Tyson imitator tired of act

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 1998 | 6:30 a.m.

As a heavyweight boxer with a modest 18-3 record, Cliff Couser has made a few dollars off the sport. But he has made a small fortune as something of a Mike Tyson imitator.

Couser, of Las Vegas, comes by it naturally. Not only is his boxing style reminiscent of Tyson, his appearance is remarkably similar and he can even alter his voice to talk like the former undisputed champion.

Hollywood took note and used Couser to play Tyson in a recent movie on promoter Don King. Couser also appears in a yet-to-be-released movie, entitled Creep, in which he plays Tyson.

There are also convention appearances in which Couser masquerades, for profit, as Tyson.

All that said, the affable Couser has tired of being mistaken for Tyson when he's out on the town. All too often, he says, people approach him believing he is Tyson and they won't take no for an answer when he says he's not.

"It's gotten old," he said. "When I'm out in public, even if I tell 'em I'm Clifford Couser and not Mike Tyson, they don't believe me. It can cause problems."

What he'd like to do is establish his own identity.

"It's nice when people recognize you, but I want them to know I'm Cliff," he said. "Right now I'd rather be known for my boxing. Besides, I'm a clean-cut, neat guy. I'm not Mike Tyson."

Not suffering from an identity crisis but missing in action of late has been two-time U.S. Olympian Victoria Herazo of Las Vegas. But there was a reason for her low profile. "I've been in San Diego at the Olympic Training Center the last six months," she said this week after returning to Nevada (and returning to her job at the Animal Foundation). Herazo, 37, is a race walker who finished 27th in the 1992 Olympics at Barcelona but was disqualified during the 1996 race at Atlanta. "I've been working on different techniques," she said of her stint in San Diego, which should prepare her for a Feb. 15 race in Reno and the Feb. 28 National Indoor race at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. ... Football signing day is Wednesday and it's said UCLA and Michigan may land the top classes. ... NBC loses its rights to televise National Football League games and immediately runs a flag up the pole to see if starting a new pro league is viable. Fortunately, it appears not many are saluting.

There's talk of the Western Athletic Conference switching from quadrants to two eight-team divisions for all sports by next fall. ... WAC men's basketball referees are calling tons of fouls during games at Wyoming this season and there are only three possible explanations: coincidence; the host Cowboys commit a lot of fouls and it leads to a foul-prone game; or the refs are affected by the altitude, so they're blowing their whistles to stop the game and give themselves a rest. ... Nothing against Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Van Exel but it's hard to understand how he's in the NBA All-Star Game and Houston forward Charles Barkley is not. ... Cheryl Miller is a better NBA TV analyst than most -- or all -- of the ex-coaches the networks employ. ... Figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding appear together for a TV interview Thursday and a studio hand called their relationship "chilly." Kerrigan is getting $150,000 and Harding $100,000 for the show, which will delve into the 1994 attack on Kerrigan that Harding had knowledge of in advance.

Follow-ups: Marc Ratner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission says a three-year study of boxers and how much weight they gain between the official weigh-in and the time they fight is almost ready; he also said he has followed through and held meetings with the second-tier boxing promoters who do cards at sites like Arizona Charlie's and The Orleans. The latter promoters have been criticized for substandard cards and Ratner said last December he would consult with them and issue some informal guidelines. That's good but only if they were listening; no evidence of it yet. ... There are 235 Putt-Putt golf courses in America but not a single one in Nevada, which is really a shame. ... Nice move by the Pittsburgh Penguins to not only sign their star player, Jaromir Jagr, to a contract extension last week but then to turn around and drop ticket prices. ... In an unprecedented move, the NHL shuts down Sunday for 17 days to allow 120 of its players to compete in the Olympics. "How much of this are we supposed to take?" asks Montreal goalie Andy Moog, unhappy with an arrangement that forces all but the elite players into a two-week, mid-season vacation.

The Western Athletic Conference has never sent more than two teams to the NCAA women's basketball tournament but it appears as if that will change this season with two teams in the top 25 and four others building tournament credentials. ... Mike Holmgren would have to be crazy to quit the Green Bay Packers to go to the Seattle Seahawks. ... Equally crazy is Caesars Palace, which passed on an intriguing Roy Jones vs. Buster Douglas March 2 fight, and, instead, will take Pernell Whitaker vs. Ike Quartey April 25. It's an East Coast fight that somehow is headed here; another reason not to like it is Whitaker's perpetual whining. ... The Detroit Pistons may have fired head coach Doug Colllins Monday but it's the general manager who should have been shown the door after the team lost Otis Thorpe, Michael Curry and Terry Mills last summer while getting little in exchange.