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October 1999
Each month we bring you a selection of articles from the current and past issues of BOXING MONTHLY. To buy the magazine, see our subscription or back issues pages, or use our world distribution map to find a news-stand copy. Why not use our Interactive Forum to express your own boxing comments and opinions!
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BIANCA'S OFF BUT GUESS WHO'S BACK...
STEVE FARHOOD on why Mike Tyson, back again this month, is the longest-running soap opera in sport. |
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WHAT ELSE IS HE GONNA DO: if McDonald's pays $6 an hour, Tyson would have to work
round the clock for about 192 years to equal his $10 million purse for the Norris fight
- Get Big Pic He's
back, and that means we're front and centre to watch. No apologies
are necessary.
We don't need a battery of psychologists and sociologists to tell us
why so many of us remain fascinated with Mike Tyson. The general public
stays tuned because "Iron Mike" is the longest-running soap opera in
sports. And boxing fans can't resist because while Lennox Lewis and
Evander Holyfield produced a you-boys-play-nicely-now stinker, Tyson
rendered Frans Botha unconscious with one mighty blow. Maybe Tyson can't
do it like he used to, but when he does it, he gets it right.
At age 33, and having reigned twice as heavyweight champion, Tyson now
boxes on an island of his own. Some ratings panellists list him among
the division's 10 best, and some don't bother, as if his on-again,
off-again presence is a mere shadow. His KO of Botha didn't alter the
title picture in the least, and his 23 October bout with Orlin Norris
doesn't figure to have much of an impact either. Yet our eyes continue
to be glued and our imaginations stimulated, whether the opponent is
Norris, Butterbean, George Foreman, a 50-year-old member of the Nevada
State Athletic Commission, or a 60-year-old motorist in suburban
Maryland.
In recent years, Tyson, beset by legal problems and suspensions, has
made us wait. It might be his turn this month, when Showtime will hold
the opening bell of his bout with Norris until the conclusion of the
nationally televised first game of the 1999 World Series. What happens
if the Yankees and the Braves involve themselves in a 14-inning
marathon, complete with two rain delays, nine pitching changes, and a
bomb scare that clears out the stadium? In the States we might be
watching Tyson snap, crackle, and pop with our morning cereal.
Tyson last fought in January; the Botha fight was his first start in
18 months, or since his surrealistic rematch with Holyfield. Despite the
devastating right hand that saved him, he was covered with more ring
rust than a stripped 1974 Volkswagen stuck in a gully. The plan was to
start him again in a couple of months. (Tyson's staggering tax debt also
had something to do with the sense of urgency.) But Tyson is to
long-range planning what La Nina is to weather forecasters, and a
fender-bender and related case of road rage resulted in three and a half
months in jail on assault charges. Now Tyson starts again, something he
seems to do more often than Sisyphus.
A fair question at this point: Does Tyson really want to fight
anymore? "I think so," said the heavyweight's trainer, Tommy Brooks. "If
not, he's got the wrong trainer. What else is he gonna do? Can you
picture Mike flipping burgers at McDonald's or hauling trash?"
Let's see: My totally undependable sense of mathematics tells me that
if McDonald's pays roughly $6 an hour, Tyson would have to work about
192 years to equal his $10 million purse for the Norris fight. And
that's without sleep, 24-7.
Brooks is right: When it comes to Tyson's entourage, career
counsellors need not apply. As
was the case during Tyson's salad days, choosing his opponents is a
difficult task. A decade ago, he had cleaned out the division and there
were no worthy challengers left standing. Today, the concerns are far
different. For the October date, Tyson's brainstrust, including adviser
Shelly Finkel, Showtime boxing boss Jay Larkin, and America Presents
promoters Mat Tinley and Dan Goossen, sought a fighter who was credible,
capable, and marketable, but certainly not indestructible, infallible,
or unbeatable. (Curiously, trainer Tommy Brooks said he wasn't involved
in the selection process.) After the near-disaster against Botha, during
which Tyson fought like the saddest man on the planet, the heavyweight's
championship potential needs to be re-established. As a result, a
90-second knockout win over a trialhorse, a professional sparring
partner, or any blood relative of Peter McNeeley will prove next to
nothing. But at this point in Tyson's career, a next-to-nothing
heavyweight might be good enough to beat him.
What's a manager to do?
If you're wondering why every living heavyweight, and a handful of
dead ones, have mailed in their entry forms for the Tyson Sweepstakes,
it's a matter of dollars and sense. For his most recent fight, a
one-round blowout of England's Pele Reid in June, Norris was paid
$20,000. After taxes and training expenses, he came home with about
$5,000. For the Tyson fight, he'll earn a career-high purse of $800,000.
"Upon hearing that he got the fight, Orlin's reaction was that he'll
believe it when he and Tyson touch gloves," said Scott Woodworth, who
has managed Norris for 11 years. "Then he gave me the biggest bear hug.
He tried to be very controlled, but I've never seen him this excited."
After the jockeying stopped and the rumours fizzled out, the short
list included three men: Norris, Zeljko Mavrovic, and Buster Douglas.
Big Bus was the obvious choice; in 1990, he scored a 42-1 upset by
taking Tyson's three belts in Tokyo. Indeed, Tyson-Douglas II was
informally announced in August. Only a few days later, however, Douglas,
39, was scratched. "Buster Douglas is not in fighting shape and will not
be by October," said Goossen. Douglas reportedly weighed more than 300
pounds. Worse yet, in June 1998, he had been KO'd in one round by Lou
Savarese. I doubt he would've lasted any longer vs. Tyson.
Ultimately, Norris won out over Mavrovic because of visibility.
"Mavrovic was seriously considered," said Finkel, "but outside of the
Lennox Lewis fight [an unexceptional September 1998 title fight won by
the champion on points], nobody here had seen him. Norris was an active
fighter who comes to fight. He was the right fighter for Mike."
"If I were training Tyson," said Woodworth, "I wouldn't fight
Mavrovic. He's awkward, and he gave Lennox Lewis a good fight. Why Orlin
Norris? The word is Orlin can't punch and has to get inside. You never
have to go looking for him. And when was the last time Tyson fought
someone smaller than him? But history is going to show that Tyson made a
big mistake by picking Orlin Norris." For
most of his career, Orlin Levance Norris, who will be 34 by fight
time, was nicknamed "Juice". In an effort to distance himself from the
disgraced O.J. Simpson, he now goes by "Night Train". Norris has proved
top-shelf at two weights, but it was younger brother Terry, a three-time
junior middleweight champion and longtime pound-for-pound entrant, who
excited the masses. Orlin is a bit dull to watch, as technically
proficient fighters often are. But that's okay - it's going to be
Tyson's job, and not Norris's, to raise our blood pressure.
The 5ft 11ins Norris turned pro in June 1986, at which point Tyson,
who is a year younger, had already engaged in 22 bouts. Scaling 210-215
pounds, the Texas-born, California-based heavyweight won the NABF title
in his 16th bout and successfully defended against the likes of Renaldo
Snipes, Jesse Ferguson, and Greg Page. Tyson was the undisputed champion
at the time, and at one point, Norris rose to number three in the
rankings, behind only "Iron Mike" and Holyfield. But there was never as
much as a whisper concerning a Tyson-Norris fight. Six days after Tyson
was shocked by Douglas, Norris was stopped by Bert Cooper, making the
point moot.
In the years that followed, Norris regained the NABF title, scoring a
win over Oliver McCall along the way. But in 1991, heavyweight champion
Holyfield was concerning himself with megabuck defences against George
Foreman and Tyson, and Norris opted to drop down to cruiserweight. The
move seemed a no-brainer; he lacked the power to hurt heavyweights, and
if anything, his speed and defence improved. Still, the toll was
considerable. "Every time," said Woodworth, "he was dropping 36, 37
pounds to make weight."
In 1993, Bobby Czyz vacated the WBA cruiserweight title, leaving
top-ranked contenders Norris and Argentina's Marcelo Figueroa to vie for
the throne in Paris. Norris rushed from his corner and scored a
knockdown inside of five seconds. The lanky Figueroa survived until
round six, but looked a loser the entire way.
"Orlin just missed on the record for the fastest KO ever in a title
fight," said Woodworth. "When he's motivated, that's what he can do. But
even then, he knew. He said to me: 'Terry has Sugar Ray Leonard [whom
the junior Norris defeated in 1991]. I need Holyfield or Tyson. No one
will believe me until I beat one of them.'"
Norris made four defences, including wins over future world champions
Arthur Williams and Adolpho Washington, before losing the title to Nate
Miller on the Nigel Benn-Vincenzo Nardiello undercard at London Arena in
July 1995. Norris was exhausted by the finish and left the ring on a
stretcher. He would battle the scales no more; half a year later, he
added 32 pounds and made his return as a full-fledged heavyweight.
The results have been mixed. A points loss to Henry Akinwande in
December '97 cost Norris a shot at the world title, but he rebounded
with nationally televised decision victories over a pair of old buddies
and blown-up cruisers, Washington and Miller.
"The hard part is out-hustling Orlin," said Miller, whose rematch with
Norris came in August '98. "Those little arms can go and go and go. He
doesn't punch that hard, but he stays busy. In the second fight, he just
beat me to the punch all the time.
"If they're set in a clinch, Norris will throw a lot more punches than
Tyson. He'll try to beat him inside. But Norris is tailor-made for Mike.
Mike will try to take his heart. Orlin doesn't punch hard and Tyson
knows it. Orlin will try and slip and move his head side to side, but I
think Mike will catch him with everything. Orlin is the perfect
opponent. It won't go past six rounds."
Norris spent a good portion of 1999 waiting for a promised shot at
then-WBO champion Herbie Hide. Hide pulled out twice, and when he
finally risked the belt, it was against Russian man/monster Vitali
Klitschko. Norris met flawed Brendan Ingle protégé Reid on the undercard
and wiped him out in 91 seconds. The demolition wasn't enough to scare
off Team Tyson.
Former junior lightweight champion Corny Boza-Edwards, who trained
Norris for his last three starts, won't be in the corner on 23 October.
In a 25 August column in the New York Daily News, Boza was quoted by
boxing writer Michael Katz: "Absolutely [Norris] can win. He can fight
and he's very intelligent, someone who'll frustrate Mike so desperately.
He's the kind of guy you hate to fight. Plus, Mike has trouble with
intelligent fighters. He's okay against street guys, druggies, but put
him in with someone intelligent and he struggles."
(In an interview conducted for this story, Boza denied making those
statements.)
Immediately after Team Norris was made aware of the quotes, Boza was
told his services were no longer needed.
"Katz had him saying Tyson couldn't beat anybody but druggies and
street thugs," explained Woodworth. "When you don't have a signed
contract, that's not a smart thing to do. I got calls from all the
relevant people asking what was going on. Plus, Boza was giving Orlin's
home number out to all these small radio stations, and in the Norris
family, that's a no-no. Ultimately, the decision came down to Orlin."
Norris can only hope Boza is replaced by another familiar face. Orlin
Sr. has always been an integral part of his sons' corners, but earlier
this year he was diagnosed with leukaemia and lymph node cancer. He
underwent chemotherapy, and the disease has been in remission for three
months.
"We try to be upbeat, and we're hoping he will be in camp," said
Woodworth. "One of the reasons Orlin got so excited about the fight is
that he knows he'll now be able to help his father pay his medical
bills."
In the meantime, Norris is working with Danny Garcia, the brother of
junior lightweight champion Roberto Garcia. It is anticipated that
another trainer will be added to the team. "If
Mike does what he's supposed to do," said Tommy Brooks, "I'd say the
fight goes three rounds."
Brooks spoke to me from Las Vegas, where Tyson was training privately
at the Golden Gloves Gym, sparring six rounds every other day with Stan
Allen and Darren Hayden. The sparring, Brooks said, would peak at eight
rounds per day.
When Tyson began initial training in Phoenix, he weighed 265-270.
Brooks said he had reduced to 240, and would scale about 230 at the
weigh-in.
"Given how much time off Mike has had, two and a half months isn't
really enough," Brooks said. "But you have to play the cards you're
dealt. Fundamentally, the kid already knows how to fight. We're just
trying to get Mike back to doing what he does best. As Archie Moore used
to say: 'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.'
All you can do is hope a guy listens and follows the fight plan. If Mike
follows the plan, the fight is easy."
Having returned to Team Tyson is Jay Bright, who has served a number
of roles during Iron Mike's career. Bright is a disciple of Cus D'Amato,
and while Brooks said he didn't know who brought the former head trainer
back, he was happy about Bright's presence. "It helps me cut through the
bullshit," he said. "We're trying to get Mike back to doing what he used
to do, and that's what Jay knows best."
This is what Brooks wants Tyson to do against Norris: use the jab as a
range-finder, punch in combination, and change angles. "Norris won't
quit, he's been there before," said Brooks. "He's a good journeyman.
He'll come to Mike - until he gets hit. I'm worried only about head
butts. These guys are the same size and they'll be trying to get inside
at the same time."
And the perfect scenario for Norris? "Orlin has to box," said
Woodworth. "He can't make the mistake Botha made. He needs to box for
four or five rounds, get Mike in deep water, and then see what kind of
shape Mike's in. And most importantly, don't let this guy hit you! One
thing about Botha is that he has a great chin, and Tyson dropped him
dead."
Here's a third view: Look for Tyson to miss badly at times, much as he
did before knocking out Buster Mathis Jr. Look for lots of clinching and
wrestling. Look for Tyson to land the only significant punches. And look
for Norris to hang tough, even when under fire.
If I knew Tyson was going to fight as he did against Botha, I'd pick
Norris to win on points. But how can Tyson possibly look that bad again?
Then again, if Tyson were predictable, we wouldn't be craning our necks
to watch him.
Tyson by KO in eight. But bet on the weather before you put a dime
down on that. |
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