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Pastimes : Boxing: The Sweet Science -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mr.mark who wrote (775)	9/21/2000 11:11:51 PM
From: LPS5	Respond to of 10489

Absolutely; I think that Tap has got this one, though I'd expect a tough - and by that, I mean good - fight :) LPS5

To: mr.mark who wrote (775)	9/21/2000 11:22:27 PM
From: LPS5	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10489

Tommy Brooks and Jay Bright, Mike Tyson’s Trainers Wednesday, September 20, 2000 FightNews.com Tommy Brooks and Jay Bright are training former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson for his eagerly anticipated matchup with Andrew Golota, on Friday, October 20, 2000, live on pay per view at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT from The Palace Of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The fight card will be promoted by America Presents, in association with Hearns Entertainment, Inc., Main Events, Inc., and Fight Night, Inc. The suggested retail price for the SET (Showtime Event Television) Pay-Per-View telecast is $49.95. How is Mike Tyson’s training going? Bright: Tyson is working on his balance and coordination. He is looking sharper and sharper. He is focused and knows what he has to do. Brooks: Tyson is in the best shape at this juncture since I have been with him three years. It is just a matter of getting the timing down and hearing the bell ring. If Tyson wins this fight, are you setting your sights on Lennox Lewis? Brooks: We are setting our sights on Lewis or Evander Holyfield. Both of them have titles and we are looking at getting a title. Personally, I would like to fight Holyfield first and then Lewis. It does not matter which comes first. Line them up. Why do you want Holyfield first? Brooks: Holyfield is the easier of the two. No fight is easy. Holyfield is on the downside of his career. He has been in the game quite a bit of time. His skills are kind of eroding. Holyfield also is the kind of guy who gets up for fights. In the fight against John Ruiz, he did just enough to get by. What are your thoughts on the Andrew Golota-Orlin Norris fight? Brooks: Norris is a pretty good journeyman. We are not talking about a Tyson who is going to destroy Golota. What are your thoughts on the saying that a good offense is a good defense? Brooks: I agree with the saying that a good offense is a good defense. Offense is Tyson’s best defense. What are the challenges you are facing in training? Brooks: Tyson realizes that this fight against Golota is going to be harder than a title fight. Golota has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Tyson said a couple of weeks ago that he is going to make an example of this guy. We are going to send a message to Holyfield and Lewis. I just do not want to knock this guy down. I want to destroy him. How do you prepare for the unpredictable fighting style of Golota? Bright: Tyson has to anticipate that Golota will rise to a different level when he steps into the ring. When fighters get into the ring with Tyson, they are going right into the lion’s den. Fighters have to be 100 percent and have to excel past any level that they have been before. Tyson has to treat Golota as the best Golota that has entered the ring. Do you worry about things getting out of hand in this fight? Bright: I do not worry about things getting out of hand because Tyson has the ability to beat any fighter in the world fair and square. Brooks: Tyson is a professional athlete. He knows what is supposed to happen. That is what we are looking for. Are you going to get Tyson to the ring on time on Oct. 20? Brooks: You cannot force a grown man to do something that he does not want to do. I do not know what happens with Tyson. I do not stay with him. Tyson has his own facility that he stays in. We are in another place. I am his trainer. What percentage of things does Tyson do in the ring that you work on in training? Brooks: The percentage of things Tyson does in the ring that we work on in training is 95 percent. Tyson already knows how to fight. All he has to do is go in there and do what he does best. When I first got with Tyson, the only problem that he really had was his confidence. His confidence is soaring right now. That is why he is asking for a title shot. Bright: Tyson has done some extraordinary things in the gym that he has not done in the ring yet. As he gets more and more relaxed, you will see more extraordinary things in the ring. What are Golota’s strong points as a fighter? Brooks: Golota is a great boxer. If he does not have an anxiety attack, it is going to be a great fight. He is a European style fighter. We are going to use our movement and be around the guy. When he makes a mistake, he is going to pay for it. Bright: If Tyson goes in there and does what he is capable of doing, it does not matter what Golota chooses to do. Golota is not going to stand up in front of him. How does it change your job that Tyson is fighting more regularly? Brooks: Tyson fighting regularly now makes our job a whole lot easier. Boxing is basically repetition. Tyson is a phenomenal person, as far as physical attributes are concerned. He has been blessed with speed and power. It was just a matter of him being confident again. He is placing the shots. He is not just out there winging. Can you discuss other things you are working on during training? Brooks: In order for a guy to be confident in what he is doing, he has to see a result in what he achieves and is trying to do. In the last fight against Lou Savarese, he said he was going to “hurt this guy.” That is what he did. Bright: Confidence does not come from people talking or cheerleading. Brooks and I are working on his confidence. A fighter’s true confidence comes from being able to slip a punch, counterpunch and be in the position to land what he wants against an opponent. Can you talk about what is coming up? Brooks: Tyson is a much better fighter than he was before because of maturity. He sees things in a different light. He is not just out there winging shots. He is placing shots. He is confident in what he is doing and the people around him. Bright: When you get older, you learn to accept things more in life. When you do that, things become less of a distraction. You then can focus on the job at hand in the ring 100 percent. Would Tyson fight Holyfield again? Brooks: Tyson wants to fight Holyfield again to get it out of his system. In order for Tyson to feel he has accomplished what he wants to out of boxing, he feels he has to pay back this guy. Do you plan to have Tyson take it easy in the first few rounds against Golota and then go for everything in the later rounds? Brooks: We are going in there to take Golota out as soon as possible.