STANDING TALL : In Ring With Tyson, Ohio State Linebacker Didn’t Go Down

If tailback Aaron Emanuel comes barreling out of the backfield in Saturday’s USC-Ohio State game at the Coliseum, looking for someone to collide with, don’t expect linebacker Derek Isaman to be intimidated.

If USC’s offensive line escorts fullback Leroy Holt down the right sideline, don’t expect Isaman to step aside.

There is, as a matter of fact, nothing that the Trojans or anybody else can do on a football field that will cause Isaman to pause, flinch or take a single step backward.

So what’s the big deal? After all, Isaman is a linebacker. He’s supposed to be tough, isn’t he?

Well, there’s tough. And then, there’s tough.

Facing Mike Tyson in the ring and walking away to talk about it is tough .

Isaman, a former amateur boxer, did that in National Golden Gloves competition in St. Louis in 1984. He lost a three-round decision to Tyson, but the future heavyweight champion couldn’t put him down.

“Everybody lost to him,” Isaman said. “But I was the only one he didn’t knock down.”

So what does getting hit by Tyson feel like?

“When you get home, take a piece of iron and smack it against your head,” Isaman said. “There’s no describing it unless you’ve been hit by him.”

So is Isaman happy to have put those boxing days behind him?

Not at all. Actually, he hopes there are a lot more just like them in his future. For many Big Ten players, the fun and games are over. They are playing football in the hope of making a career out of it. For Isaman, football is still fun. He figures his career will be in the ring.

“I don’t think I’m good enough to play pro football,” he said.

He was good enough in the ring to have attracted the attention of Shelly Finkel, an East Coast boxing figure who handles Mark Breland, Meldrick Taylor and Pernell Whitaker.

As did USC defensive lineman Tim Ryan, Isaman started boxing as a kid. Unlike Ryan, however, Isaman never stopped. His father, Bill, a former amateur boxer, coached him. His older brother, Billy Jr., also fought.

Starting when he was 10 in his hometown of Fremont, Ohio, Isaman won six Golden Gloves titles. He also played football, winning all-state honors in Ohio and a spot on the National High School Coaches Assn. All-American team as a linebacker.

And through the years, he kept switching helmets, from the soft leather of the ring to the hard plastic of the gridiron.

After three years at Ohio State, Isaman quit football in 1988 to concentrate on making the Olympic team. In the spring, he competed in the U.S. boxing championships in Colorado Springs, where he lost a first-round decision to Boris Powell.

Then came the Olympic trials in Concord, Calif. Isaman won the first two rounds before losing to Michael Bent in the semifinals on a close decision Isaman still disputes.

When Bent wound up fighting for his native Jamaica, Isaman became the heavyweight alternate on the Olympic team. Had he beaten Bent, Isaman would have gone on to meet Ray Mercer, the eventual gold medal winner in Seoul.

Instead, Isaman met Finkel, who brought him to camp to spar with Evander Holyfield, the heavyweight contender for whom Finkel acts as a consultant.

“We really liked him,” Finkel said of Isaman. “He was raw. He never really had any formal instruction, but he has natural ability. He’s strong, determined and he has a good chin. His weakness would be learning to defend himself and getting leverage in his punches. He depends on brute strength rather than sophistication.”

It doesn’t take a lot of sophistication to get in the ring against Holyfield, the light-heavyweight bronze medalist in the ’84 Games. But it does take courage.

“That was what impressed us,” Finkel said. “Derek got in there to and wasn’t intimidated.”

The sparring between Finkel and Isaman’s financial backers, a group of Toledo businessmen, was just as tough. Time dragged on and still no agreement could be reached on Isaman’s first professional contract. So he walked out.

“I missed football,” he said.

And the Buckeyes missed him. Coming off a 4-6-1 season with a young defense that features 10 freshmen on the first two units, Ohio State Coach John Cooper was thrilled to have his wandering linebacker return.

Finkel wasn’t so thrilled.

“We’d still love to have him,” Finkel said. “But it doesn’t help, this year of football, when he could be learning his trade as a boxer.”

Isaman just shrugs. Figuring he’d never get another chance to play football, he sacrificed the year.

“Right after this season I’ll get back into boxing,” he said.

In the meantime, his background and his image of toughness have made the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder a big man on campus.

“I’ll tell you how tough he is,” Cooper said. “He broke his hand the third day of spring practice. Most people would miss the rest of practice. Derek got a cast on his arm and came back out and practiced the next 15, 16 days. Very courageous competitor.

“He’s the guy that really picks our defense up. We need that because we’re so young. Isaman is going to help our football team because he’s a leader.”

But not necessarily a vocal one.

“If a guy messes up, I’ll just give him a pat on the back,” Isaman said.

Pause.

“But if he does it twice, I might get upset.”

You certainly don’t want to have to deal with that. Not unless your name is Mike Tyson.

Trojan Notes

USC reserve offensive lineman Tom Dabasinskas, suffering from a sprained knee ligament, will be out two to three weeks. . . . Backup tailback Calvin Holmes (sprained ankle) is listed as doubtful for Saturday. . . . Safety Cleveland Colter, demoted to second string last week behind Marcus Hopkins, is back practicing with the first team.

Derek Isaman isn’t the only Buckeye with a boxing background. Tight end Jeff Ellis is the son of Jimmy Ellis, the former heavyweight champion, but has never taken up the sport. . . . In last Saturday’s season opener, a 37-13 victory over Oklahoma State, Ohio State limited the Cowboys to 259 yards in total offense, just 90 in the second half. . . . Oklahoma State’s senior quarterback, Mike Gundy, was held to a career-low 55 yards passing. . . . Ohio State’s defensive player of the game was nose tackle Pat Thomas, who made nine tackles in just his second start.