Tyson Remains the Talk of Boxing

Mike Tyson is keeping mum about fighting again. <br><br>``I've been talking to him, and he really hasn't changed,'' said Shelly Finkel, adviser to the former heavyweight champion, who said

Thursday, November 16th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Mike Tyson is keeping mum about fighting again.

``I've been talking to him, and he really hasn't changed,'' said Shelly Finkel, adviser to the former heavyweight champion, who said his win over Andrew Golota was his last fight. ``But he likes fighting still, and I hope he's going to do it.''

Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield hope so, too.

Indications are Tyson will fight again.

He showed up at Grand Central Terminal on Oct. 31 to watch Lewis train for his one-sided decision over David Tua last Saturday at Las Vegas, and Tyson watched the fight on pay-per-view.

``He was disappointed at the lack of effort by Tua and he thought Lewis did enough to win and nothing more,'' Finkel said.

Should Tyson fight again, Finkel said, ``I'd love to see him fight Holyfield and beat him and then fight Lewis.''

Either or both fights would be held next year.

There's been a lot of talk about Tyson fighting an opponent to be determined in January at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but Finkel said, ``That fight is dead.''

A third fight against Holyfield would be attractive because of their second match in which Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield's ears. For a match to be a pay-per-view success, it must draw more than just boxing fans.

It would also make sense for Tyson because Holyfield holds the WBA title taken from Lewis by a federal judge in a breach-of-contract ruling. Should Tyson beat Holyfield, he would have a solid bargaining chip in negotiations for what would be a fight for the undisputed heavyweight title.

A Tyson victory over Holyfield, however, is anything but guaranteed. Holyfield is not the fighter who twice beat Tyson, and Holyfield was unimpressive in outpointing John Ruiz for the vacant WBA title, but he is a proud man who would get ready for Tyson. Holyfield got his first fight against Tyson because he had looked bad in winning a previous bout against Bobby Czyz.

Lewis has been talking for some time about fighting Tyson, and the laid-back WBC-IBF champion from Britain could handle Tyson's prefight hype.

The hype hero of Lewis' last fight was the blocky, 5-foot-10 Tua with his Samoan warrior's haircut. The 6-5 champion, however, proved that once the bell rings, height is more important than hoopla.

Lewis kept Tua off balance and outside with sometimes pawing, sometimes hard left jabs. He also was able to push Tua away or wrap him up, and he kept his right hand high, guarding against Tua's left hook, but he would sneak in a right-hand lead or a crisp, hard combination of three or four punches.

It might not have been spectacular, but Lewis' performance was efficient. He did not need to take risks, so he didn't.

Tyson stands about 5-10, although he is listed at 5-11 1/2 . Being quicker that Tua and more savvy against top competition, Tyson might be more successful that Tua was in getting inside against Lewis. If he did, however, Lewis could resort to his effective right uppercut, which he did not need against Tua.

While Tyson might have a bigger arsenal than Tua, who virtually ignores his right, it doesn't seem he takes as good a punch as Tua.

A lot of people â€” boxing fans, Lewis fans, Tyson fans, Tyson haters â€” would play a lot of money to find out.