Lewis contenders line up

Tyson remains the most destructive heavyweight

BBC Sport Online runs the rule over the fighters battling to step into the ring with Lennox Lewis.

The moment Hasim Rahman's head hit the canvas at the Mandalay Bay Resort, thoughts turned to those who lie in wait for Lennox Lewis.

Despite regaining his IBF and WBC belts, Lewis has yet to face the fighter rated as the best of his generation.

Inevitably, a possible showdown against Mike Tyson was the talk of Las Vegas.

John Ruiz holds the WBA title

Despite a career which has seen incarceration, suspension, ear-biting and two crushing defeats, the former heavyweight champion is still the biggest drawcard in boxing.

Lewis has expressed his desire to confront the man he had the chance to fight in 1996.

Back then he opted to accept cash to step aside to allow Tyson to fight Evander Holyfield.

If a Tyson-Lewis bout is arranged then it is likely to break all records for the value of the purse on offer.

But the fight everyone wants to see may become a battle of boxing politics.

Neither Lewis nor Tyson is promoted by Don King - the man who almost dictates who fights who in the heavyweight division.

Ruiz and Holyfield meet again in March

The attraction of Tyson, apart from his fearsome punching power, is his propensity to explode into rages.

But aside from Tyson, there are others who would jump at the chance to fight Lewis.

John Ruiz, the WBA champion, is highly fancied in some corners, and aged 29, he has time on his side.

His next test comes on 15 December when he defends his title against the 39-year-old Holyfield.

Ruiz comprehensively beat Holyfield the last time they fought and the former world champion is a shadow of the fighter he once was.

Danny Williams is one for the future

Lewis has already fought, and comfortably outboxed, the Samoan David Tua, whose power punching accounted for both Ruiz and Rahman.

But he lacks the size and reach to trouble Lewis and while the veteran Oliver McCall beat Henry Akinwande, his best years are behind him.

Of the new breed, Canadian Kirk Johnson and Chris Byrd are highly-rated, but both have lingering question marks about their class.

Perhaps the biggest threat to Lewis may come from Wladimir Klitschko.

The 25-year-old Ukrainian already holds the WBO title.

He has lost just one of his 37 professional bouts and is one fighter who is just coming to his prime.

But Lewis would be wise to look to his own shores for challengers.

Great Britain and Commonwealth champion Danny Williams is only 27 and has lost just once in 24 fights.

Untested

He fought on with a dislocated collarbone to beat Mark Potter at Wembley and some feel, given time, he can succeed against the big boys.

The other contender, although he is still a few years away from a world title fight, is Olympic champion Audley Harrison.

He is undefeated as a professional, but the quality of his opponents has been questioned.

For the moment, Lewis, even aged 36, can feel confident of retaining his heavyweight belts as long as he boxes to the best of his undoubted ability.