Reaction: With Tyson out of action for at least a year, can Holyfield or De La Hoya fill the pay-per-view void?

By TIM KAWAKAMI

July 10, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

LAS VEGAS —

The boxing business has been here before.

Once again, Mike Tyson, the ultimate high-risk, high-impact, highly profitable, hide-the-kiddies athlete, has been plucked from active duty by his own reprehensible behavior and Wednesday’s ruling by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to revoke his license.

Once again, what’s left is a scattered slate of non-banned fighters, who altogether probably have not grossed as much in the last two years as Tyson has in his last six fights--all pay-per-view blockbusters, combining to pay him about $140 million.

“I think the decision we made was not based on the future economic impact of the state or the sport,” Nevada commissioner Lorenzo Fertitta said. “We fully expect to continue to have championship fights in this state. I think business will go on as usual.”

According to some sources, Tyson’s fights alone have generated up to 80% of pay-per-view income since his release from jail in March, 1995, not including the millions his fights have produced for the state of Nevada and city of Las Vegas.

History might not be tremendously kind to Tyson--what really great fighter has he beaten?--but the paying boxing public always has been.

“Tyson’s greatest assets were he had a great promoter who really was able to promote him without him taking any risk and the fact that most guys were intimidated by him,” veteran trainer Emanuel Steward said. “Intimidation and great promotional ties are going to be what he’s known for in history.”

So, with promoter Don King hobbled without Tyson to sell, is this manic-depressive sport--by now addicted to the fast cash of pay-per-view--set for a painful shrinkage without him?

“I think we’ve been sort of trained by the last time--when Tyson went to jail,” said Hugh Panero, the influential president of Request Television, the nation’s largest PPV distributor.

“I don’t think it’s crippling. Somebody else is going to come along. . . . Maybe Riddick Bowe comes out of retirement, or something else. This industry has an amazing ability to sort of come up with marketable events.

“If Tyson is gone, is pay-per-view boxing dead? Absolutely not. Would he have fought forever? No. Will the public deal with it and like boxing after the Holyfield fight as much as they did before? We’ll see.”

During Tyson’s last absence, forced by his trial, his February, 1992 conviction and his three-year jail term for rape, the fistic industry trudged on, featuring Julio Cesar Chavez at the height of his popularity, George Foreman at the height of his legend, and Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield at the height of their rivalry.

With Tyson out for at least a year because of the revocation of his Nevada license, the search starts now for new moneymakers.

And, aside from Holyfield, who, at 34, is nobody’s fresh new hope, the one fighter deemed capable of rising to pick up at least some of the Tyson slack is Oscar De La Hoya.

“Tyson has been the money engine for boxing, no question,” said De La Hoya promoter Bob Arum, who is promoting De La Hoya vs. Hector Camacho on pay-per-view on Sept. 13. “Oscar was there as the caboose, which was a good role.

“But now the pay-per-view industry knows that they all really have to get behind De La Hoya, no matter what section of the country they come from, because De La Hoya is their best possible chance to replace a lot of the Tyson money.

“Oscar’s stock went soaring on after Tyson bit Holyfield.”

Why can’t Holyfield be the marquee man in boxing? Because Holyfield, while admirable, always interesting to watch and part of three of the top six PPV fights of all-time, has never been able to sell a show by himself.

He needed a trilogy of furious fights against Bowe to earn double-digit millions, he needed Foreman to set a then-PPV record 1.4 million buys, and needed the Tyson presence to break all records in their last two fights.

“I don’t see any real ill effects of this--I think we’ve got a great champion right now,” said Holyfield’s attorney, Jim Thomas. “I’m biased, but he’s certainly an incredible role model.”

Still Holyfield, who in November wants to fight International Boxing Federation champion Michael Moorer, who beat Holyfield in 1994, does not have any mega-event fights immediately in front of him.

Thomas mentioned the possibility of fighting Foreman again (something Foreman, 48, badly wants) or the winner of the Lennox Lewis-Henry Akinwande World Boxing Council title fight Saturday in Lake Tahoe, Nev.

And still out there is the possibility of a third fight with Tyson, assuming Tyson is no longer banned and the public wishes to see it.

“Evander wants to do what’s right for boxing--right now, that does not seem appropriate to either of us,” Thomas said of a second Tyson rematch. “There’s a lot of people who would want to see that fight, and a lot of people who think it’s inappropriate to have that fight.

“I know that all other things being equal, Evander would like to have the satisfaction of knocking Tyson out, like he was on his way to doing again. He was deprived of that opportunity. Now, he’s not going to be haunted by that. . . . He doesn’t look backward.”

But the talk of a Tyson-Holyfield match being the next big one for Holyfield only underlines Tyson’s absence--and highlights the possibilities for De La Hoya, who is set to fight five times this year and earn about $32 million.

De La Hoya’s last PPV fight, in April against Pernell Whitaker, received about 830,000 buys, a record for non-heavyweights, but well short of Tyson numbers.

Panero, who scuffled verbally with Arum when the promoter decided to take the De La Hoya-Chavez fight in 1995 to closed-circuit venues, vehemently agrees that De La Hoya is the fighter to watch.

“Having him around while all of this ugliness is going on obviously puts the spotlight on him,” Panero said. “I was at a press conference here in Denver [on Monday] where there were 500 screaming teenage girls.

“Traditionally, heavyweights attract the largest pay-per-view audiences, but I think a fighter like De La Hoya, if he’s able to fight the right opponents. . . .

“I think those fights can support the business very much the way that somebody like Chavez supported the business to a certain extent while Tyson was in jail. This is the way boxing is--it can get past the lulls. Ali had the hiatus. Tyson went to jail. The sport survives.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

THE TYSON RECORD

TYSON I (1985-1992)

* Fights: 42

* Record: 41-1

* Knockouts: 37

* Ring Highlights:

--Nov. 22, 1986: Defeats Trevor Berbick to win WBC title, becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in history at age 20.

--March 3, 1987: Wins WBA championship.

--Aug. 1, 1987: Decisions IBF champion Tony Tucker to unify heavyweight title.

* Approximate earnings: $50 million

TYSON II (August 1995-June 28, 1997)