New trainer: Tyson in shape this time

      Members of "Team Tyson" are usually characterized by tailored silk suits, diamond-encrusted jewelry, sweet-smelling cologne and pricey sunglasses.
      Then there's Richie Giachetti.
      Tyson's cigar-chomping trainer is quick with a profanity and sports a wardrobe that looks as if it were plucked from a gymnasium locker. But Giachetti is an invaluable member of Tyson's training camp, which has been closed to the public all week as Tyson prepares for tonight's World Boxing Association championship fight with Evander Holyfield at the MGM Grand Garden.
      A prickly Giachetti responded to criticism of Tyson's strategy in the first bout with Holyfield in November 1996.
      "He didn't lose because of strategy. He wasn't ready to fight," said Giachetti, who replaced Jay Bright as Tyson's trainer after the first fight. "There's no athlete in the world who can perform at the highest level if he isn't in shape, and Mike wasn't in shape. It's as simple as that."
      Giachetti said he and Tyson have enjoyed a positive working relationship throughout training camp.
      -- WHITHER RIDDICK? -- With Tyson and Holyfield controlling the heavyweight title picture, the absence of a third recent heavyweight champion has been a largely overlooked topic.
      What's up with Riddick Bowe?
      "I don't know," said Eddie Futch, who quit training the longtime friend of Tyson's shortly before Bowe announced his retirement. "I wanted to take him to the top level, but he didn't want to go there. He got in with some people who got in his head, and that hurt him."
      Giachetti offered a simple reason for Bowe's retirement from boxing.
      "Riddick Bowe ate himself out of boxing," Giachetti said. "That's what happened to Riddick Bowe.
      -- FERDIE SPEAKS -- Ferdie Pacheco, part of Showtime's broadcast team, said the many questions surrounding the Tyson-Holyfield rematch make it an alluring fight.
      "How could (Holyfield) possibly repeat that past performance?" Pacheco asked during a conference call. "Was Holyfield so good because Tyson let him be? Will Richie Giachetti improve Tyson's performance? These factors make this the fight of the decade, no question about it.
      "In my 40 years of calling fights, I can't remember when I've been so anxious for the bell to ring."