Anywhere, anytime

WBC would sanction Tyson-Lewis 'in any city or country'

Mike Tyson may be denied a license to face Lennox Lewis by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. AP

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson fight has the blessing of the World Boxing Council even if it isn't sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

"The World Boxing Council ordered this mandatory fight, which will be sanctioned by our organization in any city or country where it is held," WBC president Jose Sulaiman said in a statement released by his office in Mexico City.

It would be a major pay-per-view bout and figures to be a bonanza for Las Vegas.

The Nevada commission is to meet Tuesday on whether to license Tyson for the heavyweight championship fight set for April 6 in the MGM Grand at Las Vegas. It is a WBC mandatory heavyweight title defense against the top-ranked challenger for Lewis, who also is IBF champion.

Under normal circumstances, Tyson would not need to attend the hearing, but he has been ordered to appear following a brawl that broke out at a news conference Tuesday in New York.

Should Tyson be denied a license, he can still apply for and be granted a license in another jurisdiction.

If a commission suspends a fighter or revokes his license, as Nevada did after Tyson bit Evander Holyfield during a bout in 1997, other commissions would uphold the action.

If a commission denies a license application, however, other jurisdictions are not bound to do the same.

On Tuesday, Tyson threw a left hook at a Lewis bodyguard, and Lewis hit Tyson with a grazing right that touched off a melee. Tyson followed with obscene gestures and words before the news conference was canceled.

There were allegations that Lewis was bitten by Tyson, but neither camp will discuss it. Sulaiman himself sustained a concussion when he hit his head on a table, and was treated at a hospital.

 

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