'We'll see it's a mismatch in 45 seconds'

"I don't think this fight is going to go four rounds. Mike Tyson is going to come out to attack Lennox with more intensity and viciousness than Lennox has ever faced. But it is not going to be enough.

"Mike is going to come out giving his all, but Lennox has too much for him. It is the old saying - a good big man will beat a good little man, particularly if the big man is at the prime of his career.

"That is going to be the difference, and I don't care if it is boxing or standing toe-to-toe. Lennox is too powerful and too good."

At 6ft 5ins, London-born Lewis will tower over his notorious American rival by seven inches, and he will enjoy a reach advantage of 15 inches.

During a break at the training camp he has set up here at the Caesars Brookdale Resort 100 miles west of New York, 36-year-old Lewis said: "The only thing Tyson can do is come straight for me.

"His people are going to tell him to get inside. But the most technically gifted boxer in the world, Evander Holyfield, couldn't get in to me so I can't see how Tyson can.

"What Tyson is going to bring to me I've already seen. Many have tried it and none of them has been successful. Tyson won't be successful."

Lewis won the undisputed championship with a 12-round decision against Holyfield in November 1999. That defeat still hurts the 39-year-old veteran who will attempt to keep his career going against Hasim Rahman, one of only two men to have beaten Lewis, in Atlantic City on 1 June.

Holyfield, aware of the stand-off tactics Lewis could employ against Tyson, said: "When Lennox fought me he just wanted to avoid getting hurt. But Tyson won't let him get away with it.

"I can't see Lewis winning this even though he has the height and weight advantage.

"Tyson just loves getting inside and hitting the bigger guys. He's made a whole career out of doing that.

"Mike will knock Lewis out. There is no doubt in my mind. I believe that 100 per cent."

Lewis, looking in excellent shape up here in the cool mountain air, momentarily came to the boil as he retaliated to Holyfield's claims.

He said: "That represents sour grapes. Ten out of ten times I would beat Holyfield. He is just upset at me because I won't give him another fight. I think he should retire. He is an old man in the sport, he is a has-been."

That inclination to overheat at the slightest provocation, such as when Tyson advanced towards him during that infamous press conference in New York in January, is a concern for Steward.

He said: "Lennox only has problems with people he doesn't respect. His two loses, against Rahman and Oliver McCall, were because of that. If he respects somebody, it is different. Mike Tyson, he respects, but he totally wants to beat him up real bad."

Meanwhile, Audley Harrison's manager Colin McMillan hopes to find another opponent for the Olympic super-heavyweight champion by Monday. A viral infection forced Dominic Negus to pull out of his meeting with Harrison on 21 May.