LENNOX Lewis is boxing's biggest and best champion of the world.

I just wish he would start acting like it instead of like the world's biggest puppet.

When you're number one it's up to the rest to come to you if they want your title. Not the case with Lewis who seems resigned to leaving the venue up to his TV paymasters and his challenger's camp.

In a nutshell, when TV and his opponents tell him to jump Lewis asks: "How high".

His next fight is against an unknown guy called Hasim Rahman from Baltimore in America in April. The venue is under discussion but Rahman (who?) is refusing go out of the States.

He says: "I'll fight Lewis only in America. Not South Africa, England or anywhere else."

How's that for front. A guy nobody's ever heard of telling the champion where they'll fight. The joke is that Lewis will probably agree.

It's the same story with the proposed summer clash of the titans against MikeTyson with America the only venue under discussion.

True, American TV company HBO, who have Lewis under contract, don't like going overseas if they can avoid it. But they've done it before and Lewis should insist they do it again, and again and again.

He doesn't need the money and he's learned from his first fight against Evander Holyfield that when you fight an American in the States in front of American judges, beating the opponent is only half the battle - the hard part is beating the judges.

Lewis has the title they all want and he should stop pandering to the Yanks and make them come into his back yard to get it back.

The Americans can't stand being number two, especially at boxing, and if Lewis stood his ground they'd soon be over.