Mathis Stiffens Up He’s Tired Of Comparison To Tyson’s Last Opponent

He had been teased all week for his high voice and low punching power, and finally, as if the words hurt more than a thudding right from Mike Tyson, Buster Mathis Jr. stopped talking.

“Put some bass in it baby,” someone jeered at Wednesday’s press conference, referring to Mathis’ soprano voice.

“Take your shirt off,” came the shouts at Thursday’s weigh-in, as Tyson stripped to his briefs to reveal a chiseled, 219-pound frame, while Mathis kept a T-shirt loosely draped over what appeared to be a less-sculptured 224 pounds.

Mathis smiled at the reference to his voice on Wednesday and blew a kiss and gave a thumbs-up sign at the weigh-in Thursday, but apparently he didn’t duck the taunts as easily as he slips punches.

He refused an interview with a Philadelphia reporter on Thursday, then declined to take calls made to his hotel room Friday, a day before he is scheduled to fight Tyson at the Spectrum.

His manager, Bruce Kielty, explained in an interview that Mathis was tired of being labeled a “stiff” in print, weary of “personal attacks” on his voice and surprised at being compared to Tyson’s last opponent, Peter McNeeley, who was dispatched in 89 seconds.

“I can hold my own,” Mathis told reporters earlier in the week. “If I couldn’t, I wouldn’t be in this business. I believe you will be very impressed by my performance.”

If he did not want to talk after the perceived slights, it was understandable. He has been mocked for much of his 25 years, first as a kid for his high-pitched voice and roly-poly body, later by boxing critics for the lack of force in his punch.

Mathis is 20-0 as a professional heavyweight, but has recorded only six knockouts, while Tyson has 36 knockouts in his 42 victories.

At age 16, after not finding self-esteem in team sports, Mathis asked his boxing father, Buster Mathis Sr., to teach him the sweet science. In an often-repeated story, his father cautioned, “Son, you can play football and you can play baseball, but just remember, you can’t play boxing.”

Though some consider the pleasant Mathis too congenial for this brutal sport, he did last into the fourth round against Riddick Bowe in the summer of 1994, when Bowe knocked him down, then hit him again while Mathis was on one knee. The fight was ruled a no-contest.

In September, Mathis lost his father and his trainer when Buster Mathis Sr. died of a heart attack while his son tried futilely to resuscitate him. He knows, too, that another guy named Buster, Buster Douglas, knocked Tyson out in Tokyo in 1990. He also knows that he lacks Douglas’ punching power.

Mathis’ plan tonight is to pressure Tyson, stay low, drag the fight beyond the first few rounds.

“Buster doesn’t seem to have any apprehensions,” Kielty, his manager, said. “He had some concerns against Bowe, but he’s so close in size to Tyson. You couldn’t gauge Tyson from the McNeeley fight. We feel like we’re the first opponent on his return. Anybody can get taken out early by Tyson. But if the fight progresses, who knows what it will be like in the sixth or seventh round?”