The heavyweights hit center stage Friday night when former undisputed world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson takes on Andrew Golota on pay-per-view TV from Auburn Hills, Mich.
Tyson is well past his prime and, at age 34, has little left to beat the top contenders. Golota, once considered a top contender, is now thought of more as "an opponent" for Tyson and the odds reflect that.
Tyson is a -$3.80 favorite at area sportsbooks while Golota is listed at most places at +$3.00, give or take a dime. Probably a fair line but a hard one to bet if you like Iron Mike.
No point in rehashing the history of both fighters except to say that Tyson is well past his prime and a shell of his former self while Golota never quite reached his prime as it passed him by before he knew it.
In my opinion this is a fairly even fight that either fighter can win. Therefore, even though I think Tyson will win, I will make a small wager on Golota because of the price and the fact that he can win this fight.
How, you ask?
Actually, Golota has more ways to win than Tyson, but he must make it out of the first round to do that.
First, either fighter can foul himself out of the fight as past performances indicate, so that's a wash. Golota can win by knockout or decision while Tyson can only win by knockout. The fight is scheduled for 10 rounds and the farther the fight goes, the better for Golota.
Tyson's history is, if he doesn't get you early, you can get him later. Not counting the ear-bite loss to Holyfield, a fight Tyson was going to lose anyway, Iron Mike fades as the rounds go on and Tyson has little help from his corner when things aren't going his way. Buster Douglas knocked him out in round 10 and Holyfield in round 11 in their first fight, so look for Golota to stay away early and try to get the fight into the later rounds.
If it goes the full 10 rounds to a decision, Golota has a better than even shot of getting the decision and that is why taking 3-1 on him is the only way to bet the fight.
Tyson has some things going for him. He can still punch with the best of them and even though his intimidation factor still exists, it only exists against fighters who are willing to let it exist. Lou Savarese and his 38-second effort against Tyson are the latest example of fighters beaten by Tyson before the first bell ever rang.
Holyfield, and to an extent, Frans Botha, took that away from Tyson and when Iron Mike couldn't scare them to death, he had to fight to win and even though he did against Botha - with a lucky punch I thought - he didn't against Holyfield and lost.
Golota can actually fight a little. In his prime, Golota had Riddick Bowe beaten twice before fouling himself out with low blows late in both fights, so you see, he would have been heavyweight champion if he just hadn't shot himself in the foot.
The knock against Golota is that he will find a way to lose a fight he has won. His loss to Michael Grant - he quit midway through the 10th round while far ahead on the scorecards - attests to that.
Both fighters hit hard enough to end the fight with one punch and that could come any time and could come quickly as Golota showed when he froze against Lennox Lewis and was knocked out in the first round. That won't happen to Tyson; he will not freeze but he could get tagged by Golota and be gone in one round.
If the bell for round two rings, we might have a real fight on our hands. Tyson no longer bothers to jab his way in, now preferring to wild-swing his way in. The shorter Tyson will get hit coming in because he simply has no head movement like he did when he was good.
The bottom line is, while Tyson figures to win, he can lose so if you must bet this fight, take that into account.
My official prediction .... Tyson in two if not in the first round. That's my guess, but that's all it is, a guess and I wouldn't be surprised to see anything and everything happen in the ring between these two fighters.
NOT A JOKE - It has been announced that former heavyweight champ Larry Holmes will fight former champ Mike Weaver Nov. 17 in Biloxi, Miss.
No, this isn't April and this isn't an April Fool's Day joke!
The 51-year old Holmes wants a "big payday fight" against Tyson or Lewis or Holyfield and figures he still has what it takes to get another title shot, while the 48-year old Weaver is fighting for reasons known only to him. Stay tuned, it will get better ....
P.S. The two fought way back 21 years ago in Madison Square Garden when Holmes was champ and stopped Weaver in round 11 of that fight.
ANOTHER CHOICE - The Tyson PPV card starts at 6 p.m. Zab Judah and Laila Ali will be in featured fights on that telecast but if you don't want to spend the $50 bucks to see that, ESPN2 has 2 hours of live boxing that begins at the same time Friday night.
Main event has Angel Vasquez (21-0, 16 KOs) fighting Victor Polo (28-2-2, 22 KOs) and on Saturday HBO has it's "K.O. Nation" card starting at 2 p.m. Floyd Mayweather headlines.
Alan Rogers is the Nevada Appeal Boxing writer.
