Mike Tyson has been trying to soften his reputation, while opponent Danny Williams has sought to toughen his as the hours count down to their Friday night heavyweight fight at Freedom Hall.
It is the latest of several comeback bouts for Tyson, 38, who became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 20. He was a multimillionaire soon thereafter, and ever since a notorious celebrity who has recklessly torn through his riches and relationships.
This week he refrained from the insults he has spat at past opponents. The worst thing he had to say about Williams was that the former British heavyweight champion has no experience against an American fighter (actually, he has faced two among his 34 bouts, 31 of which ended in victory).
Regardless, Tyson said, “He’s not going to do anything to me.”
Friday’s bout is the chance of a lifetime for Williams, 31. Beating Tyson would remove the Brit’s label as a handpicked “payday” for Tyson; the consensus is that his impressive 6-foot-3-inch, 260-pound frame is not matched by talent. But an upset victory would vault him into contender status.
“Mike’s best chance is in the first four rounds,” Williams said. “After that, I’m all over him.”
Most boxing observers believe he is only half right in that assessment, and Williams knows it. His chin is suspect–he was floored three times in a technical-knockout loss to little known Sinan Samil Sam last year.
At least he’s realistic.
“I’m aware beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’m here as a knockover opponent expected to get knocked out within a couple of rounds,” Williams said.
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That knowledge has removed all pressure from him, he said, leaving him relaxed and more confident than he was against many past opponents.
In the past, he acknowledged, pressure often left him crying before bouts. “I want to win so badly that the thought of losing breaks me up,” he said. “It’s not the opponent.”
Asked if the pressure could produce a teary reaction by the opening bell Friday, Williams demurred. “If it was going to happen this time, it would have happened already.”
Instead, he said, he has had pleasant dreams about fighting Tyson: “I’m always the winner.”
Tyson, winner by knockout in 43 of his 50 victories against four losses and two no-contests, has tried to steer away from his nasty past. But it was a factor in Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher and Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson distancing themselves from the event that brings Tyson here.
And when the ex-champ’s background wasn’t being discussed, the troubled past of the bout’s local promoter, Chris Webb, was. According to a recent Louisville Courier-Journal article, his brushes with the law included charges of domestic violence, theft and felony cocaine possession.
With about half of Freedom Hall’s 19,900 seats sold, promoters decided Wednesday to lift a local blackout of the bout’s telecast on Showtime Pay-Per-View (8 p.m., $44.95). Still, the financial success of the venture is uncertain. The Kentucky Athletic Commission declined to disclose how much the fighters were making, but Tyson’s share is said to be around $8 million and Williams’ $250,000.
The undercard fighters include junior flyweight champion Nelson Dieppa defending against challenger Ulises Solis and Laila Ali facing Monica Nunez, in a super middleweight women’s bout.
Tyson knows an impressive victory brings him nearer to another shot at a title and a chance to make a significant dent in the $40 million debt he faces.
Going bankrupt and seeing a way out have steeled Tyson’s resolve, trainer Freddie Roach said. On the first day of training camp two months ago, “Mike was already in better shape than for his last fight,” Roach said.
That would be a first-round knockout of Clifford Etienne on Feb. 20, 2003, just over 17 months ago. In the tumultuous world of Mike Tyson, it seems like a lifetime.