Ratner believes Tyson is well, the fight is a go

     There are a number of things a megafight attracts, not the least of which is rumors.
     When Mike Tyson is involved in the megafight, the rumors swirl among the public ­ and the media ­ to an even greater degree.
     Since there has never been a bigger fight than Tyson-Holyfield II, which has been rescheduled for June 28 at the MGM Grand Garden, it's no surprise the rumors are as big as ever.
     "The fight won't happen." "Tyson is hurt." "Tyson is not training." "Tyson is this." "Tyson is that."
     Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, probably hears the rumors as much as anyone.
     And Ratner wanted to find out firsthand just what is happening with Tyson, so he paid a visit to the boxer's training session at the Golden Gloves Gym earlier this week.
     "For the last 10 days, every other phone call is another rumor about the fight. Why it won't take place, silly rumors," Ratner said. "We, as a commission, just wanted to put the fears to rest about this fight."
     Ratner asked the Tyson camp if he could watch the former undisputed heavyweight champion work out, and his request was granted.
     "I watched him for over an hour, working on the big bag, on the speed bag, doing some sit-ups and other exercises. He looked to me to be very physically strong," Ratner said.
     Tyson's trainer, Richie Giachetti, said Tyson weighed 222 pounds, the same weight he was Nov. 9, when Holyfield stopped him in the 11th round at the MGM.
     "We heard rumors his shoulder was bothering him," Ratner said. "That certainly was not the case. He is at his fighting weight. I was impressed that he looked physically very good."
     Mission accomplished, as far as Ratner was concerned.
     "I feel very strongly that the June 28 date will happen. I hope this stops some of the silly rumors going around that he has physical problems or he is not training," Ratner said.
     The Tyson-Holyfield rematch was scheduled for May 3, but was postponed after Tyson suffered a cut over his left eye.
     "For the town's sake, it is very important the fight takes place,'' Ratner said. "It's just not fair to the whole state or city itself. That (rumors) scares some of the public away. I just thought it was very important that I see him."
     This shows the Nevada commission is proactive, not just reactive.
     The commission isn't responsible for checking out every rumor, but one of the reasons promoters call Nevada's commission the best in the world is that it is proactive.
     "I think it was proper the commission had Marc observe that, so if nothing else, we would know what was going on instead of just listening to rumors," commissioner Jim Nave said.
     The postponement didn't result in any appreciable return of tickets to the sold-out MGM arena.
     "We only had a handful of refunds, less than 50, out of 16,331 tickets," said MGM spokesman Bill Doak.
     That amounts to less than one-third of 1 percent, which is about as minimal as you can get.
     Even if there had been many more refunds, it would have hardly made a dent in the long waiting list for tickets for Holyfield-Tyson II.
     "We could probably sell the arena three times over if we wanted to," Doak said.
     When promoter Don King said that, it sounded like hype. When the host hotel confirms it, it puts the demand for tickets in real perspective.
     There are no odds available on the fight at the MGM. Doak said the odds would go back up in two weeks.
     Tyson opened a minus-325 favorite at the MGM and was a minus-260 favorite when the odds were taken down at the time of the postponement.
     However, the rumors/questions about Tyson affected the odds when they were put back up at the Las Vegas Hilton.
     "When I rebooked it, I lowered the price pretty significantly," said Art Manteris, director of the race and sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton.
     When the fight was taken down, it was Tyson minus-270 at the Las Vegas Hilton. Manteris reopened the odds at Tyson minus-200.
     "It did get bet back up'' to Tyson at minus-220, Manteris said.
     "The public perception, in my opinion, was starting to doubt Tyson," Manteris said. "There are so many question marks surrounding Mike Tyson now. My view of the public perception is many questions are being raised. Secondly, Tyson is still recovering from the first fight, apparently. If the wounds haven't healed from the first fight, it makes him vulnerable in the next fight, obviously."
     Since Tyson resumed his career after being released from prison in 1995, he has had three of six scheduled fights postponed due to injuries.