No laughing matter

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Mike Tyson giggled. Perhaps he saw the humor in all this talk of yet another title shot, a future after boxing as a missionary -- yes, that's what he said -- or the entirety of his wild and crazy life.

Tyson's mantra is it took him 38 years to grow up. And there he was, closing up training before another $6 million payday in a black Joe Louis T-shirt so sopping wet it looks almost rubberized and giggling when asked how he can afford to buy a $2.1 million home when he is in bankruptcy.

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head before cracking up.

Jeff Fenech, his latest trainer, laughed, too. They worked for more than eight weeks in Phoenix to get ready, which seemed rather unsporting since the opponent Saturday in the District is only Kevin McBride. But there's one thing neither is joking about: That Tyson, less than a month before his 39th birthday and a year after an unbecoming fifth-round knockout by unheralded Danny Williams, still can be considered a heavyweight contender.

"The heavyweight champion of the world can't demand the money I demand," he said, just citing the obvious. He was more genial and relaxed, even in sparring six rounds with an Australian named Bob Mirovic, who at 6-foot-5 is the same size as McBride.

Fenech, who has known Tyson for 17 years, said the boxer has become "more patient. There's no rush. It'll come when it comes."

Meanwhile, Bob Arum had his most trusted boxing expert, matchmaker Bruce Trampler, at the Central Boxing Club for much of the eight-week camp. Arum is interested in signing Tyson to a long-term deal, matching him perhaps with former cruiserweight champion Vassiliy Jirov.

"If we had two more weeks, I'd let him fight [WBA heavyweight champion] John Ruiz again," said Fenech. "James Toney, he could fight tomorrow."

That kind of talk isn't new. Trainers named Richie Giachetti, Ronnie Shields, Tommy Brooks and Freddie Roach have described "new" Tysons before, as if the 15 years since his startling knockout by Buster Douglas in Tokyo have been erased and Tyson has been restored as the "baddest man on the planet."

A trainer who once held a gun to Tyson's head called the boxer "a shooting star" who would burn brightly and fade quickly. Tyson's career probably has validated Teddy Atlas' description.