LAS VEGAS -- Sitting on a bench in a shower room after four rounds of sparring, Mike Tyson seemed neither manic nor depressive. He didn't talk about eating Lennox Lewis' children or threaten to hurt anyone.

	Iron Mike used to be the center of the boxing universe. Now?

Instead, he chatted affably for about a half-hour, ignoring the running shower to talk about everything from wrestler Hulk Hogan to comedian Lenny Bruce.

The question inevitably arose: Was this version of Tyson for real?

"They did diagnose me stark raving mad," Tyson said, grinning.

If he was, he did a good job of hiding it in a gym near downtown where he sparred Friday for the last time before leaving for Detroit to fight Andrew Golota.

Unlike a similar session in May, when he was angered by a female photographer being in the gym, Tyson went out of his way to greet a reporter he had invited over and to offer an explanation of sorts for his bizarre behavior of recent months.

"You know, Lennox doesn't have any kids," Tyson said. "I knew that."

And his performance at a Los Angeles press conference last month where he climbed on a table, stripped off his shirt and talked about his sexual performance?

"Some of it you can believe," Tyson said, "and some is bull."

No wonder Tyson loves Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Austin and other professional wrestlers. He's made himself into a personality larger than anything the World Wrestling Federation can hope to create.

And he realizes this -- no one buys tickets to see a nice guy in the ring.

"I had no personality when I started fighting," Tyson said. "Now I do. There's nobody nicer than Evander (Holyfield), at face value that is. Nobody nicer than Lennox Lewis. But they can't sell tickets. I can."

Tyson's fight with Golota, set for Friday at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich., is something straight out of the WWF, matching the Foul Pole against Tyson, whose escapades keep getting stranger and stranger the longer he fights.

But the fact he sells tickets is evident in the pay-per-view price of $50, which is $5 more than Lewis and David Tua are charging for their Nov. 11 fight for the heavyweight title.

"This is a fight that is meant for me," Tyson said. "I'm excited about it."

Tyson's strategy is no different for Golota than anyone else. He's not worried about low blows ("They don't hurt if you have a cup") and doesn't think Golota brings anything to worry him in the ring.

Tyson took some punches during a sparring session Friday at the Golden Gloves gym, but was relentless as usual and ended the session early with a right hand to the body that put his opponent on his knees.

"I think Mike is a much better fighter than he was before," trainer Tommy Brooks said. "Before he just used to wing his shots. Now he's picking his spots."

Tyson wasn't so sure.

"I wish I felt as good as he says I look," he said.

Assuming he beats Golota, manager Shelly Finkel wants Tyson to fight Holyfield in what appears to be only one of two big money fights out there for the former champion.

That will have to happen without Don King, though, who promotes Holyfield. And that's not likely.

Tyson is still bitter with King, whom he sued after breaking with him three years ago, claiming he stole $100 million of his earnings.

"He made millions of dollars from me and could have kept making them," Tyson said. "These people abused me. Not because they are smarter and better than me, but because I trusted them. I made a mistake, but I won't make another."

Even the thought of King wasn't enough, though, to get Tyson too excited. The shower was still running, and it was time to go.

But not without one last parting thought.

"I mix truth with lies," he said. "Some of it is a lot of fun."