Columnist Dean Juipe: Take Tyson in a knockout

Dean Juipe

Friday, June 27, 1997 | 11:17 a.m.

IT'S EASY to line up the indicators and say Evander Holyfield is going to win.

Clearly, he holds some serious advantages over his Saturday opponent at the MGM, Mike Tyson.

Having won their first fight, Holyfield is confident while Tyson can only give the subject lip service.

Holyfield is also healthy and looking extremely fit, while Tyson -- despite his captivating muscular-as-always appearance -- will be protecting an eight-week-old cut near his left eye that figures to explode with blood after a few of Holyfield's rat-a-tat-tats.

Holyfield is also immersed in inner peace, while Tyson and his camp spent Wednesday, if not Thursday too, embroiled in a controversy of their own doing regarding the selection of the referee assigned to the fight.

The Holyfield bandwagon -- an oxymoron of sorts prior to his fight with Tyson last Nov. 9 -- has long since been loaded and broken away from its moors. It's at its full capacity.

The last stragglers who jumped aboard did so to be on the safe side in the event God himself prefers Holyfield, a man many are convinced is a modern-day saint.

Is there any reason to believe Holyfield won't take the rematch?

How about this one: It's Tyson with the greater motivation. And that, boxing fans, is why the view from this corner is that Tyson -- despite the many obstacles -- is going to win.

Unlike last time, he has something to prove while Holyfield really does not.

Holyfield's place in boxing history is secure. As his new clothing line attests, he's the big-hearted Warrior, the perpetual underdog who rose through the ranks to become a five-time world champion. With a strong faith in God and a heavy-handed punch, he came back and back and back until reaching his crowning achievement: a win over the seemingly indestructible Tyson.

Some have said it was a victory of Biblical proportions, that the Man Upstairs took an active role in determining the winner of a prize fight on Earth. Those same people are, therefore, obliged to feel Holyfield takes the rematch.

They've also been joined by the more jaded followers of the sport. This group takes the position that Holyfield has the greater skills, the better stamina, the stronger chin.

They're not picturing anything but Holyfield being dominant at times and able to withstand Tyson's inevitable flurries. Why, they ask, should fight No. 2 be any different than fight No. 1?

Here's why: Tyson may be walking into the ring with a handful of liabilities, yet this time he's more cognizant of what Holyfield is bringing to the war. This time he didn't undertrain and this time he won't be surprised by Holyfield's durability.

This time one of Tyson's ferocious punches is going to put Holyfield on the floor.

And there's no reason to think it won't happen early.

It's inconceivable these guys could fight the full 12 rounds, even if they went into the 11th last time. It's just too grueling, too exhausting to fight at the pace Holyfield and Tyson are certain to keep to think in terms of the judges determining the outcome.

What was truly amazing about their first encounter is that both men took hammer-like blows to the head at regular intervals without backing down. There's a reason this fight is being presented as one of the greatest of all time and it's due to the fact each man is such a willing combatant.

They're fighters in the truest sense, not pure boxers, not showmen, not dancers. They're in there to fight.

Of their combined 83 fights, 66 have ended by knockout.

This one probably will too, even if Tyson is apt to be bleeding from the area near his left eye when it does. The cut -- it was definitely there, by the way, for those who feel Tyson pulled out of the scheduled May 3 fight strictly to leverage a few more dollars from promoter Don King -- can't possibly be so well healed as to withstand more than a few rounds with Holyfield.

So Tyson, more so than Holyfield, has to come out committed to pushing the action. Aggressive by nature, he has to be even more assertive as he tries to get in and get out before the cut opens, the referee summons the doctor, and the doctor says the fight's off.

He needs a relatively quick KO.

It's just a guess, of course, because few of us can actually see into the future, but the best guess from here -- even considering the baggage he'll carry into the ring -- is that Tyson comes through with the knockout victory. Bet it, however, at your own risk.

And, if you do, remember you may also be taking an even greater risk beyond a few earthly dollars. If this Biblical stuff about Holyfield is true, you may be risking your eternal salvation.