaughn Bean (USA) - who would probably have to be paid to waive their legal right to challenge their respective champions.

Even so it seems likely that Holyfield-Lewis will happen, probably in Las Vegas in April.

Holyfield beat Moorer on a technical knock out at the end of the eighth round after putting the 29-year-old down five times at the Thomas & Mack Centre in Las Vegas.

In winning he avenged one of only three losses in his career - the other two both coming at the hands of Riddick `Big Daddy' Bowe.

Ringside physician Dr Flip Homansky called an end to the contest at the end of a round in which Moorer had been down twice.

Moorer insisted the fight should not have been stopped but the doctor said his eyes could not focus properly and he did not think it was safe to continue.

Holyfield spent the early rounds getting to grip with Moorer's southpaw stance but he found his range and angles in the fifth round and knocked the younger man with a left hook.

Moorer was downed twice more by two textbook uppercuts in the seventh round but wisely stayed on his knees and unscrambled his brains before getting up at a count of nine both times.

A combination of punches sent Moorer to the canvas again in the eighth and with only seconds of the round left he was sent to the floor for the last time with a crunching shot.

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