Douglas Affords Tyson Chance for Payday and Payback

Mike Tyson, living more off his past than his potential these days, has been looking for an opponent with a big enough name to draw interest, but not enough skill to do any damage.

The former two-time heavyweight champion may have found just the right stiff . . . uh, stuff in James “Buster” Douglas.

Although Orlin Norris and Zeljko Mavrovic remain candidates for Tyson’s latest comeback fight, Oct. 2 in Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, Douglas is the favorite if the money is right, according to his manager, John Russell.

“Mike Tyson wants to fight Buster Douglas and Buster Douglas wants to fight Mike Tyson,” Russell said. “But you’ve got guys trying to put it together who have never put gloves on.”

The boxing world still clearly remembers what happened the last time Tyson and Douglas faced each other. That was in 1990 in Tokyo when Douglas pulled off the greatest upset in boxing history by knocking out the previously unbeaten Tyson in the 10th round.

A lot has happened to both men in the ensuing years, none of it very pleasant. Tyson’s troubles, from a rape conviction to the biting of Evander Holyfield’s ears to his most recent imprisonment for assaulting two motorists, have been well-chronicled.

Douglas’ road hasn’t been much smoother.

After losing his title to Holyfield, Douglas ballooned to nearly 400 pounds and almost died of diabetes. After taking six years off from boxing, he has won seven of eight fights, but is now 39, six years older than Tyson.

Russell says Douglas’ weight will be down in the low 240s should he face Tyson, but Douglas still doesn’t figure to offer much of a challenge.

That’s fine with Tyson. Having fought only once in the last two years, having struggled in that one fight last January against Francois Botha before winning on a fifth-round knockout, Tyson desperately needs a tuneup.

“Buster is not what he used to be,” Russell conceded, “but neither is Mike Tyson. If they make the fight, Buster will come to win. He doesn’t need the money.”

He may not need it, but he won’t fight unless he gets plenty of it, Russell said.

If Tyson gets a $10-million purse, as he did in his last fight, Russell said Douglas won’t fight for less than half of that.

“This is a chance for Mike to get his respect back after getting a [butt] kicking from Buster. If Mike is trying to clean his life up, wouldn’t he want to go back and clear up his record by avenging his losses?”

Without question, but how much respect can he get by beating up Douglas?

RISKY BUSINESS

Now that David Reid and Fernando Vargas have defended their 154-pound titles, Reid unimpressively, Vargas decisively last weekend, the fight game is replaced by a chess match as handlers for each try to move the fighters into the most advantageous position.

Reid, the World Boxing Assn. super-welterweight champion, will fight Keith Mullings on Aug. 28 in Las Vegas. The handlers for Vargas, the International Boxing Federation junior-middleweight titleholder, seemed to have lost their enthusiasm for a fight against tough Ike Quartey, although they say that remains a possibility. The most important fight for Vargas now would be the one being considered for next spring against Reid. That would set up a blockbuster match for the winner against Oscar De La Hoya, who plans to move up to 154 pounds at year’s end.

If Reid continues to look shaky, however, it might be in his best financial interest to avoid the dangerous Vargas altogether and go right after a big payday against De La Hoya.

ONLY IN AMERICA

Not everybody wants to see promoter Don King investigated. The NAACP, meeting in New York, is appealing to Atty. Gen. Janet Reno to halt an investigation of King, an investigation it terms “a violation of the internal guidelines of the Justice Department.”

Said Kweisi Mfume, NAACP president, in a written statement, “Don King is revered in his profession and in his community for his accomplishments in boxing, business and, more importantly, for what he has done for worthy causes of all kinds across racial, ethnic and religious lines.”

King twice has been acquitted of charges of insurance fraud and is currently one of the targets of a federal grand jury in New Jersey that is investigating boxing.

Part of a unanimous resolution passed by the NAACP gathering states that, “in the last 30 years, the federal government has paid scant, if any, attention to the prosecution of any other important figures in boxing who are white.”

QUICK JABS

The World Boxing Hall of Fame junior-welterweight tournament continues Monday night at the Great Western Forum with Gilbert Quiroz (10-0, eight knockouts) facing Arturo Reyes (15-1, 13 knockouts), and Pat Thorns (20-4-1, 13 knockouts) taking on Andre Cray (17-6, 11 knockouts).