SHORT TAKES : Don King Hails Christian Goals

Boxing promoter Don King compared himself and Mike Tyson to two black Muslim heroes when he accepted an award from the nation’s largest black Christian church.

The National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc. gave King its Cross and Crown Humanitarian Award on Thursday in Los Angeles at its 110th annual meeting.

“The Cross and Crown is the highest award I could ever receive,” said King, who promotes Tyson’s fights.

“I’m a Baptist. Mike Tyson’s a Baptist. We’re going to do for the Baptists what Muhammad Ali and Elijah Muhammad did for the Muslims,” King said. Tyson was the heavyweight boxing champion before he lost the title to James (Buster) Douglas earlier this year.

The Rev. T. J. Jemison, president of the Baptist convention, said King “is a black sportsman for black America.”