Tyson future up in air despite early KO

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- On Mike Tyson's list of lessons learned from his 49-second destruction of Clifford Etienne, a few stand out:

First, rhinos don't dance, but they sure hit the canvas with a thud.

Second, one devastating right hand doesn't mean Tyson has any chance in a rematch with Lennox Lewis.

"I'm not going to lie to myself and lie to the public," Tyson said. "I need more fights. I'm not interested in getting beat up again."

Tyson rambled on as only Tyson can after Saturday night's fight, touching on everything from his bad back (broken, he says) to his desire to party (it's big) and, finally, to his future in the ring (more Clifford Etiennes).

But there was an element of truth in his comments that was largely missing from a weird week of pre-fight nonsense that nearly obscured the fact that Tyson was entering the ring with a fighter made to order for his punching style.

Etienne -- aka the Black Rhino -- had gone down seven times in one fight with soft-hitting Fres Oquendo two years ago. Tyson proved that the last thing to go in an aging heavyweight is his punch when his right hand flattened Etienne.

Etienne made the mistake of trying to punch with a puncher, and as soon as Tyson landed his right, he walked away knowing it was over.

"That's what rhinos do," Tyson said. "Rhinos don't dance."

The crowd of 15,171 at the Pyramid went wild over the sixth-fastest knockout of Tyson's career. But the former heavyweight champion was more realistic about what it all meant.

"People are excited to see me knock guys out because that's how I made my reputation," Tyson said. "But I need more rounds. After a fight like this, 49 seconds, I can't go in there against Lewis, a confident fighter who's accurate. I need to go back to the gym."

Whether that happens depends largely on Tyson's mood at any given time. If he skipped training for a week just before the fight to get a tattoo and relax, who's to believe he has enough dedication left to get in top condition?

"I like doing other things. I like getting high, hanging out with my kids. I like drinking," Tyson said. "I have so many demons."

Tyson's handlers had hoped for a spectacular knockout to set up a June 21 rematch with Lewis, who gave Tyson such a beating in the same ring eight months ago that many wrote him off as finished.

But 49 seconds proved little, except that Tyson can still hit like a mule.