The indomitable spirit, holy or otherwise, which takes possession of Evander Holyfield at the sound of the bell and the sight of a boxing ring propelled him to yet another stirring victory as he stopped Michael Moorer in eight dramatic rounds in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Moorer was floored five times before referee Mitch Halpern called a merciful halt on the advice of the ring doctor. Although the IBF champion protested he was fit to come out for another round, by then he was taking a fearful battering and would have been in real danger of suffering serious injury.

So Holyfield, already holder of the WBA version of the belt, is in sight of a unification fight against WBC champion Lennox Lewis. Already negotiations have begun with a possible April 24th date in Las Vegas being mentioned.

Such was the emphatic manner of Holyfield's victory that he will undoubtedly fancy his chances of realising his last major ambition in boxing; to become undisputed heavyweight champion by overcoming in Lewis the only major fighting force of his generation who is not on his CV.

Lewis dismissed the contest as "pretty mediocre", which was a graceless sentiment perhaps born out of a desire to bolster his own confidence. When asked to assess Lewis this week, Holyfield said he looked good against opponents who don't hit back (i.e. Andrew Golota) adding: "Whatever happens if we meet, the one thing you can be sure of is that I will hit back!" The phoney war has started.

Moorer found out to his cost that the 35-year-old `Real Deal' not only hits back but is able to return aggression with interest, and it quickly became apparent that the 1997 vintage Holyfield would not suffer a repeat of the 1994 humiliation when Moorer gained a points verdict.

Only in the opening round, when Moorer nailed him with a solid right hook did Holyfield briefly look in trouble. The podgy 29-year-old underdog was unable to follow it up and, as it transpired, his best chance had gone.

A clash of heads left Holyfield's right eyebrow cut in the third, but his cornermen were able to staunch the flow of blood. Holyfield anxiously dabbed his glove against the wound but all problems were forgotten when he found his first big punch in the fifth, a perfectly timed right cross which sent the Detroit man to the canvas for the first time.

It was two rounds later, in the seventh, when the result became inevitable. Moorer was knocked down twice as Holyfield crashed right upper cuts into his jaw, but the damage had been done seconds earlier when he was suckered in and left on jelly legs when a left hook thundered into his temple as Holyfield exploded off the ropes.

Moorer has been dismissed in the past as a `dog' - fighting parlance for a lack of resolve when the chips are down. But he dispelled the theory and kept getting up, doing so twice more in the eighth before the end came.

Jeered into the ring, Moorer left to cheers; forced to obey the old master but still yapping for more: "Now he's won one and I've won one, perhaps we can have a third go at it. I thought we put on an excellent fight for the people."

Reverting to more typical surliness when one young American journalist asked what was his game plan, he answered: "My game plan was to win. That has to be the dumbest question."

Holyfield paid tribute to Moorer's will to win: "I hit him with good shots. He went down but got up and fought even harder. He's a technician, and I take my hat off to him because he showed heart. The game of boxing is a great sport because it's not so much about who won or lost, its the fight you put up.

"He caught me with a good shot in the first and staggered me to the corner, but its hard to knock out a good fighter with one shot, and unlike in the first fight, my left shoulder wasn't bothering me so I was able to block his shots."

As always, as a conspicuously devout Christian, Holyfield praised and thanked the Lord extensively. No wonder. Whatever gives Evander his self belief continues to make him a formidable opponent in the autumn of his fight career who now ranks along side the greats. He smiled happily as he told reporters the sweetest moment of his week had not been the victory in the ring but the huge religious rally he organised in Las Vegas and led on Thursday night.

"It touched a lot of people," he said. "Much of what I do when I get in the ring is for me and my family, but touching souls and stuff like that is for the Lord and that is ultimately what we are called to do. Boxing is a game. At some point in time it plays out. You have your day in the sun and you do all that you can. At some point there's going to be some more heavyweights and you want to leave boxing with an upright spirit. In the course of doing it you want to touch a lot of lives and inspire a lot of people to give their best."

Lewis was trying his best at ringside where he commentated with Reg Gutteridge in Channel 5's boxing debut. "I don't know how I sounded," he said, ever the perfectionist, "I felt too wrapped up with what was going on in the ring. But I will be able to shut my eyes and remember the fight and remember everything about Evander. Some day I will need that knowledge."

He chose not to go to the postfight press conference, saying Holyfield should be allowed to enjoy his moment of glory. Instead, he told BBC radio listeners: "I really do think that we are coming into my time. I have terrific respect for Holyfield but I don't think he'll be able to live with my power. When we fight, I predict that I will finish him three rounds. He looked ragged to start with and made mistakes."

Asked about a possible meeting with him he said: "Boxing politics makes it difficult but it looks as though a unification fight has to happen now. We both want it and the people want it."

And, after years of resisting business connections with Don King, Lewis and his backers are ready to make an about turn to work with King as promoter. Lewis is even prepared to take the short end of the purse in pursuit of the tag "undisputed champion" saying: "Sacrifices have to be made. We have to be realistic." At last.