Tyson to Roll Dice in Nevada

Mike Tyson will return to the site of the bite.

Tyson put his boxing future in the hands of Nevada officials again Thursday, asking them to allow him to return to the sport he once dominated.

In the latest bizarre chapter of a saga that began when Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ears 13 months ago, Tyson’s advisors abruptly withdrew his application for a New Jersey boxing license. The action came a day before the state was to act on the request.

Tyson then turned to the state that banned him, sending a letter asking for a hearing before the Nevada Athletic Commission.

“We can always go back to New Jersey if it’s bad in Nevada,” Tyson advisor Shelly Finkel said.

Nevada regulators said they would make no promises to the former heavyweight champion, other than to hold a fair hearing on his plea to return to the ring.

“Maybe he came back to his senses and decided the best way to go about this was to come back to the state that revoked his license,” said Dr. Elias Ghanem, chairman of the Nevada commission. “We have a very fair commission. And we make decisions on the spot. We vote on it on the spot and we don’t delay our decisions.”

The move came on the eve of a meeting of the New Jersey Athletic Control Board, which two weeks earlier listened as Tyson asked for his license back--but also got angry and cursed.

“We were surprised to get it today, but we will set up a hearing and it will be a fair and impartial hearing,” said Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada commission.

Ratner, who estimated a hearing could be held in two to three weeks, said he had no idea why Tyson withdrew his application in New Jersey.

Finkel didn’t give a reason, other than to say there was concern over the perception that the boxer was trying to get around the Nevada ban by applying in New Jersey. Finkel denied he feared Tyson’s application would be rejected there.

“I felt very positive,” Finkel said, adding that he also is confident about Tyson’s chances in Nevada.

Ghanem said Tyson was making the right move in returning to the state regulators who revoked his license.

“It wasn’t a smart move for him in the beginning,” Ghanem said, referring to the New Jersey application.

Nevada was taken by surprise when Tyson applied last month in New Jersey. State boxing regulators had expected all along that he would reapply for his license in Nevada after a mandatory one-year wait.

Asking New Jersey for the license was seen as a calculated gamble by Finkel. But many in boxing criticized the move and said that if states did not respect each other’s decisions that a federal commission might be formed to regulate the sport.

Tyson’s license was revoked and he was fined $3 million for biting Holyfield’s ears during the third round of their June 28, 1997 rematch for the heavyweight title.

Ghanem said Tyson is not assured of getting his license back, despite the feeling by some in boxing that he has been punished enough.

“Mike Tyson will have to convince the commission that he is fit to have a license,” Ghanem said.

Two members of the New Jersey board were scheduled to decide today whether Tyson could return to the ring in New Jersey.

At a July 29 hearing, Tyson’s advisors presented a parade of character witnesses who urged regulators to give him another chance and Tyson apologized for biting Holyfield.

But at the end of the hearing, Tyson got angry, refused to read a closing statement and cursed in front of regulators.

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* RANDY HARVEY: Fans can vote with their remotes on whether they want to see Mike Tyson return. C2