King and Tyson locked in combat

A,ERICA AT LARGE / George Kimball: Nineteen days have passed since John Ruiz appeared at a post-fight press conference in Las Vegas and swore his undying allegiance to the World's Greatest Promoter.

The World Boxing Association heavyweight champion had just successfully defended his championship when referee Joe Cortez disqualified the favourite, Canadian challenger Kirk Johnson, for repeated low blows, and, asked about his next fight, Ruiz rubbed his jaw (though he might very well have rubbed his protective cup) and replied "Whatever Don King says. He's the best promoter in the world."

That same night, on the same stage, Ruiz's manager Norman Stone insisted "I will not change my mind. We will not fight anybody unless Don King is with us. Believe me when I tell you that. This is the man we live with; this is the man we die with."

Less than three weeks later, Ruiz and Stone are on the verge of filing suit against King, an action which could come as early as tomorrow morning, for interfering with their plans for a lucrative defence against Mike Tyson in Ruiz's native New England.

Despite his having been battered into submission by Lennox Lewis two months ago in Memphis, Tyson retains an aura of mystique that somehow continues to capture the imagination of the boxing public. No one is more aware of this than the people at Showtime, the American cable network which has invested millions on the fortunes of an ex-champion who does not appear to have a future.

Although there is a contractual stipulation for a Lewis-Tyson rematch, the outcome in Memphis was so decisive that it would be almost impossible to sell. By getting Tyson back into the ring quickly, Showtime and adviser Shelly Finkel hope to rehabilitate Iron Mike's image in the eyes of the gullible boxing public, and what better way to than by acquiring another world title?

Less than an hour after Cortez raised Ruiz's hand and sent Johnson to his room, Ruiz's Boston-based attorney Tony Cardinale was huddled in a cocktail lounge at the Mandalay Bay casino with Judd Burstein, his counterpart in Lewis' camp. Although a unification bout against Lewis would clearly have been Ruiz's preference, the negotiation that started that night and went on for another week failed to bear fruition. Team Ruiz then turned its attention to Tyson.

The illogical vagaries of the boxing marketplace suggest that, the events in Memphis notwithstanding, a Ruiz fight against Tyson would likely be more rewarding in purely financial terms than one for all the marbles against Lewis. The Ruiz bout is likewise appealing to Tyson, in that the acquisition of the missing piece to Lewis's puzzle - the WBA belt - would provide ammunition to bring to the bargaining table for a rematch.

THE sticking point was and is the $100 million lawsuit Tyson has pending against King for having allegedly bilked him out of at least that much in the course of an 11-year association which ended with the 1997 fight in which Tyson tried to bite off Evander Holyfield's ears. King has counter-sued, and the matter is scheduled to go to trial in November.

King has understandably attempted to use the prospect of a Ruiz fight as a means of favourably disposing of Tyson's suit. As is his wont, he has dangled not only Ruiz, but an entire tango line of beatable heavyweights in Tyson's face, offering him a long-term contract that could be worth as much as $150 million - if he drops the lawsuit, something Tyson does not at present appear disposed toward doing.

Asked about King by a television interviewer last Friday, Tyson replied: "This guy is a monster as far as I am concerned. He doesn't care about anyone."

During the same television interview, by the way, an introspective Tyson ascribed many of his past problems to becoming too rich, too soon: "At one stage of my life I am robbing a house and the next thing I am heavyweight champion of the world. That is a big culture shock. It is tragic to give a kid 18 years old $25 million to $30 million with no restriction. It's a horrific lifestyle."

King's stance is that while "someone else can get (Tyson) a fight, no one can resurrect him but me. I got all the gladiators in line for him to fight: Ruiz, Holyfield, Hasim Rahman, Lamon Brewster, Fres Oquendo . . ."

"It's foolish for us to air our dirty laundry in public," the promoter told USA Today's Dan Rafael earlier this week. "He can make $150 million with the plan I've got, so why are we arguing? It's insane for us to be fighting each other.

"I will make a fair deal with him and get him an opportunity to become champion again. The door is wide open for Tyson to come in. If he doesn't, I'll see him in the courtroom."

RUIZ's position is that the Tyson suit is King's problem, and that in effectively tying its resolution to a WBA title fight, the promoter has breached his fiduciary duties by hampering Ruiz's opportunity to cut his own best deal. Should King fail to back off in the next day or two, look for Ruiz-Tyson to be made anyway.

If that happens, Cardinale (who two decades ago cut his boxing teeth handling the affairs of Seán Mannion) will likely seek an injunction preventing King from interfering with the title bout.

Yesterday, while holidaying in his ancestral home in Puerto Rico, Ruiz confirmed that a Tyson fight in Massachusetts, either on December 7th at Boston's FleetCenter or November 9th at the Centrum in Worcester, looms as the next item on his agenda.

King, desperately attempting to stave off a full-fledged jailbreak, is apparently attempting to rely on past kindnesses and portray himself as the wounded party.

"After all we've been through," he actually told a Ruiz representative this week, "I can't believe you're going to let a measly few million come between us."