By Tim Dahlberg
The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE - By now, Mike Tyson's woes have been well documented. He's broke after blowing about $300 million, owes creditors another $38 million, and is in desperate need of a series of fights to put a Bentley back in the garage.

At 38, he's a shell of the fighter he once was, reduced to taking on fringe contenders while hoping he still has something left - and that fans still will pay to see it.

The former baddest man on the planet returns to the ring tonight after an absence of 17 months to take on little-known British heavyweight Danny Williams.

"I didn't think I was going to fight again," Tyson said. "I wanted to be like (retired Dolphins running back) Ricky Williams and have some fun."

The fun stopped when creditors took his cars, made him sell his multimillion-dollar houses and reduced Tyson to living in a modest Phoenix home. But Tyson says while he's fighting again because of necessity, he also has rediscovered a love for the sport.

Now, it's a new, mellower Tyson who has no entourage, shows no public anger and appears genuinely happy to be back in the ring.

"I'm just looking forward to fighting Friday," Tyson said. "Isn't it cool to be fighting Friday?"

Tyson, who has been in the ring only 49 seconds since taking a beating from Lennox Lewis two years ago, trained three months for the scheduled 10-round fight against Williams, a former British Commonwealth champ picked as an opponent because he works cheap and seems to be an easy target.

Unlike his last fight, against Clifford Etienne, when he partied during training and then took a week off before the fight to get a facial tattoo, Tyson seems to be taking this comeback seriously.

"My future seems so much brighter than my past," Tyson said. "I don't even know how I made it to the fight 17 months ago."

Tyson will earn several million dollars for the 57th fight of a pro career that began 19 years ago with a first-round knockout of Hector Mercedes in Albany, N.Y. If his bankruptcy reorganization plan is approved by a judge, he'll be able to keep $2 million of it for himself while the rest goes to creditors.

Oddsmakers don't give Williams (31-3-0, 26 knockouts) much of a chance, making him a 9-1 underdog. He admits to having problems with big fights, often crying before a match because of the expectations he puts on himself.

For this fight, though, Williams said he has been remarkably calm and confident. No one expects him to win, and he believes Tyson (50-4-0, 44 KOs) might be only 40 percent or so of what he once was.

"He's very powerful and can take you out with either hand," Williams said. "But I don't believe he's the threat he used to be."

TERMINATOR TALKS: George "The Terminator" Linberger, a heavyweight on the Tyson undercard, said he is in negotiations to sign with local promoter Kasse-Tubbs Productions.

The Akron-based Linberger (27-8-1, 24 KOs) is fighting Russell Chasteen (21-6, 13 KOs) of Louisville. He said with a win he'd like to set up a fight with a top-20 opponent, possibly even Tyson.

"Anybody who's anybody in the world of boxing will be there (tonight)," Linberger said. "This gives me the chance to showcase my talent on a big stage, a world stage."

DROPPED: Local fighter John Rudolph (1-2, 1 KO) was dropped from the undercard this week. The welterweight was scheduled to fight Nick Casal (1-0, 1 KO) of Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Ryan Ernst