Tyson Promises To Behave

Mike Tyson apologized once again Saturday for biting Evander Holyfield's ears during a title bout and promised the Nevada Athletic Commission he would behave himself if he is allowed to return to the ring.

The commission hearing began with Tyson lawyer Dale Kinsella reading a letter from the former heavyweight champ to commission chairman Dr. Elias Ghanem.

"I acknowledge that I made a mistake and again I apologize for it," Tyson said in the letter. "I assure you this kind of behavior will not repeat itself. Let's put this behind us and allow boxing to be what it should be, the best sport in the world."

Tyson is nearly broke and can't afford to wait another year to return to the ring, adviser Shelly Finkel says. The commission's ban last year has cost him tens of millions of dollars.

Tyson arrived at the building on a motorcycle, wearing a leather jacket, jeans and a T-shirt. He entered the meeting room, which overlooks the minor league ballpark Cashman Field, surrounded by bodyguards and an entourage with about a dozen people.

On a hill next to the ballpark stood a green, 10-foot sign that said: "Mike Tyson is still our hero." Six protesters with the National Organization for Women demonstrated outside the building.

Tyson must convince the commission to allow him to return to the sport he once dominated. If not, he might find some other country to fight in, Finkel says.

"I have loads of offers and I've turned them all down so far," he said. "I don't know what I'm going to do if he isn't licensed, though. His financial situation is very bad and he needs to fight."

Approval means Tyson could fight again before the end of the year. Rejection would mean another year on the sidelines -- at least in Nevada and the states that honor its suspension -- and threaten a career that was fading even before he bit Holyfield.

"Mike Tyson will have to rise to the occasion during his licensing because it's going to be a test of what kind of person he is," Ghanem said before the hearing. "They call him Iron Mike, but we're going to have to wait and see."

Tyson reportedly has had offers from promoters in other countries to fight for lucrative purses, money he needs despite having made more than $100 million in the ring in the two years before the last Holyfield fight.

The Internal Revenue Service has put a $6.3 million lien on Tyson's Farmington, Conn., mansion, and Finkel says the fighter's finances are "very bad."

Other states have so far honored Nevada's ban on Tyson, and would probably continue to do so if he were denied a license. But he could fight out of the country for the same kind of money he would make in the United States.

Tyson's fate is in the same hands of the commission that banned him from the sport and fined him $3 million last year.

This time, though, the decision is complicated by another incident, the timing of which couldn't have been wore for the former champion. Tyson is accused of attacking two men following a car accident last month in a Washington, D.C., suburb. The criminal charges could threaten his Indiana probation on a rape conviction.

Tyson's chances of regaining his license -- which many thought a forgone conclusion as late as a few weeks ago -- are clouded again.

"The whole issue is his temper and self-control," Ghanem said. "Everything that has happened since we revoked his license we have to find out about."

Tyson has been seeing a Denver psychotherapist over the past week, who will appear to lobby on his behalf.

He tried to help his case Thursday by appearing at a luncheon honoring Ghanem and Nevada Gov. Bob Miller and shaking the hands of commission members.

Even if Tyson is allowed to return to the ring, he faces a court fight over his promotional rights first.

Tyson recently signed an updated deal with the Showtime network for future fights, and network executive Jay Larkin said he could fight as early as November.

"If he receives a favorable ruling, it's our intention and his intention and desire to fight this year," Larkin said.

One person who believes Tyson should be licensed is Holyfield.

"What he did in the ring he paid the price for," Holyfield said this week. "All I'm concerned about he was he did in the ring."

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