IS TYSON MATURING? SLOWLY, MAYBE.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Staff Writer

Mike Tyson, four months out of prison and preparing for his comeback fight against Orlin Norris here on Oct. 23, spreads around the blame for his troubles. Among the culprits: the justice system, the media, his colleagues - himself.

Clearly, the former heavyweight champion remains bitter.

He criticized the courts, claiming he has never been treated fairly. He landed a jab on the chin of the media, referring to sportswriters at a news conference on Thursday as ``dysfunctional alcoholic reporters.'' And he said the fact he lives under a microscope has distorted reality.

At the same time, in a reflective moment with a few of those dysfunctional reporters, he looked inward to explain two prison sentences, his suspension from boxing for biting the ear of Evander Holyfield and other setbacks.

``I reflect on my life,'' he said. ``I'm only 33, so young, but I seem so old. I've seen so many things. All the crap, how did it come upon me?

``Bad influences . . . and I wasn't mature enough to understand it. My problems came from my immaturity, I wasn't mature enough to handle it all.

``I think I grew up too fast. All the drama hit me and I wasn't ready for it. So I went cold, I shut off my emotions.''

And now? Has he turned the emotions back on? Has he gained any maturity?

``I don't know,'' he said. ``It's one step at a time.''

There are signs that could be construed as hopeful.

One involves his grade-school-age children, who live with their mother in Maryland while he lives and trains in Las Vegas. They watch TV, he said. Their friends watch TV and then make comments.

He wants to behave in front of this audience.

``That's one thing that's different now,'' he said. ``The other kids talk to my kids so I'm real careful what I say. I definitely don't want to use foul language.''

No matter what happens, Tyson wants to make something clear: He's a human being.

He insists he's not much different from the rest of us. It's just that everything he says and does comes under tremendous scrutiny.

``I'm under a microscope,'' he said. ``In this room, and I'm not saying just reporters, there might be perverts, pedofile, freaks, horrible fathers. We all have issues we're dealing with.

``Besides me being worldwide, I'm not as bad as some people. I have some decency, some morals.''

Tyson could remain under that microscope for some time.

His fight with Norris, a former cruiserweight champion about Tyson's size, will mark the start of his third comeback.

At this point, more than ever, he seems to be in it for the money: He remains millions of dollars in debt.

Ultimately he hopes he'll once again fight for the world championship he has twice lost - and reap the ungodly financial rewards that come with it. However, for now, he's not inclined to focus beyond Norris.

He hasn't fought since he knocked out Francois Botha in January because he was convicted of assault and spent three months in prison, where he ballooned to 280 pounds. Now, after months of training, he's trimmed down to about 235 but has a lot of work ahead of him.

``I just want to work to get into shape to fight the top contenders,'' he said. Again, one step at a time.

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PHOTO ``I'm not as bad as some people. I have some decency, some morals,'' Mike Tyson told reporters.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press