NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson will return to the ring Feb. 22, when he meets Clifford "The Black Rhino" Etienne in a 10-round bout at the Pyramid in Memphis, Tenn.
The announcement was made Wednesday by the Showtime Cable Network, which will televise the bout.
It will be just the third fight in 28 months for Tyson, whose last bout ended in an embarrassing eighth-round knockout at the hands of IBF and WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on June 8.
After that bout, Tyson appeared uncharacteristically contrite and appeared ready to retire from the sport. But most of Tyson's current problems are financial and another payday would help.
An ex-convict with a weak chin, Etienne is the heavweight champion of the virtually disregarded IBA and the No. 8 contender in the IBF. He is 24-1-1 with 17 knockouts, with his last fight a 10-round draw with aging Francois Botha in July.
Between having his license suspended for 15 months for biting the ear of Evander Holyfield and being jailed for assaulting a pair of motorists in Maryland, Tyson stopped Botha in five rounds on Jan. 16, 1999 in Las Vegas.
Until the knockout at the hands of Lewis, Tyson had not lost in six bouts since his suspension. He is 49-4 with 43 knockouts and two no-contests.
In 1986, a 20-year-old Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history. In 1992, Tyson was found guilty of raping a beauty pageant contestant in Indiana and spent 3 1/2 years in prison.
