Plenty of Comment on Tyson’s Future

Skeptics suspect that Mike Tyson will soon be back in the ring, that some renegade pay-per-view outfit will find a way for him to fight some tomato can overseas and make millions of dollars.

Yes, this society is that sick. Any Tyson fight would sell. There are plenty of people who would pay to see him fight, hoping he would again bite someone’s ear off.

Imagine if Tyson were matched with below-the-belt hitter Andrew Golota sometime after Golota’s Aug. 16 HBO fight with Ray Mercer.

“How Low Can They Go?” the headlines would scream.

Golota’s attorney, Thomas Diabiasi and the articulate and knowledgeable Bobby Czyz were guest analysts

on Court TV’s coverage of the Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing on Wednesday.

Said Diabiasi: “Bobby says the Tyson incident has given boxing a black eye. But it has done something else. It has put boxing front and center. Boxing is bigger than ever.”

Said Court TV host Jami Floyd, “By that reasoning, if Tyson had taken out a nine-millimeter gun and shot the man, then boxing would be even bigger.”

Good point.

But for now, the television community is shying away from Tyson. He probably won’t fight on per-per-view or any other form of television until he gets his boxing license back, which means at least a year.

“You have to understand, the sanctions against Tyson affect who he can fight,” said Jay Larkin, Showtime’s executive producer. “He can’t fight anyone who is licensed by the state of Nevada or be promoted by anyone licensed by the state of Nevada.

“Also, if Mike wanted to leave the country, that would have to be approved by his parole board, and approval would be unlikely. If he were going overseas to fight for charity, maybe.

“My sense is, Mike will not be fighting any time soon. He’s got much bigger concerns than that.”

However, there was a rumor circulating that Showtime might use him as a commentator.

“I will not rule out anything, nor will I endorse anything at this moment, until I know what Mike is doing with his life,” Larkin said.

No one from HBO would talk on the record, but one executive said that any talk of Tyson’s returning to the ring anywhere, for charity or any reason, is absurd. “He committed the most atrocious act in the history of sports,” the executive said.

Rick Kulis, president of Event Entertainment and a renegade of sorts--he’s now doing women’s boxing on pay-per-view--said he would not be interested in a Tyson fight.

“Someone might be, but not me. Just too many problems. And I don’t think you could sell it to the cable operators. For now, Mike Tyson is a man without a sport.”

REMEMBERING DOGGETT

Vin Scully says Jerry Doggett, who died this week at 80, was the best partner anyone could ever have. Certainly, he was the best for Scully. Doggett accepted his role as a distant second, never complaining, never showing an ounce of envy or jealousy.

Doggett was secure enough with himself that it never bothered him that Scully got all the adulation. That was fine with Doggett. He was just glad to be around baseball.

“Jerry loved the players, and they loved him,” Scully said. “No one ever had a bad thing to say about Jerry.”

Scully said only once in Doggett’s 32 years with the Dodgers did he consider leaving. In 1962, the first year of the Houston Colt .45s, who three years later became the Astros, the team offered Doggett a job.

“He asked me what I thought,” Scully said. “I told him that he should talk it over with Walter O’Malley. That was the last I heard about it. I think Mr. O’Malley convinced him to stay.”

THIS CAMERA MAY CATCH ON

The feeling here is that the “Catcher Cam” used by Fox during the All-Star game shows potential. Ed Goren, the executive producer of Fox Sports, said he would like to use it during regular-season games too. “We’d like to use it every week, but we also are sensitive to that fact that we would never want to do anything that might bother a catcher.” The Dodgers’ Mike Piazza said he didn’t have any problems wearing it. . . . The good folks in Canada weren’t too happy that Fox showed commercials instead of the singing of the Canadian national anthem by the McAuley Boys before the All-Star game. . . . The game got a 34.9 rating in Cleveland but only a 13.1 in Los Angeles.

Although the game fared poorly in the ratings, the home-run contest shown Monday on ESPN was the network’s highest-rated show this year with a 5.7. . . . Credit Fred Claire for going on “The Big Show” with John Ireland and Steve Mason recently to take fans’ calls for an hour and a half on the program, simulcast every weekday morning on Fox Sports West 2 and XTRA 1150 and 690. Claire didn’t duck any questions, and said he’d be back to do it again, particularly if the team is struggling. “When the team goes through tough times, that’s when I want to be there,” he said. “The fans deserve that. They deserve the answers to whatever their questions or complaints may be.”

SHORT WAVES

TNT announced that NFL studio analyst Mark May has been added to the Verne Lundquist-Pat Haden team. One question: Why mess with a good thing? . . . ESPN2 will televise the running of the bulls from Pamplona, Spain, tonight at 10:30. . . . Saturday’s Lennox Lewis-Henry Akinwande fight at Caesars Tahoe will be shown by HBO at 7 p.m., a three-hour delay, but will be on XTRA 1150 radio live at 4. . . . NewSport, a 24-hour all-sports news channel, shut down this week.

Bob Golic has joined CNN/SI as an anchor. He’ll continue doing his national radio show. . . . Roy Englebrecht’s 13th Southland edition of his Sportscasters Camps of America will be held next Thursday through Sunday at the Long Beach Airport Holiday Inn. Cost of the camp is $795. Details: 800 345-8730. . . . Horse racing publicist and photographer Bob Benoit reports that his longtime friend, former KMPC publicist Warren Turnbull, was recently found dead in his car in Redondo Beach. He had been living in his car with his dog in recent years, Benoit said.

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What Los Angeles Is Watching

A sampling of L.A. Nielsen ratings for sports programs July 5-8.

SATURDAY, JULY 5

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Event Ch. Rating Share Tennis: Wimbledon (women’s final) 4 4.4 20 Women’s Basketball: Sparks at Charlotte 4 3.8 12 Wide World of Sports: Boxing, Tour de France 7 3.0 8 Golf: Western Open 2 2.8 8 Women’s Pro Beach Volleyball 4 2.0 6 Golf: Isuzu Celebrity Tournament 4 1.8 5 NASCAR Trucks Milwaukee 200 2 1.0 3

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SUNDAY, JULY 6

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Event Ch. Rating Share Baseball: Dodgers at San Diego 5 5.5 14 Golf: Western Open 2 5.4 14 Tennis: Wimbledon (men’s final) 4 4.3 16 Bicycle Racing: Tour de France 7 2.9 7 Golf: Isuzu Celebrity Tournament 4 2.6 7 NHRA Craftsman Nationals Drag Racing 7 2.0 5 Horse Racing: Hollywood Park Live 9 1.6 4 NASCAR Busch Series Milwaukee 250 7 1.5 5

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TUESDAY, JULY 8

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Event Ch. Rating Share Baseball: All-Star Game 11 13.2 25

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Note: Each rating point represents 49,424 L.A. households.