Tyson the Recalcitrant Student Seems Well Versed in Three Rs

Repulsive behavior, retribution, return.

For Mike Tyson, who never seems to run out of second chances, the pattern is all too familiar.

The two-time former heavyweight champion, who launched comebacks after a rape conviction and then again after biting Evander Holyfield’s ears, will launch yet another Oct. 2 when he fights at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, probably against Axel Schulz.

Tyson will be making his first ring appearance after serving 3 1/2 months in prison on assault charges and is also close to signing a contract extension with his promotional organization, America Presents, for three more fights after the October bout.

Tyson had his first fight for America Presents, also his first after the 1997 Holyfield fiasco, last January. He knocked out Francois Botha in the fifth round of a nontitle fight, but was then incarcerated for striking two motorists in the wake of a minor traffic accident in Maryland.

The October fight will be on the Showtime cable network, but will not be a pay-per-view event. That shows just how much the appeal of the 33-year-old Tyson has been diminished by his behavior and deteriorating skills. Showtime officials hope he is impressive enough in October to sell a pay-per-view show in December.

Providing he can stay out of trouble for that long.

LEAVING HIS FIGHT IN DRESSING ROOM

Johnny Tapia might have lost his World Boxing Assn. bantamweight championship last Saturday night before he ever got hit by challenger Paulie Ayala.

In fact, before Tapia even saw Ayala.

Tapia’s troubles began in his dressing room at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

While he was going through his final preparations, hoping to extend his unbeaten mark (46-0-2, 25 knockouts), several relatives were in his dressing room, offering support.

Some, without the proper credentials, were asked to leave by officials who were following standard security procedures.

Tapia, however, was infuriated and when he entered the ring, his emotions bubbled over. While the introductions were going on, Tapia, who had shown the utmost respect for Ayala in prefight news conferences, walked over to his opponent and shoved him.

“I lost my cool,” Tapia later admitted.

He lost more than that. The strategy was for Tapia to box Ayala, move and take advantage of his considerable hand speed. Instead, Tapia, in an angry, slugging mood, planted himself in front of Ayala and swapped blows in 12 furious rounds of nonstop punching.

The result was a highly entertaining match, but not necessarily the smartest one for Tapia, who lost a unanimous decision.

But he refuses to second-guess himself.

“I felt stronger inside,” Tapia said. “That was the only way to wear [Ayala] down. He is strong to the body, so I went to his body.

“Everything I did was working for me. Paulie came right at me, and I came right at him and that is the kind of fight I wanted.”

So what does Tapia want now?

Before the fight, Prince Naseem Hamed, World Boxing Organization featherweight champion, had been lobbying Bob Arum, Tapia’s promoter, for a fight with Tapia. Another possible opponent was World Boxing Council super-bantamweight champion Erik Morales.

But it doesn’t appear those fights will happen now. At least not until Tapia regains his stature, or his title.

“All I want to do is get a rematch so I can get my belt back and prove I won the fight,” Tapia said.

That won’t be so easy to do if Tapia refuses to re-sign with Arum, since Arum also promotes Ayala. Tapia has threatened to leave Arum, saying that Arum’s Top Rank people should have done something to prevent the prefight distractions and should have paid more attention to him before the fight.

Tapia’s anger has lessened since fight night, but he is still entertaining offers from other promoters.

“We have had an overwhelming number of calls from promoters who have stepped up and said they wanted to promote Johnny,” said his wife, Teresa, who is also his manager. “The loss hasn’t hurt him. We will hear what [other promoters] say, but Bob Arum is not out of the loop. It’s just that there is so much competition, that we will go with what’s best for Johnny.”

Arum says he knows what’s best for Johnny.

“If he wants a rematch, he’d better stay with Top Rank,” Arum said.

HBO CAN’T GET KING INTO ITS CLAUSE

It appears that promoter Don King and HBO officials are close to a compromise that will allow a rematch between Holyfield and Lennox Lewis for the undisputed heavyweight championship to go forward, probably on Nov. 13 in Las Vegas at either the MGM Grand or the Thomas & Mack Center.

Asked to guarantee most of the money, HBO officials wanted King to agree that if he is indicted on charges stemming from the first fight, which ended in a controversial draw, he would withdraw from a promotional role in the rematch.

King has refused, but talks have now turned to possible refinancing, with HBO and King each putting up $15 million and King coming up with an extra $5 million for additional expenses.

If that happens, HBO officials will drop their demand for the clause.

An agreement must be reached by the end of this month if the fight is to take place Nov. 13.