Tyson top draw on weekend card
Posted: Thursday September 17, 1998 10:40 PM
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Not that Vaughn Bean doesn't stand a chance, but...: Next up for Holyfield is Henry Akinwande early next year, with Lennox Lewis possibly to follow AP |
By Dave Raffo
Sportsticker Contributing Editor
Evander Holyfield, Oscar de la Hoya and the Nevada Athletic
Commission are the big favorites in boxing this weekend.
OK, so Mike Tyson has a better chance of getting his license
back than Vaughn Bean has of beating Holyfield or Julio Cesar
Chavez has of upending de la Hoya. And Tyson's Saturday hearing
will probably be more interesting than either of the big title
fights over the weekend.
But Tyson is an underdog, with an outside
chance if he goes the Bill Clinton route and apologizes ad
nauseum. If he puts on a similar performance to his one in New
Jersey earlier this summer, Tyson has no shot.
The odds against Tyson increased after his recent scuffle
following a traffic accident in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Two men,
aged 62 and 50, have filed assault charges against Tyson; one
claimed Tyson punched him, the other says Tyson kicked him in
the groin. Considering the age of the two men, Tyson must've
thought he was tuning up to fight the George Foreman-Larry
Holmes winner. Tyson, however, denies striking either man.
The incident turned up the heat on Tyson, and he probably will
be told he has to wait another year before reapplying for his
license.
The Nevada commission banned him after Tyson bit
Holyfield's ears in a June 1997 bout. But the real question
isn't if and when Tyson will fight, but where. If Nevada turns
him down, look for Tyson to return to the ring as soon as
possible either overseas or in a U.S. state with no boxing
commission.
Retirement from boxing is not an option for Tyson.
Not with a $6.3 million tax lien against him, little money left
from his ring earnings, a $33 million contract with Showtime to
televise his fights and no means of making money outside of
boxing.
A world tour would be Tyson's easiest option, competition-wise.
While U.S. fans will probably tire of him with another loss or a
few lackluster fights, he will remain a curiosity fighting
before fans who've never seen him box before. Tyson would still
draw against local opponents anywhere he goes, even if he loses
a fight or looks bad winning. And when Holyfield, Lennox Lewis
or their successors as heavyweight champion want an easy pay day
for a title defense, they can give Tyson a call.
So Tyson's return to the ring probably has more to do with what
happens with the charges against him in Maryland than his Las
Vegas hearing. One certainty is he won't be making any comeback
if he goes to jail again.
Who wrote that letter?
Last month I wrote that Tyson should have asked Holyfield to
testify on his behalf before the New Jersey commission, or at
least provide a written statement. Well, it turns out Tyson did
present a two-sentence letter from Holyfield. The problem is,
Holyfield didn't write it.
Holyfield's lawyer Jim Thomas told
The Newark Star-Ledger newspaper that one of the New Jersey
boxing commissioners wrote the letter, but Tyson's lawyer
Anthony Fusco said he wrote it and gave it to Holyfield at a
golf tournament to sign. In any case, the incident doesn't help
Tyson's chances of getting his license back from Nevada....
Holyfield's best? Don't count on it
Don't expect to see Holyfield anywhere near his best Saturday
night when he defends his IBF and WBA titles against Bean.
Holyfield's attention has been diverted by his having to promote
the bout in his hometown of Atlanta.
To get the fight there,
Holyfield agreed to take almost no guarantee, so his payday will
be determined by how many tickets he sells. That arrangement has
Holyfield working double-time on the promotional end and you
have to believe his training has suffered. Besides, he never
looks good in fights when he has nothing to prove.
Fortunately for Holyfield, however, Bean can't fight enough to
pull off an upset -- unless Holyfield is totally shot. Although
Bean is ranked the No. 1 challenger by the IBF, he hasn't fought
anybody except Michael Moorer. Moorer won their fight last year
despite being out of shape and disinterested. Take away Moorer,
and Bean's 31 opponents have a combined record of 181-511-19.
Bean might be better off if he lets his trainers--former
heavyweight champions Joe Frazier and Michael Spinks--fight for
him. But the one thing he has going for him is Holyfield's
almost as old as those guys.
"I'm going to attack him and make him feel those 36-year-old
legs," Bean said of Holyfield.
Holyfield's not too worried. He intends to spend Saturday
afternoon watching two of his sons play youth-league football,
but will no doubt have an eye on the ticket sales as fight time
approaches.
"My belts are staying around my waist," Holyfield said.
"How will long will it last? It depends how much the man can
take. The average person can last two or three rounds. After
that they start breathing heavy. We'll see what happens."
The bad news is, no matter how quick he goes through Bean,
Holyfield won't be fighting WBC champion Lewis any time soon.
Next up for Holyfield is Henry Akinwande early next year, with
Lewis possibly to follow. Lewis will keep busy September 26
against Zeljko Mavrovic of Croatia and he probably won't be
interested enough to look good either. ...
De La Hoya more than motivated
De la Hoya suffers from no lack of motivation, despite his easy
win against Chavez back in 1996. He said he wants to stop
Chavez early Friday night in Las Vegas because Chavez made
excuses after losing the last time. Chavez blamed the loss on a
cut eye suffered in training. The cut opened with the first
good punch, and de la Hoya slugged his way to a fourth-round
TKO.
"If it was up to me, this one wouldn't even be in the record
books," de la Hoya said. "I'm fighting for the respect he didn't
show me the first time. That's how personal this one is.
"If the fight goes to a decision, he'll feel like he won and
I'll never hear the end of it. So I can't let that happen. I
want to knock him out, not stop him on cuts."
The 36-year-old Chavez is 4-0-1 since losing to de la Hoya, but
has obviously faded from the fighter who was once one of the top
champions in history.
"De la Hoya said I didn't give him respect in the first fight,"
Chavez said. "I didn't give it because it was never earned."
De la Hoya says he wants to win early, and retire Chavez
(101-2-2) for good.
"I really recommend he retires after this," de la Hoya said.
If de la Hoya achieves his goal, we might see the end of the
line for two of the best lightweight champions ever just a few
weeks apart. Roberto Duran said he was calling it quits after
taking a beating from middleweight champion William Joppy last
month. ...
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