Popping the question

Will Tyson be on his meds when he steps into the ring?

MEMPHIS -- The dark mystery surrounding Mike Tyson isn't just whether he can get inside Lennox Lewis' stiff jab, but whether he'll be medicated for the heavyweight title fight. Is he still taking drugs to help control his depression? Or, if he's gotten off them for the fight, will he have the advantage of entering the ring in a heightened state of irritability?

Team Tyson isn't in the mood to shed light on the issue, either.

It's another controversy for a sport whose policing of drugs is spotty at best. The Tennessee Boxing and Auto Racing Commission doesn't have mandatory drug testing. The World Boxing Council will, however, test before Saturday night's fight, but it allows anti-depressants -- including the newer generation Neurontin, which often is prescribed to treat chronic neck and back pain.

TIMELINE Mike Tyson's history of taking anti-depressants October 1998: In a report prepared for the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Tyson tells doctors he was recently treated with anti-depressants, but stopped taking them because they robbed him of the urge to fight. February 1999: Tyson was reportedly taken off the anti-depressant Zoloft two days before he became enraged and threw a TV set in a Maryland jail. He had been taking Zoloft on a daily basis for four months, except for the week prior to the Jan. 16 fight with Francois Botha. October 2000: Boxing officials in Detroit acknowledge Tyson was on medication for a bout with Andrew Golota, but it was not the drug he’d used in the past, Zoloft. When he was using Zoloft, he was taken off it before fights. January 2002: Tyson said he stopped taking anti-depressants six months earlier and no longer went to psychiatric therapy.

Because of past experience of boxers taking drugs during fights, the sanctioning body tests after bouts, though WBC president Jose Sulaiman said the unusual step is being taken to test before this fight "because we are afraid after the fight there will be a lot of chaos."

"I have no idea what he is taking," Sulaiman says of Tyson. "If there is any medicine prescribed by a doctor to help a human being and it is not intended to create superiority, then that is accepted."

Some state bodies, such as the Nevada State Athletic Commission, prohibit the use of Neurontin because it's thought to afford an unfair advantage. It is also widely acknowledged by boxing officials that Tyson used the drug during an October 2000 fight with Andrew Golota in Detroit, along with his having been taken off medication before fights to get his edge back.

Co-trainer Ronnie Shields, who joined the Tyson camp two months ago, says "I know they take him off [medication] two or three weeks before the fight. What it is or if he's been on anything, I don't know. But I know his attitude is great."

The other co-trainer, Stacey McKinley, doesn't care to know what drugs Tyson has put in his body. Instead, McKinley challenges the media to press the issue with Tyson and see how he reacts.

"And when I pick your ass up off the floor, then you will know," laughs McKinley, a nine-year veteran of the camp.

The ex-champ's stability already is well documented.

INDEPENDANT MEDICAL EVALUATION Evaluation requested by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to provide medical input regarding Mr. Tyson’s request for reinstatement of his boxing license, which was suspended after he bit the ear of Evander Holyfield during a June 28, 1997, fight. Key findings: • As a child, Tyson received special education services because of his behavior. • Failed by a "narrow margin" to earn a Graduate Equivalency Diploma • Tyson underwent some psychological evaluation and counseling as a child. • A few years before this evaluation, he received a diagnosis of Maniac Depressive illness and was placed on lithium carbonate, a mood stabilizer • A psychiatrist who treated Tyson reported he suffers from "dysthymic disorder (chronic depression) and issues related to personality." • At the time of his 1997 fight with Evander Holyfield, Tyson reported he was experiencing significant depression as a result of multiple financial and personal problems. • During five days of this evaluation, Tyson said "I have no self-esteem but the biggest ego in the world." He stated that he is uncomfortable with his celebrity status, indicating "I don’t want superstardom." • No definitive evidence was found that Tyson would be unable to handle unpredictable events in the ring. • Tyson is mentally fit to return to boxing. Outcome: • Tyson’s boxing license was re-instated by Nevada officials.

A team of psychiatrists and neurologist who evaluated Tyson in 1998 reported to the Nevada commission that he suffers from chronic depression, low self-esteem and bouts of fury. The doctors' report also revealed that Tyson briefly took lithium in 1988 after being diagnosed as manic-depressive and later controlled the condition with the anti-depressant Zoloft.

Medical experts describe lithium as potentially lethal for a boxer, because it reduces the body's ability to sweat and could led to overheating.

Several boxing commissions and trainers have also expressed concern about Tyson going on and off medication.

"In talking to doctors and people that have used [an anti-depressant], it does influence mood swing changes," says Emanuel Steward, Lewis' trainer. "Maybe that explains some of his behavior."

Dr. Margaret Goodman. chairman of the Nevada medical advisory board, says state officials promote that if someone is fit to box that they shouldn't require medication. If someone is being treated with an anti-depressant, however, she said boxers are not encouraged to slip off the medication before a fight.

"I know it's been mentioned about Mike going on and off medication," Goodman says. "That would not be something that we would recommend, something we probably wouldn't even allow. Either you need a medicine or you don't."

People who have evaluated or treated Tyson, including Dr. Richard Goldberg, have encouraged Tyson to stay on the medication.

But the question remains: Will he follow doctor's orders?

Mike Fish is a senior writer for CNNSI.com.

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