Boxing: Tyson/Lewis, the only fight

by George Soules Sports-Central columnist

Granting Mike Tyson a boxing license is like handing Godzilla a roadmap to New York City.

Having said that, I am among those boxing fans -- barbarians, if you prefer -- who thirst to see Iron Mike get in the same ring with the heavyweight champ, Lennox Lewis.

Many boxing greats, including Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, became a menace to themselves when they chose to take on younger, fitter opponents at a moment when their careers were in sharp decline.

Our Mikey is the first boxer to break that particular mold by becoming more of a menace to society-at-large, not to mention opponents who every have every reason to fear that if he can't ruin them with his fists, he will do it with a savage bite.

Hannibal Lecter never had it so good as Tyson, who returned recently to mandibular form by (reportedly) taking a chunk out of Lewis's leg. But, did Lennox really mind? You or I would press aggravated assault -- or even manslaughter charges -- on anyone who sunk his teeth into one of our body parts. Yet we are not among the lucky, it seems, who stand to make millions by offering the proverbial other cheek, so that the lawyers can turn such surreal behavior into an even bigger payday.

We will never know if Mike Tyson was really "mad" that recent night in New York, whether he was simply off his drugs, or whether he thought that this was a good way to hype the fight. (Not that the event has low-audience appeal. On the contrary, it shapes up as the most compelling matchup since Leonard/Hagler fifteen years ago.)

Yet his frenzy, and the bedlam that ensued, convinced the Nevada State Athletic Commission that Tyson had not reduced his capacity for endangering the lives of others in or outside the boxing arena. Perhaps the Nevada commission had no choice but to reject his license application, as Tyson's latest performance ridiculed their previous attempt (a $3 million fine and 18-month suspension) to rein in his anti-social tendencies.

Butm Tyson, by now, has us all by the balls. And he surely knows it. From a strictly legal point of view, he should be banned from the fight game. Yet, when did the members of this seamy sport ever really obey the rules?

The fans, and boxing promoters, have dictated the action over the years, have brought together the combatants in a collusion that never paid even scant attention to proprieties.

That's why this $100 million mega-fight won't go away. Since Lewis won his rematch with Hasim Rahman, it has been the number one "okay, let's get it on" story in the boxing world, even though both fighters, now in their mid-30s, would seem to be past their primes. Tyson's stature has been tainted by unexpected losses to Buster Douglas and Evander Holyfield, while Lewis has been caught by two big punches arriving from relative mediocrity named Rahman and Oliver McCall.

Which raises an elemental point: if and when they get in the ring (and in the absence of a Tyson-instigated jaw-crunching bloodbath), who will emerge victorious? The short answer is Lewis, since he is the certifiable champ and is more prepossessing physically than Tyson. Yet, as always in boxing, the issue boils down to styles. In this case, Tyson's devastating one-punch approach would seem to mimic the success of the two men who have defeated Lewis.

On the other hand, it is said that Lewis underestimated McCall and Rahman, which is why he was upset in those contests. Ali and many others have fallen into the same trap. It stands to reason that Lewis won't be undertrained or incautious when he takes on Tyson. Lewis will play the smart game, will strive to blunt Tyson's power early on, and go for the knockout when his prey is all but punched out, like Ali against George Foreman.

That's the "intelligent" pre-analysis of the fight, but who knows? Boxing is a wild card, just like Tyson. The fight may never come off. Tyson may be arrested for some horrific act again, maybe worse than rape. Lewis is no choir boy, either, and so he, too, could be his own worst enemy in bringing this fight to fruition.

At last call, after being shopped around internationally from Los Angeles to Spain and the Philippines, the Georgia State Athletic Commission has opened the door to a fight in Atlanta by approving Tyson's license in exchange for a $10 fee.

I don't think Osama Bin Laden or even George W. Bush have the power to stop this affair.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.