Mood swings

Etienne changes mind, Tyson fight back on

Mike Tyson missed three straight sparring sessions after getting the tattoo. AP

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- First Mike Tyson changed his mind. Now Clifford Etienne has changed his, too.

Etienne agreed Wednesday to fight Tyson as planned, marking another twist in the soap operalike saga that has enveloped the heavyweight fight for days.

"He called me this morning and said he's fighting," Etienne's manager, Les Bonano said. "In this wacky world of boxing what can you say."

Etienne had been unhappy that Tyson was dictating terms of the fight, and promised a day earlier to give up nearly $1 million and the chance of a lifetime to take on the once fearsome former heavyweight champion.

"I think he's going to win and fight for the heavyweight title," Bonano said.

Although Tyson was said to have flu-like symptoms over the weekend, his recent run of odd behavior began a week ago, when he went out and got a large tattoo, a design with a tribal motif that almost encircles his left eye. He then missed three straight sparring sessions, leaving trainer Freddie Roach waiting at the gym without explanation.

Tyson, who will reportedly earn more than $5 million for the fight, reversed course Tuesday and boarded a chartered jet to Memphis.

"Mike told me he wants to fight, and we're here to fight," Roach said after the plane landed.

Roach had said he told Tyson that he didn't think he was ready for the fight but would stand behind him. After landing, Roach sounded more confident.

"It didn't help at all, but in a couple of days we can get the timing back in," Roach said.

While Tyson's mood swings are well known, Etienne had a little fit of his own.

"I'm going to show him I don't have to live by Mike's rules," Etienne said. "I think he has mental problems, but Mike has to live with that."

Proving that an opponent is just an opponent, however, promoters said they had four fighters lined up to replace Etienne.

"If I were him, I'd be jumping for joy that he's fighting a Mike Tyson who hasn't trained for days," said Tyson's manager, Shelly Finkel. "I think you'll see him fight. If not, we have others to take his place."

On Tuesday, the 36-year-old Tyson said he was feeling better and wanted to fight. The night before, Tyson said he wasn't 100 percent and didn't want to risk not being his best.

Tyson might have been influenced by the unhappiness of Showtime executives who had a big weekend of programming built around him and the possibility the network might drop the fighter from its stable. He also faced losing a return match with Lennox Lewis that would pay him millions more.

Tyson reportedly wanted more money for the fight. He was to make between $5 million and $10 million, far less than the $20 million for losing to Lewis in June.

Tyson owes his ex-wife $6.5 million in future earnings as part of their divorce settlement.

Etienne hadn't been expected to present much of a problem for a fit Tyson. The former champ was a 7-1 favorite against a fighter hand-picked by promoters for his willingness to stand in front of Tyson and trade punches.

Bonano said his fighter was up all night thinking the fight was canceled and said he now wasn't mentally prepared to fight. But Etienne would have made his biggest payday ever: nearly $1 million.

Tyson's handlers waited days for him to give them a signal on his willingness to fight. They decided to cancel the bout after the boxer missed a flight to Memphis for the second day in a row Monday.

After the fight was called off, Showtime executives decided to move an undercard headed by Olympian Jeff Lacy to Bally's hotel-casino in Atlantic City, N.J., and televise it along with some interviews with Tyson and Etienne in place of the main event.

Once the most fearsome heavyweight around, Tyson has shown little inclination to fight in recent years and has lost three of his last nine fights, two by knockout.

Tyson fought an average of only five rounds a year in the last 51/2 years -- and eight of those came while he was taking a beating in his fight against Lewis.

But Finkel said Tyson remains a big attraction.

"In the crazy world of Mike Tyson, one thing you have to know is Mike Tyson will always be in demand," Finkel said. "He's still a star -- he's the star. He won't be hurting for places to fight."

Brian Young, one of the local promoters, said 10,700 tickets had been sold for the fight but that ticket sales dried up over the weekend as speculation mounted that Tyson would not fight. Young estimated he would lose about $1.4 million if the fight was canceled.

 

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