'Ready to go'

Security officers say they're prepared for any scenario

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Reuters) -- SWAT teams, bomb units, and riot control squads were all in place and ready for the heavyweight championship fight between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson at The Pyramid, police officers said on Saturday.

"We're ready to go," said Memphis Deputy Police Chief Charles Cook. "Ready as anybody can be."

The September 11 attacks on the U.S. have triggered heightened security at major sporting events around the globe and scores of police officers and private security firms were swirling both inside and outside of the 32-storey, 21,000-seat arena on the shores of the Mississippi River.

"This is the fight of the century," said police lieutenant Jim Ashe, stepping aside to let a police bomb unit enter The Pyramid grounds. "Security is normally pretty good for the arena. But this is not a normal sporting event. We've got to be prepared for anything."

Police officers -- in numbers so large "I can't count that high" said Ashe -- were outside the 11-year-old arena hours before the gates opened to the public. They had been planning for the event since March.

There were large signs outside the arena reminding people that weapons and fireworks were among the items that should be left at home.

Police said anyone attempting to bring a firearm or explosive device into the arena would be prosecuted, probably in federal court where the sentences are generally more harsh.

Memphis police had been worried about reports a number of rap musicians were planning on attending the fight, igniting fears of possible crowd-control problems, though a potential problem was apparently avoided when the California Department of Corrections denied a request by Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight to attend the fight.

Knight, who was with rap artist Tupac Shakur when he was gunned down following a Tyson fight in Las Vegas in 1996, is on parole for a firearm conviction.

 

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