Tyson and Jones Now Closer to Grating Than Greatness

Item: Mike Tyson says he wants to fight Lennox Lewis.

Item: Roy Jones fights Richard Hall tonight in Indiana.

Want to know what’s wrong with boxing? Here are two prime examples. Tyson and Jones are among the most high-profile fighters in the world, but both are living on their reputations. Tyson talks, but doesn’t fight. Jones fights people nobody wants to talk about.

Jones, at least, has an excuse. The undisputed light-heavyweight champion, he’s locked into a division suffering from a shortage of talent. He has talked about moving up to the heavyweight division but hasn’t followed through.

Fights like tonight’s against Hall in Indianapolis’ Conseco Fieldhouse will do nothing to build the case for Jones being considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Of the 28-year-old Hall (24-1, 23 knockouts), Jones (41-1, 33 knockouts) says, “This guy might be the toughest fight of my life.”

That’s pretty sad. At 31, when he should be in search of opponents who could establish his right to be ranked among the greats, Jones is reduced to building up Richard Hall.

And then there’s Tyson.

Since losing more than a year in the ring for biting both of Evander Holyfield’s ears in their 1997 heavyweight title rematch, Tyson has fought Francois Botha, who will never be mistaken for a great fighter; Orlin Norris, a blown-up cruiserweight who will never be mistaken for a heavyweight, and Julius Francis, who will never be mistaken for a fighter.

Tyson is next supposed to take on Lou Savarese on June 24 in Europe in a fight that has already been postponed once because Tyson wasn’t prepared.

About the only person Tyson has been accused of hitting lately is a topless dancer in Las Vegas, who claims Tyson struck her during a disturbance at a nightclub.

Tyson recently offered to fight Lewis anywhere, including the streets. Tyson told his manager, Shelly Finkel, “I want this guy,” after watching Lewis demolish Michael Grant in less than two rounds last month.

Tyson then told the Associated Press he will be ready for Lewis after two or three more fights.

Unfortunately, at the rate Tyson fights, that could be two or three more years.

There is also the matter of pay-per-view rights. Lewis has a contract with HBO and Tyson has obligations to Showtime, and neither cable network seems willing to budge.

Lewis-Grant attracted a mere 375,000 pay-per-view buys. Tyson could exceed that if he fought the Las Vegas dancer.

“He can’t draw flies,” Tyson said of Lewis. “I don’t need him. He needs me.”

Sad to say, Tyson is right. And that shows just how diminished the heavyweight division has become.

If Grant could have upset Lewis, it would have put some excitement back into the division. Lewis’ next fight, against Botha, figures to draw even worse than his bout against Grant.

Lewis is in much the same situation as Jones. He clearly has skills. He can demolish an outclassed opponent, as he proved against both Andrew Golota and Grant. He can outlast a tough opponent, as he proved against Holyfield.

But is Lewis a truly great fighter with a great heart? At 34, with no one of substance evident on the horizon, he may never get a chance to prove it. Instead, Lewis must pick from a bad crop of heavyweights. Until something better comes along, Tyson is his most attractive opponent.

And Tyson doesn’t want to fight.

CAN THEY FIND SOME RING CARD GIRLS?

The Playboy mansion will hold its first boxing show Friday. Don’t bother to look for tickets. This event, to be held outdoors on the grounds of Hugh Hefner’s property, is by invitation only, a private affair for 300 selected guests.

Headlining the event, being put on by Bob Arum’s Top Rank boxing organization, is a 10-round nontitle match between International Boxing Federation cruiserweight champion Vassiliy Jirov (24-0, 22 knockouts) and Esteban Pizarro (21-2-1, nine knockouts).

Also on the card will be those Top Rank regulars, Butterbean and Mia St. John.

Eric “Butterbean” Esch (56-1-2, 43 knockouts) will box an opponent to be determined in a four-round match.

St. John (16-0, nine knockouts), a natural for this show since she is a former Playboy cover girl, will go up against Franchesca Alcantar (2-2, two knockouts).

If this catches on at the Playboy mansion, can mud wrestling be far behind?

QUICK JABS

Johhny Tapia, who plans to move up from 118 pounds after successfully defending his World Boxing Organization bantamweight title last Saturday against Javier Torres, also tried his hand at acting recently. He made a cameo appearance in a new Showtime dramatic series on boxing, “Resurrection Blvd.” Asked if he enjoyed acting, Tapia replied, “I’d rather get hit”

Boxing writer Michael Katz, formerly of the New York Daily News, has moved over to www.houseofboxing.com where, he vows, “The House of Boxing intends to clean house. . . . Cleaning house means exterminating vermin like the WBA, WBC, IBF and lesser cockroaches.”