Boxing / Earl Gustkey : Tyson Could Be Sitting on Sideline for a While

There was a surprise guest at Cus D’Amato’s old gym in Catskill, N.Y., Thursday afternoon.

Mike Tyson, the heavyweight champion.

He chatted with his trainer, Kevin Rooney, then had a semi-serious workout on the heavy and speed bags, did some shadow boxing and jumped rope.

Tyson is the undisputed heavyweight champion. But if his trainer is half-right, Tyson may lose all three of his titles and then have to win them back. Tyson is sinking fast into the quicksand of litigation, and it may keep him out of the ring for a year or more.

“The way I understand the situation right now, I’d say there’s a 50-50 chance Mike could be out of the ring for a long layoff--like 6 months or a year,” Rooney said.

Tyson is suing his manager, Bill Cayton, who in turn may be about to sue promoter Don King, who caused the present situation by driving a wedge between Cayton and Tyson.

Cayton says he has an ironclad New York state manager’s contract with Tyson that is valid through 1991. So when he learned that King had signed Tyson to an exclusive promotional contract, a lot of attorneys suddenly got busy.

“I decide who Mike’s promoter is, not Don King,” Cayton said.

Cayton is a tough, stubborn businessman and has vowed to spare no expense in separating King from Tyson.

So until the lawyers straighten everything out, Tyson may not fight anyone for a long time. If he does go on the shelf, and boxing’s three governing bodies strip him of his championships, lots of developments could ensue.

For example, Evander Holyfield could become the heavyweight champion without having to fight Mike Tyson.

In the meantime, Tyson told Rooney Thursday he’ll be in the gym “from time to time.”

“He looked heavy, but I didn’t weigh him,” Rooney said. “Guessing, I’d say he’s 240 or 245. Most of the added weight is in his butt and legs. If he had a fight coming up, he could take it off quickly.”

Tyson, after living virtually in King’s shadow for almost a month--including accompanying King to the World Boxing Council convention in Mexico City--is back in Upstate New York, where the late D’Amato taught him how to fight only 8 years ago.

He has an apartment in Albany and also frequently stays with D’Amato’s sister-in-law, Camille Ewald, in Catskill. D’Amato’s old second-story gym is above the Catskill Police Department.

If Tyson is stripped of his championships, the heavyweight division that he had rendered dormant will break into a free-for-all. And the jockeying for position could begin Friday in Atlantic City, where Holyfield will fight Pinklon Thomas at Caesars.

Holyfield, a natural cruiserweight, was being brought along in a high-tech training program designed to build him up into a competent heavyweight, for a hoped-for Tyson challenge in 1989. Early returns were disappointing. In his only appearance against a heavyweight, Holyfield battered James Tillis from ring post to ring post but never really hurt him, and never knocked him off his feet.

At that point, last July, his chances of ever beating Tyson seemed hopeless. But with Tyson temporarily out of the picture and Holyfield beefed up to 208 pounds, Holyfield’s chances of winning at least a piece of the heavyweight title are hardly remote.

Holyfield, Carl Williams, England’s Frank Bruno and Adilson Rodrigues of Brazil will probably wind up in some sort of succession tournament for Tyson’s titles.

Actually, all this is a promoter’s dream, when you think about it.

Tyson, legal baggage finally behind him, comes roaring out of retirement, knocks Holyfield or somebody else into yesterday, reclaims his championships, gives everyone a gold-toothed smile . . . and winds up as an added $50 pay-per-view entry on your cable TV bill.

Hey. Come to think of it, has anyone considered the possibility that these Tyson-Cayton-King lawsuits were all engineered by the Las Vegas Hilton? Or Caesars Palace? Or promoter Bob Arum?

Roosevelt Grier, a former National Football League standout, indicated this week that he may resign from the California State Athletic Commission.

Appointed to the commission in 1986 by Gov. George Deukmejian, Grier since has missed 28 of 30 monthly meetings.

“I’m an ordained minister now, and I’m traveling a lot when they have the meetings,” he said. “It’s been a conflict ever since I was appointed. The proper thing for me to do would be to resign. I’ll probably call the governor’s office this week.”

Boxing Notes

Just as Thomas Hearns begins to hit the skids as a marquee name, Detroit trainer Emanuel Steward comes up with another potential champion. His light-heavyweight, Michael Moorer, has knocked out all 11 of his opponents, and will fight Ramzi Hassan, 25-4, on NBC today. Moorer was on the undercard of the Hearns-James Kinchen card Nov. 4 and knocked out his opponent in 36 seconds.

Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes and Ken Norton, all former heavyweight champions, will discuss their careers in Las Vegas this weekend. Their reminiscences will be filmed and shown in 1989 as a cable TV feature.

Los Angeles promoter Michael Bass says he has signed unbeaten Julio Cesar Chavez and Roger Mayweather to fight for Mayweather’s World Boxing Assn. junior-welterweight championship, with a date and site to be named.