TYSON NOT EXCITING ANYMORE.

Byline: MICHAEL ROSENTHAL Boxing

In the late 1980s, we were thrilled when Mike Tyson knocked out an opponent in the first round, awed by his ferocity and power, grateful we were witness to something special.

Now? Who cares?

Tyson, 36, is a freak with a powerful punch whose opponents are chosen carefully to set up big paydays somewhere down the line, in this case a rematch with Lennox Lewis in June. In other words, this is more about circus acts and money than boxing.

The fact Tyson missed a week of training shortly before the fight raised the question: Is he in good enough shape to fight? He didn't have to train at all.

Etienne, knocked down a total of nine times by patty-cake punchers Fres Oquendo and Francois Botha, had no chance because of his suicidal combination of an aggressive style and a weak chin. That's why he was chosen as Tyson's opponent.

He wildly exchanged punches until the inevitable happened - a one-punch knockout by Tyson, only 49 seconds into the ``fight.''

``Etienne had been knocked down nine times in two fights by guys who couldn't hit,'' said Freddie Roach, Tyson's new trainer. ``I knew if Mike hit him, he wouldn't get up.''

And that's supposed to be exciting? In fact, it's boring.

When Tyson landed the straight right that put Etienne down and out, the reaction wasn't ``Wow!'' It was, ``That's it?''

See, people are catching on.

They know Tyson is no longer the terror he was in his early 20s. He's an ordinary boxer who has held onto the one thing big punchers never lose: their power.

Put any mediocre heavyweight in front of him, particularly one as vulnerable as Etienne, and the result will be the same regardless of Tyson's preparation: a knockout. It's too predictable to be as interesting as it once was.

Tyson's shtick outside the ring also is stale, although the tattoo on the face was a creative way to command attention.

After the fight, in the ring and at the postfight news conference, Tyson was typically pathetic. Among his comments:

--``I've got issues to deal with. I'm in pain and I've got some serious demons I am fighting.''

--``Maybe I'm just a domesticated animal.''

--``I'm seriously messed up. I need to get my life together.''

Same old stuff.

Tyson rambled almost incoherently during an interview in the ring, which prompted one observer to say, ``This guy is sick.'' Yeah, no kidding. We've known this for years; time to move on.

The one cogent thing he said amid the nonsense is that he's not ready to fight Lewis, who gave him a terrible beating last year.

``I'm more confident than I was last year,'' Tyson said. ``But I'm not ready to fight Lennox Lewis. I want more fights, maybe two, maybe three. I don't know. Right now I'm just not interested in getting beat up again.''

That was worthy of our attention. All the rest is old news.

--More Tyson-Etienne: The knockout was the sixth fastest of Tyson's career and the quickest since he stopped Lou Savarese in 38 seconds in 2000. Tyson has 16 KOs inside the first 93 seconds.

--Jones-Ruiz: Roy Jones Jr. will be fighting for the heavyweight championship Saturday in Las Vegas - technically. His opponent, John Ruiz, holds the WBA belt, but everyone knows Lewis is the champ.

Jones will take what he can get.

``He's got the belt, so he is a heavyweight champion,'' Jones said. ``... He may not be the main one, as far as the fans go, but he is the heavyweight champ.''

--Jones-Ruiz II: Jones has seen film clips of the famous fight between Joe Louis and light-heavyweight challenger Billy Conn in 1941, in which Conn outboxed the great heavyweight champion until he was knocked out in the 13th round.

Could this be a similar fight?

``I pretty much think so,'' Jones said. ``I just won't get caught in the end.''

--Jones-Ruiz III: Jones said he expects to weigh about 185 at fight time, at least 35 pounds lighter than Ruiz.

``That's without my shoes on,'' he said. ``... I just try to maintain my eating habits. When I fight light heavyweight, I don't eat what I want. If I don't eat three times a day, I will watch all of the weight fall off.''

He said he normally fights at between 176 and 183 pounds.

--Jones-Ruiz IV: Ruiz said too much is made of Jones' speed.

``I feel I can be as quick as Roy Jones,'' he said. ``It just plays off people's minds that Roy is so fast. I'm going to prove them wrong. Every round you'll see me catching him.''

Boy, is Ruiz going to be surprised.

--Final Jones-Ruiz: Promoter Don King's plan is to have the winner of Saturday's fight take on Chris Byrd, who beat Evander Holyfield in December to win the vacant IBF belt.

The winner of that fight then would face Lewis, at least as King envisions it. Jones won't step into the ring with a fighter of Lewis' size and ability.

``Chris Byrd is standing in the wings to fight the winner,'' King said. ``... Lennox Lewis will be in the broadcast booth on (Saturday). He's the emperor of boxing. He's now looking to find a worthy challenger. When it's over, the winner will fight the emperor.

``Johnny has a bright future when he goes in and knocks out Roy Jones, like he's going to do.''

COMING UP

Tonight

--Neddy Garcia vs. Alberto Ontiveros, junior bantamweights, Norman, Okla., Fox Sports World

Friday

--Humberto Soto vs. Cesar Figueroa, junior lightweights, Las Vegas, ESPN2

--Jose Navarro vs. Keyry Wong-Tirado, junior bantamweights, Fresno, Telemundo

Saturday

--John Ruiz vs. Roy Jones Jr., for Ruiz's WBA heavyweight title, Las Vegas, pay-per-view. Also, Winky Wright vs. J.C. Candelo, for Wright's IBF junior middleweight title.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

(color) Mike Tyson showed little emotion after knocking out Clifford Etienne in 49 seconds Saturday at the Pyramid in Memphis, Tenn.

Dave Martin/Associated Press

Box:

COMING UP (see text)