Mike Tyson doesn't want to look back at his troubled past, but he would like to relive one experience - that of being undisputed heavyweight champion.
He will try to take a first step Saturday night when he challenges WBC champion Frank Bruno of Britain in a pay-per-view fight at the MGM Grand Garden.Tyson became a WBC champion at age 20 with a second-round knockout of Trevor Berbick Nov. 26, 1986. He went on to become undisputed champion and reigned until knocked out in the 10th round by James "Buster" Douglas Feb. 11, 1990.
Bruno doesn't want to look back either, at least not beyond last Sept. 2 when he finally became a champion in his fourth try by outpointing Oliver McCall.
One of Bruno's title-bid losses came when he was stopped in the fifth round by Tyson in an undisputed championship match Feb. 25, 1989.
"It's my time, my future," the 34-year-old Bruno said.
"He's not going to beat me," Tyson said. The bookmakers agree, making Tyson a heavy favorite.
Should he win the WBC title in his third comeback fight in five months after a layoff of a little more than four years, Tyson could fight WBA champion Bruce Seldon in June or July. The IBF championship, held by Francois Botha of South Africa, currently is wrapped in litigation stemming from Botha testing positive for a steroid after a title victory over Germany's Axel Schulz.
A fight against Seldon hit a snag Friday when Judge Amos Saunders of Passaic Country (N.J.) Superior Court ruled that both Tyson and Bruno must refrain from fighting after Saturday night and the WBC must not sanction any more heavyweight title fights until a lawsuit by Lennox Lewis is settled.