MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Lennox Lewis had punched Mike Tyson to the canvas. Tyson lay flat on his back, his right eye nearly closed and bleeding, his left eye looking much the same. Tyson pawed at his bloody nose, lifted his head slightly and dropped it back to the canvas.

Lewis, meanwhile, raised his hands skyward, then dropped one to triumphantly pound his chest.

In the vernacular of the streets, a language Tyson truly understands, Saturday night's world heavyweight title bout was a "beat-down," plain and simple.

Tyson finally rolled over and got to one knee near the ropes in Lewis' corner, but he couldn't beat the count. Referee Eddie Cotton waved an end to the bout at 2:25 of the eighth round. Lewis had staged a resounding defense of his International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council titles.

"It was one of the most systematic beatings I've ever seen a heavyweight take," said Lewis' trainer, Emanuel Steward. "Lennox just did what he wanted, when he wanted. It was like a man playing with a boy."

On all three judges' cards, Lewis, 36, won every round but the first and fourth - the latter being a draw.

Lewis out-landed Tyson in overall punches, 193-49, including an 84-29 advantage in power punches. He also out-jabbed Tyson, 109-20. Tyson's right eye required several stitches to close. Though Tyson's nose was thought to be broken, it wasn't. The same couldn't be said about his spirit.

"The better man won tonight," said Tyson, 35. "I've had many nights where I was the better man. He's a wonderful fighter, but he was too big [6 feet 5, 249 pounds], too strong, and I don't know if I can beat that guy if he fights like that.

"I can take great shots, I proved that," said Tyson, 5-11, 234 pounds. "Tonight, Lennox Lewis hit very, very hard. He hurt me in the first round, and I never recovered. He wore me down, and then I started not to be able to see the right hands because my eye was closing."

In his post-fight news conference, Lewis chided members of the international media.

"Everyone has been talking about my legacy, but what more do you guys want from me?" said Lewis, sporting sideburns that are turning gray. "The question has been asked: Can I retire after a performance like this? Yes. But I'm going to enjoy this victory and think about it."

Lewis (40-2-1, 31 knockouts) has a mandatory defense against No. 1 IBF contender Chris Byrd, after which he could honor a rematch with Tyson (49-4, 2 no-contests, 43 KOs), as their contract stipulates.

"A lot of people didn't believe that I was going to be able to win this fight," Lewis said. "They felt like Mike Tyson was the same as in the beginning. But this was my most defining fight.

"Emanuel wanted me to take him out in the fourth round, but he didn't realize that I hurt my right hand in that round, so I had to rest up my right hand for at least a couple more rounds."

The judges gave the first round to Tyson, based on a few of the jabs he landed and Lewis' backward motion, but he took a beating over the next two rounds as Lewis jabbed and caught Tyson with uppercuts, right hands and hooks.

Tyson appeared to shake Lewis with a hard left hook in the third - his second of three in the fight - but by the end of that round, the first cut had materialized over Tyson's right eye.

"I thought Tyson was done in the third round, mentally," Steward said. "When they broke from clinches, he would stumble backward so slow. You could see that his mind was gone. It was over right then. If Lennox had really picked it up, he'd have hurt him more."

Once he was in command, Lewis "simply tied Tyson up and pushed him around," Steward said.

In the final round, Lewis rocked Tyson with a left-right combination early and finished him with a straight right hand.

"Lennox Lewis is very big, very strong, and his skills were very good tonight," said Stacey McKinley, Tyson's co-trainer with Ronnie Shields. "He threw three or four different types of jabs and put a lot of power behind his jabs. He threw three or four different types of right hands. He stepped back and then threw body shots. He did a lot of fantastic things."

Lewis and Tyson each earned about $20 million for the fight.

Showtime senior vice president Jay Larkin said Tyson's future with his network "is an open book."

"I don't know where he goes from here," Larkin said. "He's asked Lennox for a rematch. I'd venture a guess Mike's going to come back, probably a tuneup to get his head back where it needs to be. I think the public will tune in."