'Tyson will be easy to beat'
John Phillips
New York - Mike Tyson can't think in the ring, plants his feet all wrong, gets tired and basically would be an easy opponent for Hasim Rahman, says the new heavyweight champion's trainer.
Adrian Davis guided Rahman to a stunning fifth-round knockout of Lennox Lewis on April 22 to win the Briton's World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) titles.
Davis, also repeated, in a recent interview, the widespread criticism that Tyson has little stamina past the middle rounds of a fight.
"I have a tape. It's amazing," Davis told Reuters. "Tyson is actually telling (his former trainer) Kevin Rooney 'I'm getting tired'. That was early in the fight about the fifth round."
Added to that, Davis says that if Tyson "goes four, five, six rounds he can't think."
The veteran trainer, who has worked with former champion Sugar Ray Leonard, will work the corner of World Boxing Association (WBA) middleweight champion William Joppy when he puts up his title against Felix Trinidad next month.
"Mike Tyson is an easy fight for us. Tyson's feet are all wrong," said Davis, setting himself in a boxing stance with his feet square to an imaginary opponent.
"You can't fight like that. And his hands, they're like this," said Davis derisively, putting both fists up in front of his face in Tyson's "peek-a-boo" style which some ringsiders say costs him time to pull his hands back to launch a punch.
The big question these days for Rahman is who will be his next opponent.
The contract with Lewis calls for a rematch. But Rahman's promoter, Cedric Kushner, said his man can take an interim fight. Tyson's handlers have been furiously angling to be Rahman's next opponent in what would likely to be a big payday for both men.
There have been reports that Rahman has already been offered more than $10 million to put his titles up against Tyson.
In addition to what Davis sees as Tyson's technical flaws, the veteran trainer says Tyson's psyche is vulnerable.
If and when there is a date set for a Rahman-Tyson fight, Davis says: "We're gonna mess him up in the press conference." |
