Tyson-Holyfield rematch, let the fighting begin<\/p>\n
By Steve James<\/p>\n
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (Reuter): Now, says Mike Tyson, is the time
\nfor the talking to end and the fighting to begin.<\/p>\n
After all the hyperbole and the public posturing, the mind
\ngames and the protests, Tyson's challenge Saturday (Sunday
\nWestern Indonesian Time) for Evander Holyfield's World Boxing
\nAssociation heavyweight title bout comes down to two men battling
\nin the ring in front of as many as three billion television
\nviewers worldwide.<\/p>\n
The eagerly anticipated rematch features an angry Tyson out to
\nprove that prison did not soften \"Iron Mike\" and that last
\nNovember's loss -- in which he was knocked down for only the
\nsecond time in his career -- was a momentary aberration.<\/p>\n
For Holyfield, who along with Muhammad Ali is the only three-
\ntime world heavyweight champion, the fight will determine how
\nhistory rates a fighter who was an underdog last Nov. 9 and still
\nattracts little respect from the oddsmakers.<\/p>\n
Tyson, a stocky 5-feet, 11-1\/2 inches (1.82 meters), is the 2-
\n1 favorite in Las Vegas for a fight dubbed \"The Sound and the
\nFury\" that will pay each man around US$30 million.<\/p>\n
Both men weighed in Thursday at 218 pounds (99 kg) and both
\nexpress confidence they are in the best shape to win.<\/p>\n
But there the similarity ends. While Holyfield exudes an inner
\ncalm, Tyson appears to be seething inside.<\/p>\n
Tyson, who turns 31 on Monday, closed his training camp to the
\npress and has limited his public comments to monosyllabic
\npredictions.<\/p>\n
\"People on his side are talking, people on my side are
\ntalking. They're not fighting,\" Tyson told reporters this week.
\n\"I'm going to fight and he's not going to have the championship
\ncome Saturday.\"<\/p>\n
Tyson, who has lost only two of 47 fights, appeared angry this
\nweek, blaming the media for painting him as a boxer whose time in
\njail for a rape conviction softened his once intimidating style
\nand the killer punching that made him the youngest world
\nheavyweight champion at the age of 20.<\/p>\n
A convert to Islam, Tyson has publicly identified himself with
\none of boxing's least popular champions, Sonny Liston.<\/p>\n
\"He was a great fighter and I think an interesting person,\"
\nTyson said when asked about Liston. \"He maybe got a raw deal, but
\nwe write our own book in life.\"<\/p>\n
And yet, when asked whether he had reached the same inner
\nserenity as Holyfield, Tyson snapped at the reporter.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not going to answer your question. I'm all right. I'm
\nOK!\" said the man who earlier denied he was emotional.<\/p>\n
Despite railing against the press and claiming to be a victim,
\nTyson got a break Friday when the referee who stopped the last
\nfight in the 11th round -- to prevent him receiving more
\npunishment -- withdrew from the rematch.<\/p>\n
The challenger's camp had objected to Mitch Halpern refereeing
\nback-to-back Tyson fights. Although the Nevada State Athletic
\nCommission voted not to switch referees, Halpern decided to step
\naside anyway, clearing the way for Mills Lane. Holyfield says he
\ndoes not care who referees.<\/p>\n
In contrast to Tyson's simmering fury, Holyfield, 34, has been
\nall goodness and light, constantly attributing his mental
\nstrength to the power of his Christian convictions.<\/p>\n
Confident<\/p>\n
Asked why he was so confident, the 6-feet, 2-1\/2-inch (1.89
\nmeters) fighter replied that there were many reasons \"but when
\nyou look at the whole thing, I think 'Why wouldn't I win?'\"<\/p>\n
The biggest question surrounding him has been whether he will
\nretire from boxing if he wins. His doctor wife has expressed her
\nconcern about her husband's occupational hazard of frequently
\ngetting punched in the head.<\/p>\n
Holyfield (33-3) refuses to say whether he would step down
\nfrom the ring, especially since a Tyson win on Saturday would
\nalmost certainly prompt promoter Don King to set up a third and
\neven more lucrative fight.<\/p>\n
King himself has compared the fight to Ali's classic battles
\nwith Joe Frazier and George Foreman, but Ali's legendary manager-
\ntrainer Angelo Dundee sees more of a parallel with the 1964
\nbattle that Ali -- then Cassius Clay -- fought with Liston.<\/p>\n
Seeing Tyson in the role of Liston, Dundee said Friday: \"His
\ncloak of invincibility is gone -- just like Muhammad Ali did to
\nSonny Liston.<\/p>\n
\"When you take the bully out of the guy, you're the boss.\"<\/p>\n
With celebrities, rap music industry figures and fight fans
\nflocking to America's gambling mecca, Las Vegas police -- who
\nexpect an unusual influx of 100,000 people, in part due to an
\n\"Ozzfest\" heavy metal concert -- are keeping a close eye out for
\npossible trouble.<\/p>\n
They want no repeat of the aftermath to the Tyson-Bruce Seldon
\nfight in September 1996 when rap star Tupac Shakur was shot and
\nmortally wounded in a drive-by shooting still unsolved but
\nbelieved to have been part of a war between East and West Coast
\nrappers.<\/p>\n
\"We'll be working the vice angle, the organized crime angle,
\nthe gang angle, along with traditional pickpockets, drunks and
\nminor fights, and there is also the concern about the East Coast-
\nWest Coast rapper situation,\" police Captain Ray Flynn told the
\nLas Vegas Review-Journal.<\/p>",
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