Tyson Fight to Be Test of His Psyche, Not His Punch

Mike Tyson’s first fight Saturday since his astonishing knockout four months ago probably will be more of a test of his psyche than his left hook.

Tyson is a 25-1 bet to waltz through Henry Tillman for his 38th victory in their scheduled 10-round fight at Caesars Palace.

Of course the same was said about Tyson against James (Buster) Douglas before his stunning 10th-round knockout of the former champion in Tokyo last February.

But Douglas at least had the tools to defeat Tyson, although the new heavyweight champion appeared to do his best before that fight to hide them under excess fat and a suspect heart.

Tillman, on the other hand, has little to recommend him as anything more than a confidence-builder for Tyson. The joke about Tillman is that he has the chin of a cruiserweight and the punch of a welterweight.

Tillman, 20-4, actually dropped out of boxing from March, 1988, to December, 1989, after being knocked out by Canadian Willie DeWitt, and he had not done a whole lot to impress before then.

The real issue is the effect the devastating Tokyo take-out has had on the 23-year-old Tyson’s mind.

That question may be answered in part Saturday when fans will see if Tyson has shed the kamikaze two-step approach he used that made him an easy target for Douglas’ jarring jabs and left him groping on all fours for his mouthpiece in his last act as undefeated champion.

Does Tyson, who will be paid $5 million for the fight, still have the fire? How much has the loss affected his confidence, his heart? Has he stopped “abusing” his body, as he admitted he had done before the Douglas debacle?

What effect has promoter Don King and his hand-picked Tyson-keepers had on Tyson? What effect will mercurial Richie Giachetti--once former champion Larry Holmes’s trainer--have now that he is in Tyson’s corner, which was so inept in Tokyo?

George Foreman--41 or 42 depending on the source--also is on Saturday’s card as he continues his tilt at the boxing windmill in a bid for the title he once held in 1974.

Foreman will fight Brazilian Adilson Rodrigues, 36-3, in another scheduled 10-rounder, probably Foreman’s toughest test in his comeback.

Foreman, 66-2 overall and 21-0 since his comeback, knows a thing or two about boxing and about being knocked out. Muhammad Ali knocked out Foreman in 1974 to win the title.