Tyson eligible Thursday to ask for his boxing license back

Web posted July 8, 1998

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS -- A year after taking a chunk out of Evander Holyfield's ear, Mike Tyson becomes eligible Thursday to seek a return to the ring.

But Tyson's advisers appear in no hurry to ask Nevada boxing regulators for a license to fight again, and his contractual dispute with promoter Don King could keep him out of the ring even if he is eventually licensed.

Nevada's top boxing official said Tuesday he has heard nothing from Tyson or his new advisers about asking for a license to replace the one that was revoked last July 9 in the wake of Tyson's infamous biting of Holyfield's ears during the third round of their heavyweight championship fight.

Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said when Tyson actually applies it will take another two to three weeks to set up a hearing for the commission to decide his fate.

One of Tyson's new advisers, Shelly Finkel, said Tuesday that no decision had been made on when to apply for a new license. Finkel, though, said Tyson was training on the East Coast for a possible return to the ring.

``We just haven't gotten that far yet,'' Finkel said.

Tyson can apply any time beginning Thursday for a new license to replace the one that was stripped from him for discrediting the sport of boxing with his actions against Holyfield. If the five-member Nevada commission turns him down, though, he would have to wait another year to reapply.

Finkel said last month that Tyson would apply sometime in July for the license, and that he expected the commission to look favorably on the request because Tyson has stayed out of trouble since being banned from the ring.

Finkel said at the time that Tyson would have his first comeback fight either in October or November if the commission gives him a new license.

Tyson was fined $3 million for biting a chunk out of Holyfield's right ear and then biting his other ear in the rematch of their first heavyweight title fight. He was finally disqualified in the third round by referee Mills Lane.

Complicating Tyson's possible return to the ring are lawsuits he filed against King and his former co-managers, John Horne and Rory Holloway. Tyson has filed suits in New York and California in efforts to get out of contracts with King and the former managers.

Tyson, who split from King in February, reportedly owes millions in taxes and has encountered cash flow problems in the months since he has not been in the ring.

Tyson made $140 million in purses in six fights since his release from prison in 1995, but half of that money went to his co-managers and King, according to contracts contained in court records.

While under suspension, he earned $3.5 million to play the role of enforcer for the World Wrestling Federation in its Wrestlemania matches in March.