Pundits predict a knockout for Iron Mike

When Mike Tyson first fought in Britain two years ago against Julius Francis, 22,000 tickets were sold at Manchester's MEN Arena within 48 hours of the contest being announced. The old champion was mobbed in Brixton and had to run to a police station for safety. Unpalatable as it may be to some, he is the most popular fighter in Britain by a distance.

So here is the news of Iron Mike, as he tries to achieve what would be one of the most astonishing comebacks of all from a man who first won the title in 1986. He is talking like a champion and, if he is true to his word and knocks out Lennox Lewis, he will have earned the right to be called the best heavyweight on earth.

"I'm ready to get it on and crush this guy's skull," a hyped-up Tyson said in his only televised interview of the week, given after the weigh-in. "I want to show them who the real world champion is . . . the best fighter in the era.

"I'm from Brownsville, Brooklyn. I am not afraid of nobody in the ring or out of the ring, if they have a gun or a knife, and I'll show him that too.

"I am going to knock him out, probably before three rounds, but that is not necessarily what I have to do to win this fight. I have been boxing 12 rounds and I'm able to go that. But he's going to go down. I have already stamped my legacy on the mortal history of boxing, this is just another part to it. Every fight is normal to me. It is just a fight, a party so to speak.

Asked what he would be doing in the hours before the fight, Tyson said quick as a flash: "Praying. Praying that he doesn't die of a heart attack."

Lewis has said he is "ready to rid boxing of its last misfit", but the misfit looks in wonderful shape and, according to voices in the camp who take a more measured view than the hyperactive and irascible Stacey McKinley, he is relaxed and well prepared.

In short, we have the makings of a momentous contest, while it lasts. This is a sport, if boxing can ever be described thus, where mental sharpness and the intimidation factor can be crucial but it seems neither man is ready to bend merely to the other's will.

Lewis has left feared fighters frightened before the first bell sounded but Tyson is another story. And the clash of styles makes the outcome hard to predict. The expert analysts employed by Sky Television and BBC Radio, Glenn McCrory and Duke McKenzie, are unanimous. Tyson wins by knockout.

McCrory sparred almost 100 rounds with Tyson in his younger days and has fought Lewis. He says: "I don't think Lennox is what he was. It was a great finish he produced to knock out Hasim Rahman in his last fight but in the first round he was wobbled by two jabs. And Rahman is nothing compared with Tyson.

"I just think Tyson has more to offer. He has started throwing punches in clutches and that is so hard to defend against. Lennox has the capability to knock anyone out and he's immensely strong but, when there's doubt, he goes into defensive mode and fights on the retreat. That is made for Tyson."

McKenzie agrees: "Tyson will attack Lennox to the body. Nobody likes that and I believe Lewis has the style to make Tyson look devastating. Tyson knows this is his last big chance and he has the opportunity to show what we have missed in the years he was in jail. I believe Tyson will knock Lewis out and it could be quick. Lennox has never been good at close quarters and it is there he will be beaten."

With the bulk of the hype going in Tyson's direction, it is hard to stand firm and say Lewis will be victorious. But Tyson has not fought a man of comparable ability since Evander Holyfield and it should not be forgotten that in their first meeting in 1996 Holyfield did not just beat Tyson, he beat him up.

Holyfield prevailed by putting Tyson on the back foot. If Lewis can do similarly, in the crucial three minutes of the opening round, he will confirm the belief that Tyson is being judged on his distant past and he will stop Tyson. If not, Tyson will once more be the ruler of his world.

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