MEMPHIS, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Just 24 hours after saying he wasn't going "to live by Mike's rules," Clifford Etienne agreed Wednesday to meet Mike Tyson Saturday night at The Pyramid.
Etienne's decision came on the heels of another wild 24-hour period in the life of Tyson, the former undisputed champion. With promoters citing "reported" illness, Tyson pulled out of the fight on Monday, only to change his mind after waking up Tuesday morning.
"Mike called me this morning and told me he's ready to go," said Tyson's advisor, Shelly Finkel, Tuesday. "He told me, `I can beat Etienne,' and that's what he intends to do."
After Tyson said he was ready to go, Etienne then said he was not prepared to fight, a move some felt was a financial ploy by "The Black Rhino."
Both fighters will attend a news conference Thursday morning. The weigh-ins are slated for later that afternoon. If Tyson is going to beat Etienne, he will have to do so without full preparation. Tyson skipped his workouts for three days, got a large tattoo up the side of his face and around his eye socket, and missed two flights to Memphis.
He is coming off the worst beating of his career, an embarrassing eighth-round knockout at the hands of IBF and WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on June 8.
Ironically, Lewis may be best served by Tyson winning impressively. Not among the most popular heavyweight champions, Lewis has spoke about a rematch with Tyson, although there are several other more deserving challengers.
After the loss to Lewis, Tyson 36, appeared uncharacteristically contrite, leaving some to wonder whether he would retire. Tyson is 49-4, with 43 knockouts and two no-contests.
Etienne, known to have a weak chin, is the heavyweight 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 against 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.
In 1986, a 20-year-old Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history when he dropped Trevor Berbick in the second round. He held the title for nearly four years before being knocked out by Buster Douglas in a stunning upset in 1990.
In 1992, Tyson was found guilty of raping a beauty pageant contestant in Indiana, and spent 3 1/2 years in prison. He has been married and divorced twice. One of his wives was actress Robin Givens.
