Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 16, 1990 TAG: 9006160247
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: THOMAS STINSON COX NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS, NEV. LENGTH: Medium
"They want to see me self-destruct," Tyson said. "They want to see me in handcuffs, see the police lead me out like Marlon Brando's son or something."
Such is the state of mind of the former world heavyweight champion, a man so recently thought invincible, a man seared by one failure. If the world does want to see Tyson bleed more, then he finally has escaped to the place he is the safest, back inside the ropes where he may regain control of a life out of kilter.
"This is the most important fight of my life at this time," Tyson said. "I'm going to try to win every round before I look to knock him out."
The most important fight of his life is tonight. The opponent, Henry Tillman, and the venue, Caesars Palace, are not inconsequential. It was here during the 1984 Olympic Trials that Tillman defeated Tyson - not once but twice - with Tyson attempting to wrench his hand from the referee's and walk off during the postfight announcement when he realized the second decision was going against him.
Don King, co-promoter of this event, said Tillman was selected for this fight for that exact reason. From that night in 1984, Tyson did not lose another fight until Feb. 11 in Tokyo to James "Buster" Douglas. So Tillman becomes a logical place to start again, an opponent who can give Tyson the chance to repair public perception and relieve his private distress.
"It could be judged as so," said Archie Moore, the former light heavyweight champion. "Tyson is a great fighter. Make no mistake about that. And that loss could have been just the right seasoning to make him the fighter he should be."
Defeat often determines more about a fighter than victory, and Tyson's detractors perceived the Douglas loss as a sign of weakness. For the first time in his career, Tyson was down and hurt, and when his precious title was in jeopardy - Tyson speaks of the heavyweight belt in religious tones - he failed to respond. The indomitable Joe Frazier hardly ever won a big fight until he had been hurt, the mark of a champion and a point certainly not lost on Tyson, the fight historian.
Let alone a first defeat, the loss of a title can be ruinous. George Foreman knows that too well.
"What you go through is like withdrawal," said Foreman, who lost the heavyweight belt to Muhammad Ali in 1974 in the Rumble in the Jungle. "You're ashamed to see anybody, especially the skycaps at the airports. You don't want to see the taxi drivers because everybody's going to say something to you.
"In your mind, you've got to build yourself back up, so you start spending millions of dollars on suits and cars, anything you can do to make yourself look like a champion of the world. But deep down inside, it doesn't happen until you get the title back. I think Mike Tyson is going through that. I went through it. . . . He'll never sleep until he redeems himself."
Said Tyson, "I haven't been depressed or anything. You just gotta make it up. I didn't have the motivation against [Douglas]. He's a good fighter. I'm not taking anything away from him. I'm certainly not crying about it. I just want the title back."
If so, he has a strange way of showing it.
Tyson has moved to strengthen his corner, which drew the bulk of the blame after the Douglas fight. Richie Giachetti, an abrasive trainer from Cleveland, was brought in to oversee preparations. Tyson cronies Aaron Snowell and Jay Bright work with the fighter, but, as Tyson said, they are limited to "giving their opinions."
This week Tyson twice called off workouts, a stunning decision so close to fight night. He claims his weight varies between 218 and 220 pounds and says he has not had to drop 20 pounds, as he did before the Douglas fight. He has not been available to reporters here, and there has been speculation surrounding his true physical condition.
Still, none of it may matter. Local sport books have established Tyson as a 27-1 favorite. Tillman (20-4) is rumored to have been knocked down three times by sparring partners. He has recovered recently from a six-fight period in which he lost three times, starting with Evander Holyfield's seventh-round knockout in February 1987.
Yet given such odds, the world looks at Tyson and wonders.
"You can't read the depths of the guy's mind," said Angelo Dundee, a trainer who has worked with numerous world champions. "When a guy comes up from the street level, how's he going to react? Maybe he got the heck beat out of him as a little kid in a street fight. What's he going to do now? You really don't know. This is going to be interesting to see how he reacts."
Foreman, expected to be Tyson's next opponent, said, "Tyson's young and he doesn't have any leadership. He's like a great big and beautiful ship that doesn't have a captain. Once he finds a captain, that ship will sail fine. Otherwise, it's going to be another Titanic story."
Keywords:
BOXING
by CNB