MANCHESTER, England -- This blue-collar city will be abuzz Saturday: Mike Tyson, who depends on his fists, and soccer star David Beckham, who dazzles with his feet, will play to sellout crowds.

Tyson, the former undisputed heavyweight champion, will fight British champion Julius Francis in what looks to be a mismatch before 21,000 fans in MEN Arena.

	Julius Francis, left, tuned out Iron Mike at Thursday's stare down.

Scheduled to attend the bout at night are Beckham and his Spice Girl-wife, Victoria.

Earlier in the day, Beckham is to lead Manchester United, one of English soccer's most storied clubs, against Middlesbrough in a Premier League game before 60,000 fans at Old Trafford.

Fight tickets are being scalped. Season tickets to Manchester United games often are inherited.

Tyson, who arrived in London on Jan. 15, came to Manchester on Tuesday night after a three-hour drive from London.

"I want to thank you for coming out here and waiting so long for me," Tyson told a large crowd after getting to his Manchester hotel several hours after his scheduled arrival.

"Why did he spend 10 days in London?" wondered a patron in a pub called the Goose.

The answer is clear. London is a national and international media base, and the spotlight on Tyson would shine brighter there than anywhere else in Britain.

Tyson weighed in Friday at 223½ pounds. He twirled his hair while wearing on his right arm a watch and a diamond bracelet that he bought in London for about $1 million. That's twice as much as Francis is getting for the fight.

Looking at Francis, who wore sunglasses and weighed 244½, Tyson said, "He's kind of fat."

The fighters briefly stared at each other.

"He can't hit me with his eyes," Tyson said. "I'm cool. I'm relaxed and I'm ready to fight."

Tyson has made no reported purchases since arriving in Manchester, but he did visit a Rolls-Royce plant. He was driven to the airport Friday to pick up a friend.

It later was reported that Tyson threw a tantrum and went to the airport to leave the country. Jay Larkin, in charge of boxing for Showtime, and Frank Warren, the promoter, both denied this, and Larkin said, "All I know is he came back from the airport."

He also has donated T-shirts and photos to Francis House, a hospice for terminally ill children. He and promoter Frank Warren gave $17,000 to the Collyhurst and Moston lads gym in a section of Manchester called Little Beirut.

Tyson's presence in Britain has prompted coverage from the straight and sober to the outrageous. Iron Mike ought to be called "Tabloid Tyson."

The Daily Mirror ran a headline about Tyson killing Francis after he said, "I think I'm going to kill Julius Francis." He explained he means to knock out Francis in sensational fashion.

That story was easily outdone by one in the Daily Star, with the headline: "Look at the legs on Mike Tyson's Mrs." The account was about Tyson's wife, Monica, having hairy legs.

A front-page picture ran in the Daily Mail showing Tyson kissing a toddler on the cheek. The headline over the photo: "Would you let Iron Mike kiss your baby?"

The Express called Tyson the Lisping Menace, suggesting the fight be billed as "The Mad Dog and the Englishman."

Tyson (46-3, 1 no contest, 40 knockouts) will be paid from $8 million to $11 million for the 10-round bout.

Roy Francis, no relation to the fighter, is the referee. Francis will be the sole arbiter because non-title fights in Britain do not have ringside judges.

Francis (21-7, 11 knockouts) is getting $560,000. His previous biggest purse was $85,000.

The British pay-per-view telecast will begin at 10 p.m. (5 p.m. ET), with the Tyson match to begin about an hour later. The fight will be shown on tape delay by Showtime in the United States, with the telecast to begin at 10 p.m. ET.

Tyson's popularity in Britain has encouraged talk of having him fight there again, or perhaps in France or Germany.

"Everything is up in the air," said Shelly Finkel, Tyson's boxing adviser.

For Tyson to make his trip completely successful, he needs a quick, clean win like the Iron Mike of old -- a fighter he has not resembled for some time. Francis would seem to be the perfect foil.

What Tyson does not need is a controversial ending, or a finish a la Peter McNeeley, in which the opposing trainer jumped into the ring and stopped the fight. He also does not need to go more than a couple of rounds against an opponent who was stopped in the second round by Vitali Klitschko, who is becoming a force in the division.

The telecast will open with a WBO super middleweight title defense by Joe Calzaghe (27-0, 23 knockouts) of Wales against David Starie (22-1, 15 knockouts) of England.