Don’t Blink: You Might Miss It : Boxing: Tyson’s return bout against McNeeley is expected to be a short one and probably won’t answer any questions.

He can be the best of fighters and the worst of men, the object of scorn or pity or reverence or whatever the mood strikes.

Mike Tyson? He’s back, if you haven’t heard, a flawed and fallen titan in a revival of the fittest. Tune in (pay-per-view, card starts at 6 p.m.) at your own risk.

During his raging years, he was the most famous fighting man in the world, the perfect quick-hit bully in an age of short attention spans. But, lately, Tyson has been shrouded and surrounded, imprisoned for rape and then enriched beyond the wildest estimations.

Tonight at the MGM Grand, for however long the bout lasts--and cannon-fodder Peter McNeeley is not expected to survive longer than the first couple of clean Tyson combinations--Tyson will bob and blast and do destruction for the first time since he defeated Razor Ruddock in June 1991.

Nobody expects the bout, given McNeeley’s background and Tyson’s talent, to last past two rounds (it’s scheduled for 10), even if Tyson is wholly off-rhythm. And for this, Tyson, 29, is being paid a $25-million installment in a six-fight deal that could eventually pay him several times more than that.

But does anyone really care if Tyson knocks McNeeley out in three rounds or three minutes or 30 seconds, or will a projected one million pay-per-view buyers (at about $45-per-view) and full house of onlookers be searching for deeper signs and involved in harder examinations?

Will one million people watch, and wonder, is he worth all this?

“You know what I do,” Tyson said repeatedly when asked what to expect from him. “It’s no secret. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to knock out McNeeley.”

And then what? And so what?

Promoter Don King, defending the highest ticket prices ever ($1,500 for ringside, $200 for the cheapest seats) and a pay-per-view suggested retail price that reaches as high as $59.95, has pointed out that the drama of Tyson’s power is cause enough to watch. Michael Spinks went down in 91 seconds in 1988, Carl (the Truth) Williams in 93 seconds a year later, and both are considered classic Tyson.

“If a guy comes out there not afraid, just comes straight at him, then Mike can provide you with a very exciting night,” said Tyson co-manager Rory Holloway. “That’s what we want, somebody who comes straight out and starts throwing bombs. I’m praying he does that. If McNeeley does that, then you can pick him up at the bottom.”

But both Spinks and Williams were seasoned fighters--as was 42-1 underdog Buster Douglas before his 1990 shocker over Tyson--and McNeeley is not. His 36-1 record, filled with 30 knockouts, has been built on a pile of bums, and though he has gamely played his promotional part, the odds, 22-1 against him, seem far too low.

“I look at it as an indignity that he has to fight someone like McNeeley,” said Tyson’s former manager, Bill Cayton. “He’s a totally inept fighter. It’s beneath the dignity of the Mike Tyson I managed to fight a McNeeley, at any time in his career, even after three years in prison.”

Dignity, though, does not appear to be a major selling point for this event. And the fight between World Boxing Assn. heavyweight champion Bruce Seldon and Joe Hipp--the first time a heavyweight title fight has ever been on the undercard of a non-title bout--definitely is the most minor of sidelights.

Mainly, this is about measuring Tyson (41-1, 36 KOs) against himself, trying to discover what three years in jail for raping a beauty pageant contestant, a conversion to Islam and showers of cash have done to the youngest man to hold the world’s heavyweight championship.

“I want to see his punching speed, mainly,” veteran trainer Emanuel Steward said. “He really is a small heavyweight, but his speed could neutralize bigger guys, those rapid-fire combination punches from weird angles.

“Once he slowed down, he was winging one or two punches at a time, then taking time to regroup. If he doesn’t have the speed, he won’t be the quote, unquote, old Mike Tyson.”

Said trainer Teddy Atlas, who worked with the teen-age Tyson: “I said from the beginning, when he gets out, he’s not going to be better. He wasn’t that good going in, and he’s not going to be any better.”

Assuming he gets past McNeeley, Tyson’s next fight is scheduled for Nov. 4, probably against Buster Mathis Jr., and beyond that, plans are vague. When will Tyson start fighting the remaining big names in the division, when will he enter the ring against Evander Holyfield or Lennox Lewis or Oliver McCall or Riddick Bowe?

“In my heart and soul, I think Mike can go out there and take anybody today,” Holloway said. “But I think it wouldn’t be fair to him to do that. If I did that, then you guys would be talking about, ‘Man, he’s a terrible manager, he’s throwing Mike in there with the wolves, he should’ve waited.’

“And then, when I don’t do that, you guys are all, ‘Oh man, you got him all bums.’ ”

But, for tonight, when the celebrities waltz in and the lights dim and Tyson is reintroduced to an anxious sports world, Holloway says he knows Tyson will be ready for the moment. Says he has known since a day months ago, early in his training after being released from prison, that Tyson still had it.

“One day a sparring partner walked in the gym, he had a smirk on his face, like he had absolutely no respect,” Holloway said. “He was about 6-6, 6-5, 240-250; he came into the gym like he had absolutely no respect for Mike Tyson. Like, ‘Mike Tyson, who is that?’ He ended up in the hospital with about six or seven stitches after about 30 seconds. That told the story right there.

“When I told Mike he was one of the chief sparring partners for Riddick Bowe, Mike just laughed and said, ‘Well, you tell those guys that I’m back.’ ”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Tale of the Tape

A look at how Mike Tyson and Peter McNeeley measure up for their heavyweight fight tonight in Las Vegas: *--*

Tyson McNeeley Record 41-1 36-1 Knockouts 36 30 Age 29 26 Weight 220 224 Height 5-11 6-2 Reach 71 77 Chest (normal) 43 46 Chest (expanded) 45 48 Biceps 16 16 Forearm 14 14 Waist 34 34 Thigh 27 27 Calf 18 21 Neck 19 3/4 19 1/2 Wrist 8 10 Fist 13 14 Ankle 11 12

*--*