MORE JAIL MIGHT FINISH TYSON.

Byline: MICHAEL ROSENTHAL Boxing

Was Mike Tyson's knockout of Francois Botha on Jan. 16 his last fight?

This week, either of two court decisions could send the former world heavyweight champion back to prison, where he spent three years for rape. And if he goes, two Nevada officials said, he won't be welcome to fight in that state again.

Tyson is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday for allegedly assaulting two motorists in Maryland in August. He pleaded no contest in the case, which isn't an admission of guilt. A Maryland prosecutor recommended last week that Tyson serve jail time.

``(Tyson is) nothing less than a time bomb buried in our own backyard,'' Montgomery County, Md., State's Attorney Doug Gansler said in a court memorandum.

If Tyson escapes prison time in that case, he could return to jail for violation of parole from his rape conviction. Authorities in Indiana, where Tyson was tried, are waiting until the Maryland case is over before rendering their own decision.

Any time behind bars that exceeds a few days or weeks would certainly hinder Tyson's comeback after he lost his license for more than a year for biting Evander Holyfield's ears.

If he's put away for any more than, say, six months, it might be nine months to a year before he could fight again. At 33, with eroding skills and in a perpetually fragile emotional state, could he resurrect his career a third time? And, even if he could fight again, where would he do it?

Comments made by Luther Mack and Elias Ghanem of the Nevada Athletic Commission don't bode well for Tyson.

Mack, who voted to reinstate Tyson's license in October, told the New York Daily News: ``If he goes to jail, we can't have him fighting in Nevada.''

Ghanem, the commission chairman, said even a 30-day or 60-day term could result in a second license revocation that presumably would never be reversed. Such a fate would mean he could fight only in one of the few states without an athletic commission or a foreign country, assuming other commissions would honor the decision.

Tyson might very well fight on the moon if millions of dollars are at stake. And, yes, even after another layoff, he would be able to generate enough money to ensure a big payday.

However, he would become a pariah at that point, no longer a legitimate force in the sport, a curiosity more than anything else. In other words, at the very least, jail time would radically alter Tyson's career.

If he doesn't go back to jail?

Many believe he already is little more than a sideshow. His performance against Botha seemed to confirm that he's nothing more than a solid heavyweight with a good punch.

Ironically, the Tyson who once terrorized the heavyweight division fought his last fight a long time ago.

Decent numbers: A surprising 10,221 people paid full-ticket prices to see Tyson fight Francois Botha on Jan. 16 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. That's the sixth-biggest live gate in the history of boxing in the state.

The fight grossed $7,051,800 for the live gate, which pales next to the $14,277,200 earned by the second Tyson-Holyfield fight but exceeded some predictions.

Only four other Tyson fights and the first Oscar De La Hoya-Julio Cesar Chavez fight has brought in more money.

Another estimated 750,000 watched the fight on pay-per-view television. Promoters had hoped for at least a million but don't consider those numbers a disaster.

``There's not a promoter or a fighter in the world that wouldn't love to have those type of numbers,'' promoter Dan Goossen told the Associated Press.

Now, we'll see how the next Tyson fight - assuming he's not in jail - does now that the novelty of his return has worn off.

Who's next? Cable television operators no longer consider Tyson a guaranteed pay-per-view success. That's one reason Axel Schulz is out as a possible opponent for Tyson on April 24. Promoters realized after the Botha fight that Tyson needs a more marketable opponent.

Shannon Briggs, American and better known than Schulz but probably not as good, has emerged as a leading contender.

No respect: Don Turner, Holyfield's trainer, isn't giving Lennox Lewis much respect.

Turner, whose fighter faces Lewis in a heavyweight-title unification bout on March 13, served up the obligatory ``Holyfield will fight the best fight of his life and will win'' to Reuters. However, he went further. He questioned the Briton's fighting spirit.

``I don't really think he wants to fight,'' he said. ``When he gets in there, he don't give his all. Fighters find a way to dog it.''

Holyfield is only a 6-5 favorite, according to Caesars Palace.

On the rise: Heavyweight Lance Whitaker of Northridge will take another step up in competition when he faces hard-punching Lou Savarase on the undercard of the David Reid-Laurent Boudouani fight March 6 in Atlantic City, N.J.

Whitaker (18-0, with 15 knockouts) is coming off a tough seventh-round knockout of veteran Alex Stewart on the Tyson-Botha undercard. Whitaker was awarded the victory when Stewart couldn't continue because of a cut, but Whitaker needed 12 stitches to close a cut on his own left eyelid.

Savarase (38-2, 32 KOs) is coming off a first-round knockout of Buster Douglas on June 25. He had been a prospective opponent for Tyson.

Reid, the Olympic champion, is getting his first world-title shot when he faces WBA middleweight champ Boudouani.

Boudouani, a Frenchman, is tough but not nearly as talented as Reid. If he wins, Reid will become the third 1996 Olympian to win a world championship. Floyd Mayweather and Fernando Vargas already have won titles.

Hopkins defends title: Bernard Hopkins, one of boxing's most talented champions, defends his IBF middleweight belt Saturday in a rematch with Robert Allen in Atlantic City, N.J. on Showtime.

On the undercard, Hassine Cherifi defends his WBC middleweight crown against Keith Holmes, from whom he took the championship.

Interesting twist: Javier Castillejo's upset victory over Keith Mullings last week might be a boon to Oscar De La Hoya.

Mullings, who lost his WBC super welterweight title to the Spaniard, was in line to face De La Hoya in a big-money fight. However, Castillejo would be more marketable among De La Hoya's biggest fan base: Mexicans.

The guess here is that Mexicans will strongly back De La Hoya - a Mexican-American - against a fighter from the mother country. And Castillejo, while competent, would have almost no chance of beating the WBC welterweight champ.

COMING UP

Thursday: At the Irvine Marriott, Raul Franco faces Jose Chilin in a 10-round welterweight bout. Also Thursday, on USSB, Oleg Maskaev takes on Jeff Wooden in a 12-round heavyweight matchup in Worley, Idaho.

Friday: On ESPN2, Andrew Council faces Michael Ward in a 10-round middleweight bout in Pikesville, Md.

Saturday: On Showtime, Bernard Hopkins defends his IBF middleweight title against Robert Allen in Washington D.C. Also, WBC middleweight champ Hassine Cherifi defends his belt against Keith Holmes. Also Saturday, on Fox Sports Net, Monte Barrett fights Phil Jackson in a 10-round heavyweight bout.

Feb. 8: At the Forum, Javier Jauregui takes on Jose Badillo in a 12-round junior lightweight fight.

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