Is it the flu or a tattoo?

According to a report in The Las Vegas Review-Journal, it may be both that have an affect on Mike Tyson's heavyweight fight against Clifford Etienne on Saturday.

Tyson wasn't on his scheduled flight to Memphis on Sunday, which is another indication his comeback fight with Clifford Etienne may be doomed.

The Etienne fight may be the least of the worries for Tyson's handlers. If Saturday's fight is not held, it likely means Tyson will not get a planned June rematch with Lennox Lewis that could be his last huge payday and his last chance for redemption.

Tyson, who hasn't been in the gym since Wednesday, was supposed to be on an afternoon flight to Memphis. But he told manager Shelly Finkel earlier in the day that he wasn't going to be on the plane.

Tyson's promoter and adviser told the newspaper Saturday that the bout has not been canceled. Tyson's trainer Freddie Roach said Tyson is not in shape.

"(We) had been getting along so well. Everything had been great," Roach told the Review-Journal. "Then all of a sudden, everything stopped. He got the tattoo on his face and he quit coming to the gym. Then he says he doesn't want me to do the road work with him because he's running at 2 in the morning instead of 5 in the morning."

According to the report, the former heavyweight champion's behavior turned odd last week as he started the final preparations for his first fight since he was knocked out by Lennox Lewis in June. Tyson missed at least three training days last week, and had a large tattoo put on the left side of his face during that time.

Roach said the new tattoo is an "African tribal thing'' and covers a large part of Tyson's face.

Roach said he called Tyson on Saturday and Tyson was noncommittal.

"He told me he's sick and he'll call me if he needs me,'' Roach said. "I don't have a clue.''

Roach said he would not abandon Tyson, but he would advise him not to fight. Roach also said that he had not heard from Tyson, promoter Gary Shaw or adviser Shelly Finkel, and added that he would not travel to Memphis on Sunday unless he hears from Tyson directly.

"I believe Mike is legitimately sick," Finkel said.

Tyson only sparred about 40 rounds in training camp, which is low for fight preparation. He cut back on jumping rope because of the stress it puts on his back. Roach, who is working with Tyson for the first time, said the fighter is not fit to fight.

"No, he is not, not in my mind," Roach told the newspaper. "He's only trained two days this week (and) he's got the tattoo on his face, which I guess is the first sign that something was up. If he goes into a fight unprepared, which I feel he is, and he asks me (if he should fight), I will advise him not to fight.

"It's in his best interests not to fight. If he's not 100 percent or at least close to it, he shouldn't fight, because if he loses to a guy like Etienne, it's over.

"If he's really sick and really has the flu, like they tell me, then how could he possibly be ready to fight?"

The Etienne fight is crucial to Tyson's hopes of continuing a career that once made him the most feared fighter on the planet.

After taking a beating from Lewis in their heavyweight title fight last June, Tyson needed a big win over Etienne not only as a confidence booster but also to set up a possible June rematch with Lewis.

But unless the Etienne fight could be quickly rescheduled -- a doubtful possibility because of the many logistics that surround a fight -- Lewis would likely drop his plans to wait to fight Tyson and perhaps fight WBC No. 1 contender Vitali Klitschko instead.

If the fight is off, it would likely not be rescheduled for months, if at all. The Showtime cable network had planned an elaborate night of entertainment that included a rap concert by Jay-Z and was planning to sell the entire evening of events on pay-per-view for non-subscribers.

Ticket sales in Memphis had reportedly been decent, though they were helped by a 2-for-1 sale on many of the seats. Promoters were estimating a crowd of some 12,000 at the Pyramid arena for the fight.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.