Holyfield fight Saturday night has boxing authorities steaming.

But Bermuda boxing fans won't have to have pay a cent to watch the pay-per-view heavyweight bout live from the MGM Grand Hotel Las Vegas.

Cablevision Systems Corp., the sixth largest cable operator in the US, is reporting a sales windfall after announcing it would sell the fight at $9.95 per round, to a maximum of $49.95.

James Dolan, Cablevision's chief executive officer, said the per-round pricing "guarantees value to our customers, and they are responding with the greatest enthusiasm we've seen for a pay-per-view event in many years.'' Tyson's last four fights have lasted a total of about 15 minutes, scaring away many consumers.

That will be of little concern in Bermuda, where the fight and the undercard will be shown at several pubs, notably Robin Hood, Flanagan's and Docksider.

All said yesterday they had purchased the fight legally -- but would not impose a cover charge on patrons.

Bermuda Cablevision is not offering the fight on home television.

Boxing authorities oppose the per-round sales and insist such an arrangement will not be allowed again.

"This leads to all the perception we hate,'' said Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. "Such as the referee should have stopped it earlier, or the doctor should have stopped it.'' Cablevision serves about 2.8 million customers, primarily in Boston, Cleveland and New York's Long Island.

Like Tyson's other fights, this one could be short. But it shouldn't be dull.

Holyfield, who is an 11-1 underdog, is called the Real Deal, because that's what people get when he fights.

"It's going to be an explosive fight,'' said the 34-year-old Holyfield, who retired in 1992 because of a heart problem, but who has been medically cleared to fight.

Some boxing people think Holyfield's best chance is to stay out of trouble early and take Tyson into the late rounds, where he has not been since before he went to prison in 1992.

"I'm expecting anything,'' said Tyson. "I'm just staying cautious and I'll be prepared for anything.'' "When push comes to shove, Evander's instinct will be to stand and fight,'' Riddick Bowe, who won two of three fights with Holyfield, said.

"He may be right, but if I do it, you better believe I'm going to win,'' Holyfield said. He also has said in what seems to be a declaration of his fighting creed: "The only person who hit me that I couldn't hit back was my momma.'' In Tyson's first four fights after getting out of prison March 25, 1995, his opponents couldn't or wouldn't test the former undisputed champion.

Asked about the lack of quality opposition so far in his comeback, Tyson said, "If he (Holyfield) gets hit early and goes out, does that mean he's better than those other guys?'' In the other two heavyweight title bouts, IBF champion Michael Moorer will fight South African Francois Botha, and WBO champion Henry Akinwande of Britain will fight Russian Alexander Zolkin.

The three heavyweight bouts plus a six-round women's fight will be seen beginning at 10 p.m. The Tyson-Holyfield fight can start as early as midnight or as late as 1 a.m.

HEAVY DUTY -- Mike Tyson (top) and Evander Holyfield take a break from training for their heavyweight clash tomorrow night in Las Vegas. The fight will be shown live at several Island pubs.