Tyson Blows His Top At Interview

Troubled former champion Mike Tyson turned a television interview to promote his upcoming heavyweight fight against Francois Botha into yet another embarrassing escapade.

Tyson, speaking from Las Vegas for the interview with WWOR Television Tuesday, launched into a series of expletive-filled answers that had to be bleeped out.

"I'm going to kill this mother (bleep)," Tyson said when asked about Saturday's fight against Botha.

But that was just the beginning. When WWOR's Russ Salzberg asked Tyson about his "rage in the ring" and how it hurt him in his fight against Evander Holyfield, Tyson again resorted to an expletive.

"Well, (bleep) it. It's a fight, so whatever happens, happens," said Tyson.

When Salzberg questioned Tyson's use of language, Tyson responded by saying, "I'm talking to you the way I want to talk to you. You have to problem, turn off your station."

Clearly turned off by Tyson's demeanor, Salzberg decided to end the interview right there and sarcastically closed the discussion by saying, "Have a nice fight, Mike."

A visibly perturbed Tyson shot back by saying, "(bleep) off."

Tyson's fight against Botha Saturday night at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas is his first since the fiasco with Holyfield on July 9, 1997.

The fight will be telecast on SET, the pay-per-view arm of Showtime.

Tyson was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after biting Evander Holyfield's ear twice in the July 9 fight. He had his boxing license reinstated on Oct. 19.

One of the hardest punchers in the sport's history, Tyson (45-3, 39 KOs) became the youngest heavyweight champion at age 21 in 1986. Six years later, he was convicted of rape and served 3 ½ years at the Indiana Youth Center.

© 1998 SportsLine USA, Inc. All rights reserved