Flight or Fight, Tyson Stirs Circus

The person emerging from the private jet that landed in Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday afternoon was surrounded by cameras and microphones wielded by a media mob.

It was clear the person was black and muscular. It was assumed the person was former two-time heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, although that couldn’t be verified, since the person’s face was wrapped in towels.

Nevertheless, footage and pictures of that person ran in media outlets across the country, heralding Tyson’s arrival for tonight’s heavyweight fight against Clifford Etienne at the Pyramid.

Twenty-four hours later, it was revealed that the media had been duped.

That had been a decoy plane carrying Tyson’s stunt double.

The real Tyson, supposedly recovered from a weeklong bout with flu, had arrived at 3 a.m. on a second plane, avoiding, temporarily, the glare of the spotlight on his infamous face tattoo.

“He had the worse plane,” trainer Freddie Roach said. “He told me his plane didn’t even have any food on it.”

Tattoos and a disappearing flu bug, decoy planes and a stunt double ... this fight has turned out to be one endless stunt.

First came flu, which temporarily caused the fight to be postponed, followed by Tyson’s rapid recovery 24 hours later.

Tyson had not been out of his Las Vegas house for seven days, according to his manager, Shelly Finkel, when the fighter awoke last Tuesday, felt good enough to go for a 3 1/2-mile jog, then told Roach: “I am a fighter. This is what I do. I am ready to go and knock the guy out.”

You could almost hear the strains of the “Rocky” theme beginning to swell in the background.

There was the tattoo, which Tyson inexplicably had applied to his face less than two weeks before the fight, even though such a procedure could result in bleeding if the area were struck, as one might suspect it would be in a fight.

“I have been planning this for two years,” Tyson said. “I had spoken with the artist. He told me to wait a year so he could find the right design. It hurt less than all the other ones I have had before. It is a New Zealand tattoo. It is personal and I am not finished with it. I am not even halfway done. I did not like the way my face was looking anyway.”

And finally, there was Etienne’s absurd threat to back out of the fight, as if he would throw away his biggest purse, nearly $1 million, and a chance to be known as the man who finished off Tyson’s career.

That, of course, was followed by his predictable change of heart after a night of reflection, and, according to his manager, Les Bonano, drinking.

If and When the Bell Rings

Those who cringe over every Tyson fight and long for the day he will no longer dominate the focus of the sport are going to be disappointed if they think that day will be today.

Granted, Tyson bears little resemblance to the fighter who once ruled the heavyweight division. The savage beating Lennox Lewis gave him at the Pyramid last June was no aberration. The result will be the same if they fight again in June as is tentatively -- can any other word be used when discussing Tyson’s future? -- planned.

Recently, both Roy Jones, the light-heavyweight champion who’ll fight World Boxing Assn. heavyweight champion John Ruiz next week, and Chris Byrd, the International Boxing Federation titleholder, expressed interest in fighting Tyson.

“Why would you want to fight him?” they were asked.

“Because he can’t fight,” they said in unison.

Fortunately for Tyson, neither can Etienne. He brings a 24-1-1 record with 17 knockouts in against Tyson (49-4, 2 no-contests, 43 knockouts). But Etienne posted his 24 victories largely against the types who were once referred to as tomato cans.

Etienne was knocked out by Fres Oquendo and fought to a draw with Francois Botha, who made it only into the fifth round against Tyson before being flattened.

There is concern about Tyson’s condition after the weeklong layoff, so much concern that a sparring session was considered for Friday.

It is unheard of for a fighter to spar the day before a fight, and Tyson’s handlers ultimately decided against it.

“There is no problem now,” Tyson insisted. “My health is fine. I feel well and am really looking forward to fighting. I am not bothered by the time off. One week off after eight weeks of training? You should not fight if you can’t handle that.”

Not to worry. Tyson’s conditioning shouldn’t be a problem against Etienne, who has been described as not only having a glass chin but also a glass body.

Etienne might not even be able to beat Tyson’s stunt double.

The Sideshow

So bizarre has been the Tyson show this week, that scant notice has been paid to Tonya Harding, who is certainly not unfamiliar with controversial and outrageous behavior.

The former Olympic figure skater, best known for her role in the assault on fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan, will be fighting Samantha Browning in a preliminary bout tonight.

“This is not just a one-fight thing,” said Harding. “I am making it my second career. I am not working eight, nine hours a day for nothing. One thing I like about boxing is that I will not have to deal with the same kind of politics that I had to in skating.”

No politics in boxing?

Whether or not Browning connects, Harding is about to get hit with reality.

Locally

Tonight’s main event at the Arrowhead Pond, will match super-flyweights Martin Castillo (22-1, 14) and Valerio Sanchez (15-11-2, 11). Featherweights Steven Luevano (15-0, 7) and Marcos Badillo (16-25-1, 6) fight in a preliminary event. First bell is at 7:20.