Boxing: Can Tyson comeback

Where does Mike Tyson go from here after a convincing eighth round knockout loss to heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis?

A lot of people say retirement is his best option, after all, it would seem his days as the baddest man on the planet are now long past.

It would hard to argue with them after last Saturday night's poor performance in Memphis, Tennessee, but there still could be life in Iron Mike's career if he does what he needs to do to get back on track.

The first thing he needs to do is take a month or two off and just relax and heal whatever physical and psychological wounds he may have suffered as the result of the battering he received at the hands of Lewis.

After this rest period he needs to get back to the gym and get back to work on the fundamentals that he lacked in the Lewis fight.

There was a time when Tyson was a well schooled fighting machine who fought out of crouch to take advantage of his shortness in stature and who came in hard behind multiple left jabs and hard combinations to the head and the body.

Tyson also used to move his head from side to side as he came in to avoid the punches of his adversaries.

Tyson did these things in the first round of the fight, but inexplicably abandoned his fight plan thereafter.

Was it because he became frustrated with Lewis' increased workload after that first round?

Only Tyson knows this for sure.

Of course, all of this hinges on Tyson getting a world class trainer and actually listening to what that trainer has to say.

It was when Tyson fired Kevin Rooney that he started to fall into a lot of bad habits, like standing too straight up, loading up and throwing one punch at a time, and not moving his head from side to side to avoid punches.

Habits he got away with against lesser opposition that would never work against a great fighter like Lewis.

Tyson has been like a great ship without a captain since that time, wandering somewhat aimlessly through rough seas doing whatever, whenever he wants.

Tyson needs to have someone he respects at the helm, not some yes men who cater to his every whim.

He needs someone to set some discipline and help keep him focused on the job at hand, instead of falling prey to all of the distractions that can come with fame and fortune.

Can this be done or will he always be a victim of his at times unstable personality?

I say yes it can be done, because if he did it during his quick accession to the top of the boxing world at the tender age of twenty when he should have been more likely to succumb to the pitfalls of immaturity, he can do it now at age thirty-six, which he turns on June 13.

He is still not too old to make another run at the title.

The next thing Tyson needs to do after getting back to the basics in the gym is what I recommend for all fighters who have a major setback in their careers -- fight.

He needs to fight at least every three or four months against lesser opposition to sharpen the skills he will need when another championship opportunity presents itself and also to get some of his confidence back.

He shouldn't worry about making a lot of money at this point in these bouts, he shouldn't have to worry about this anyway as he made a lot of money for the Lewis fight.

Only after Tyson has beaten at least three or four lessor opponents in a period of about a year, should he then go after at least two ranked contenders, and only after beating these contenders should he fight for the title again.

Tyson made a big mistake by taking on Lewis after only having one fight in the last year-and-a-half, a seventh round TKO over Brian Nielson of Denmark in October of 2001, and ring rust may have played a roll in his poor performance.

I don't expect Tyson to fight twenty-seven times in just over a year-and-a-half like he did during his first march to the heavyweight title, but he does need to stay active.

It is not too late for Tyson to resurrect his career and he can do it if he does the things he needs to do to get another shot at the big time.

Tyson has not taken a lot of beatings over the years, and with the exception of his four losses, he devastated just about every other fighter he has ever faced.

Take nothing away from Lewis' fine performance, Tyson is still capable of making a much better showing of himself, and if he does lose again when he gets another title shot, then at least he can say he did the best he is capable of doing.

I don't believe that was the case this past Saturday night against Lewis.

If Tyson isn't prepared to do the work needed to make another run to the top, then he can do himself and everyone else a favor and retire.