He’s a dead-ringer for one ring king

Dean Juipe

Thursday, June 26, 1997 | 11:48 a.m.

HEADS automatically turn.

And the reaction is always the same.

"There goes Mike Tyson," surprised people habitually exclaim.

And if Cliff Couser wants to heighten their excitement, he'll alter his natural voice and speak in one that perfectly mimics the former undisputed heavyweight champion.

It's a schtick, it's a good one and it comes naturally to Couser, a Las Vegas-based professional fighter who is playing Tyson in an HBO-produced movie about the life of promoter Don King. Entitled "Only In America," the made-for-TV movie is due this fall.

"I am a second Tyson," Couser said Tuesday, as if it was a matter of fact. "People look at me and look at my style and it's exactly like Tyson.

"It makes me feel like I'm the baddest man around."

The visual similarities are apparent, and when Couser slips into Tyson's high-pitched voice he's hilarious.

"I learned to do his voice in one day," he said. "Now we're built alike and we can sound alike."

They also have a similar style in the ring, the result of Couser's amateur trainer in St. Louis "training me just like Cus D'Amato trained Tyson when he first got started."

But that's where the similarities end.

"We're totally different in a few things," Couser said, drawing the comparisons. "I'm smarter. I'm Catholic, not Muslim. I have white friends and white people around me."

Couser, 25, stands 5-11 and weighs 219 pounds. Tyson, 30, is 5-11 and 222.

They met -- unexpectedly -- earlier this year at the Hair Unlimited barber shop on Rancho Drive.

"I was already there getting my hair cut when Mike came in and he looked shocked," Couser said. "We had a picture taken. He said if I ever needed anything, give him a call."

Couser hasn't taken Tyson up on the offer, yet he was tempted to ask for an undercard spot on the Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield show that's set for Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden. Couser, 9-3-2 in the ring, has had a difficult time getting fights.

"It seems as if the only fights I can get are out of town," he said. "I'd like to get something going here."

Couser's last fight was May 10 in Utah with journeyman Keith McKnight. That fight ended in a double disqualification.

His previous bout, last September in Vancouver, saw him upset former contender James "Quick" Tillis.

Couser has been approached as a possible opponent for England's Scott Welch and that bout, if it comes off, could be lucrative. Couser said he was offered $75,000 for the fight, which would be held in London.

While that's "maybe" money, Couser did strike a good deal with HBO for playing Tyson. He's being paid $100,000 for that assignment.

"We've already done some shooting at Universal City in Hollywood," Couser said. "I go back July 10 to finish my part in it."

He got the part when a producer affiliated with the project spotted him at the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Pernell Whitaker fight at the Thomas & Mack Center April 12.

"He said to me 'You're perfect,'" Couser said. "It shocked me."

He was automatically interested, having paid his own way to an audition last year in Hollywood when a casting call went out for a Tyson look-alike for a movie on the ex-champ. The role eventually went to a former professional kickboxer who had something of an actor's portfolio.

"I expected to get that part," Couser said, "and I was disappointed when I didn't."

But he got the role this time and it includes numerous speaking parts.

"I've got a good memory and that really helps," Couser said. "You've got to know your lines and the last lines of the people in the scene with you. You can't mess up."

No, you can't. There's no room for error when you're a dead ringer for Mike Tyson.