Another round for Iron Mike
Tyson readies his bid to get back into boxing ring
Posted: Wednesday July 15, 1998 03:31 PM
| |
Mike Tyson could be back in the ring before the end of the year (AP) |
ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- The last impression we have of Mike Tyson is burned in the minds of boxing fans forever. Tyson's ear-biting assault on Evander Holyfield last June was so savage and so humiliating, it cost Tyson his license to fight.
Now, a year later, Tyson can apply to get his license back. Those in the know say he will apply no earlier than the week after next. The Nevada Athletic Commission would then have two to three weeks to set a hearing date.
If the commission reinstates Tyson -- and the majority opinion is it will -- Tyson will be back in the ring before the end of the year.
The man who suffered the insult and injury is satisfied Tyson has paid the price.
"He was actually fined the $3 million. Of course, you don't get that back," Holyfield said. "And they said 'Well you can't fight for a year.' Having done that, those are the two things they asked him to do and he did it."
So Holyfield, it seems, has no problems with Tyson coming back to boxing.
"Not at all," he said.
Can Tyson demonstrate he's a changed man? The former champion's most impressive move was getting rid of his co-managers, particularly John Horne, who publicly had belittled Holyfield following Tyson's despicable act.
Phil Cooper, a vice president at Caesars Palace, said Tyson is doing everything he's supposed to do.
"His public face, I think he's working real hard now to convince people that he's not this thug from the neighborhood that has gone wrong so many times," Cooper said. "You can see it in his [public relations]. You can see it in what he does around town
, what he does around the country ... He's working hard
to establish an image."
For a man who hasn't been allowed to work at his profession, Tyson's calendar has been fairly full.
Two women sued him for assault battery defamation and emotional distress in an early morning incident in Washington, D.C. Tyson filed a lawsuit against his promoter Don King and co-managers Holloway and Horne claiming they had cheated him out of millions.
By last fall, Tyson's delinquent federal tax bill had swelled to $12 million,
with interest and penalties. Short of cash, he signed a $3.5 million deal with the World Wrestling Federation to promote and appear at a match in March.
Beyond that, Tyson has been absent from the spotlight, spending time with his wife and children. And now he'll have to come before the five-man Nevada Athletic Commission, which will review his actions of the past year and determine by majority vote whether he's cleaned up his act and can fight again.
"What he has to do is state his case before these commissioners," said Marc Ratner, the executive director of the commission. "They will have to look upon this last year and decide, within their hearts, if they thought he has done enough to be reinstated."
Said boxing promoter Bob Arum: "What he did was a criminal act, let's face it. And one of the aspects in dealing with criminality is rehabilitation. That's gonna be important."
Tyson has had little contact with Holyfield since that fateful night last June 28. But the two have met briefly.
"I saw him approach Evander and very nicely and warmly say hello to him," Holyfield's attorney, Jim Thomas, said. "But other than that, what I would base it on, personally, is that I haven't seen him doing anything that ought to disqualify him from being in the ring."
While nobody is justifying Tyson's actions, and many are uncomfortable with the less than desirable element he attracts to his fights, everybody sees dollar signs when they look at what Tyson, even at age 32, can still bring to the table.
Especially the gaming tables in Las Vegas.
"I think the Mike Tyson image, whatever that may be, however you interpret it -- as bad guy, as bad guy trying to do good, as woman hater, woman abuser -- whatever that is, there is a mystique that sticks with him," Cooper said. "And, yes, I think it b
rings people to take a look."
Tyson has made an estimated $140 million in six fights since being released from prison in 1995. If he and Holyfield were to meet a third time, it would unquestionably be the biggest payday in the history of boxing.
"But I'm sure Tyson would have to prove himself," Holyfield said, "and put himself back in peoples' minds as far as being vicious and being ferocious."
Said Arum: "In many ways he has enhanced his drawing power. People again don't want to reward heroes. They will pay to see Tyson because, in their minds, he is capable of doing anything. It's almost like a freak show."
One of the Nevada athletic commissioners may have said it best recently when he said boxing needs Mike Tyson.
The question now is whether boxing can stand Mike Tyson.
| 
