Angry Tyson full of expletives during interviews

Mike Tyson wants to be loved. Just leave him alone.

And that's why much of the world will be riveted Saturday night: Nobody can figure out who this guy is or what he'll do next.

Whether it's the few thousand who attend the MGM Grand Garden or the millions around the world who purchase the pay-per-view, they will watch every move Tyson makes in his 10-round heavyweight fight with Frans Botha.

It will be Tyson's first fight since being suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for biting Evander Holyfield's ears in the same arena 19 months ago.

In his two days with the media since his arrival in Las Vegas, Tyson has demonstrated his bipolar personality often. Some questions elicit a two-word response. Others evoke a running, philosophical commentary on subjects ranging from the Holocaust to Machiavelli.

His buttons have been pressed easily.

On Tuesday, Tyson ran through a series of satellite interviews with radio and television stations around the country. At times he answered questions pretending he was a slave, replying "Yes, Massah." He also refrained from checking his verbiage, dropping a series of F-bombs.

His first interview, with Russ Salzberg of WWOR Channel 9 in New York, produced this exchange:

"Mike, Francois Botha's a 6-to-1 underdog," Salzberg started. "Any concerns on your part?"

"I don't know nothing about numbers," Tyson replied. "I just know what I can do. I'm going to kill this mother f - - - - -."

"OK. ... You take into the ring a lot of rage. Does that work for you, or does it work against you at times?"

"Who cares? We're going to fight anyway. What does it matter."

"Well, for example, rage against Evander Holyfield worked against you."

"F - - - it! It's a fight! So whatever happens, happens."

"Mike, why you gotta talk like that?"

"I'm talking to you the way I want to talk to you. If you have a problem, turn off your station."

"You know what? I think we'll end the discussion right now."

"Good! F - - - you!"

"You got it. Have a nice fight, Mike."

"F - - - off! A - - - - - -!"

"You're a class act, buddy."

"So's your mother!"

The 32-year-old former champ calmed down after that. He even opened up to a producer named Fred from KNBC Channel 4 in Los Angeles, who took a more sympathetic approach and played to Tyson's belief he is a victim of society.

"It's pervasive that I'm a bad guy," Tyson said. "And that's the schtick that I got. So that's the way I react.

"No one, basically, is ever going to give me any love because they consider me a big Goliath."

Fred then said "That must be difficult for you. People only know what they read about you. But they don't know who you are."

"F - - - them, Fred!" Tyson snapped. "F - - - them up their - - -! Just f - - - them!"

Those are the viewers who won't dare turn away once Tyson enters the ring Saturday night. They can't help it, and that's why Tyson is the biggest attraction in boxing. After basketball superstar Michael Jordan's retirement earlier today, it can be argued Tyson is the biggest draw in all of sports.

"I could sell out Madison Square Garden masturbating," he said.

Tyson is enigmatic to an extreme. He has been convicted of rape. He has been accused of physical abuse by ex-wife Robin Givens. He reportedly tried to commit suicide by driving his BMW into a tree. He has made millions and now claims he's broke.

And through it all, he tries to portray himself as a victim.

"I'm just a baby lamb," Tyson said, "a sheep, a fawn for the lions to eat alive.

"I haven't died yet, but I feel like I've been to hell."

He frequently talks about how he was taken advantage of. He claimed his first managers, Bill Cayton and Jimmy Jacobs, "should have been put in jail for making me a champion."

"I was 21 years old when I was the champion," Tyson said, as Las Vegan Floyd Mayweather sat beside him at the MGM on Monday. Mayweather is 21 and the WBC junior-lightweight champ.

"I thought I was a man, but I was a child. People want to be famous. They want to be wealthy -- until they get it."

After Jacobs died in 1988, Tyson sued Cayton to get out of his contract and eventually signed with promoter Don King. He now is suing King and co-managers John Horne and Rory Holloway for $100 million. They are countersuing for $110 million.

Tyson was asked how things would be different if Cus D'Amato, his original father figure, were around today. D'Amato, who took Tyson into his home and turned him into a fighting machine, died before Tyson turned pro.

"Me and him would do a lot of talking," Tyson said. "I would have been married a lot sooner. He tried to get me married at 16 because that was the old way. I probably would have killed everybody in my family."

As pathetic as Tyson can make himself out to be, he can easily eschew sympathy by reminding others how far he has come in life.

"Everyone starts at zero," he said. "I started at sub-zero. I've always been an underdog at life. I'll never kiss anybody's ass. I'm not subservient.

"I'm beyond good and evil. I'm beyond right and wrong. I don't live by anybody's rules."

It is that carefree attitude Tyson claimed has helped him get through his troubles.

"I was really screwed up before," Tyson said. "And that was a couple days ago."

The reporters laughed. Tyson didn't.

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