Tyson Shouldn’t Get Off Mat Too Quickly

Back he’s going to the scene of the crime. Back to where he was ordered to do the time.

And what kind of reception will two-time former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson get when he appears before the Nevada State Athletic Commission next month in search of his boxing license?

It will have been 14 months since the Nevada commissioners revoked Tyson’s license after he bit both of Evander Holyfield’s ears in their heavyweight championship rematch, actions which resulted in Tyson’s disqualification at the end of the third round of that bout.

Promoter Bob Arum, a Las Vegas resident and a man who knows the inner workings of the commission, has this advice for Tyson: You waited this long to get your license back. Wait a little longer.

“I think that if he applies for his license as of the first of next year, he’ll get it,” Arum said. “But if he asks for it now, he won’t get it.”

Tyson was expected to apply to the Nevada commission sometime after July 9, a year from the date he lost his license and the earliest he could reapply.

There was a lot of public pressure on the commissioners to go hard on Tyson a year ago. But rather than suspend Tyson for a specific time, a move that could have left them open to criticism, the commissioners took the smart option, voting for an open-ended revocation.

There was a lot of speculation that the commissioners, in order to look tough, were not going to rubber-stamp Tyson’s return this summer, but instead were going to add six more months to his ban.

Shelly Finkel, Tyson’s advisor, heard those rumors. It is assumed that’s why Finkel tried to pull an end run and have Tyson apply to the New Jersey commission instead.

But then the speculation began that Tyson was going to be denied in New Jersey because of pressure there, some of it applied by angry Nevada commissioners who wanted their revocation honored.

So Tyson withdrew his New Jersey application and now will return to Nevada.

So Mike, for once in your mixed-up life, do the smart thing.

It will be September before you can get your license back. It will be October or November before you can line up a fight, allowing time for proper preparation and publicity.

So what’s a few more months?

Tell the commissioners you would be thrilled to get back in the ring in early 1999. Tell them again how sorry you are about this whole mess, look properly chagrined, answer all their questions politely, stay humble through the whole process, keep your mouth shut while they deliberate and you just might be pleasantly surprised by the result.

Is that too much to ask?

In your case, it probably is.

THE ACID TEST

“We are not really using any excuses,” insisted Vlad Warton, manager of Kostya Tszyu, the Russian-born, Australian resident who will fight Rafael Ruelas tonight in a 12-round World Boxing Council super-lightweight title elimination bout at the El Paso County Coliseum.

But having said that, Warton is quick to point out that the main reason Tszyu was knocked out in Atlantic City by Vince Phillips in May 1997, suffering his first loss, was because of amino acids. Really.

“Kostya was not well at that fight,” Warton said. “Unbeknownst to us, he was suffering from anemia. He had a loss of strength and he was dehydrated. He had been taking amino acids and they produced the wrong reaction in his body. He got off it and he’s never had a problem since.”

Until that time, Tszyu was on a collision course with Oscar De La Hoya. Tszyu was 259-11 as an amateur, was a three-time European champion and a winner of gold medals at the 1990 Goodwill Games and the 1991 world championships before he even turned pro.

Tszyu kept on winning, signed with Arum--who also promotes De La Hoya--won the International Boxing Federation junior welterweight crown, and, after 19 professional fights, was 18-0-1 with 14 knockouts.

Then came Phillips and reality.

“Vince was better than me,” Tszyu said. “Now I know that I am vincible, that I am only human.”

He is no longer associated with Arum and he is no longer on De La Hoya’s dance card, since De La Hoya has moved up to 147 pounds. But, if he can beat Ruelas tonight, Tszyu will fight Miguel Angel Gonzalez for the WBC super-lightweight title within 90 days.

And be assured, Tszyu won’t try to do it on amino acids.

QUICK JABS

Also on tonight’s card will be a WBC featherweight championship bout between champion Luisito Espinosa (42-7, 22 knockouts) and unbeaten Juan Carlos Ramirez (14-0, seven knockouts). This will be Espinosa’s eighth title defense. In an eight-round bout, Paea Wolfgramm of Tonga (15-1, 13 knockouts) battles Jorge Luis Gonzalez (25-4, 23 knockouts) of Cuba. . . .

At the Grand Olympic Auditorium tonight, Melchor Cobb-Castro (51-6-4, 22 knockouts), a former WBC and World Boxing Organization champion, fights Tomas Rivera (14-3-2, eight knockouts) for the flyweight championship of something called the International Boxing Assn. Also on the card, unbeaten heavyweight Lamon Brewster (18-0, 16 knockouts) fights Everett Martin (20-24-1, nine knockouts) in an eight round-match. . . .

The Forum’s junior-lightweight tournament continues Monday night. Jose Badillo (20-2, 15 knockouts) meets Vincent Howard (14-5-2, six knockouts), and Sandro Marcos (18-1-2, 15 knockouts) takes on Antonio Ramirez (10-4, nine knockouts). The semifinals are scheduled Nov. 9, the finals Feb. 1.