An Eerie Reminder

It has been a year since The Ear.

A year since Mike Tyson shocked not only the sporting world, but the entire world when he bit off a piece of the right ear of Evander Holyfield in their heavyweight title match at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden and spit it out on the canvas.

A year since Tyson repeated the shocking act seconds later, biting Holyfield’s left ear.

A year since referee Mills Lane stopped the fight at the end of that round, the third round, disqualifying Tyson.

A year since the riot that followed the shocking outcome of the fight, confusion, panic and more bloodshed spilling into the MGM Grand casino area and the lobby, sending chips flying and spectators running from the uproar created by some in the fight crowd.

Twelve days later, on July 9, the Nevada State Athletic Commission revoked Tyson’s boxing license, putting his career on hold indefinitely. He could not reapply for that license for at least one year.

In the ensuing 12 months, Tyson has done his best to remake his evil image, the city of Las Vegas has questioned its image as the fight capital of the world, while Holyfield has maintained his image as one of the few bright lights of a sport whose future remains dim.

So what does the immediate future hold for each?

TYSON

Eleven days from now, he can ask the Nevada commission to give back his boxing life. One of his advisors, Shelly Finkel, says that Tyson will reapply sometime in July.

Tyson will come before the commission portraying himself as a very different man than the one who was sent into disgrace a year ago. He seems to have made the necessary moves to prove his transformation.

Gone is promoter Don King, whom Tyson has sued, claiming fraud and mismanagement in regard to his money.

Gone are Tyson’s co-managers, John Horne and Rory Holloway, who are also involved in a lawsuit over the split. Horne, in particular, drew heavy criticism for minimizing the ear incident and belittling Holyfield in comments made immediately after the fight.

Already gone was trainer Jay Bright, who was labeled incompetent by many boxing people. Tyson got rid of Bright before his last fight and replaced him with veteran trainer Richie Giachetti. Whether Giachetti will be back in Tyson’s corner when Tyson gets back in the ring remains to be seen.

The new Tyson, who will turn 32 on Tuesday, is a family man who spends his time with his wife, Monica, and their children, shuttling between homes in Las Vegas and Potomac, Md. Tyson has spent the year playing by the rules, avoiding offers to ignore the commission ban and fight beyond the shores of this country. He has even become fan friendly, trading in his menacing glare for a smile as he signed autograph after autograph for fans at an appearance in Las Vegas.

His image wasn’t squeaky clean. He did take part in a pro wrestling promotion.

And Tyson is even trying to become a respectable businessman through his two other new advisors, Jeff Wald and Irving Azoff, who are in the record business and also have served as advisors to another former two-time heavyweight champion, George Foreman. Wald is trying to get Tyson his own record label, confident that Tyson’s name will attract new musical talent.

Mike Tyson, record mogul, businessman, family man. How will all that play with the commission?

Four of the five members who revoked his license will again sit in judgment when Tyson returns next month. The chairman remains Dr. Elias Ghanem. James Nave, a veterinarian, Luther Mack, a businessman involved in the fast-food industry, and Lorenzo Fertitta, who is involved in the casino business, remain on the commission. The one new face is Glen Carano, former backup quarterback to Roger Staubach on the Dallas Cowboys and a former quarterback at Nevada Las Vegas. Now in the hotel and casino business in Nevada, Carano replaces Nat Carasali.

To get his license back, Tyson needs a simple 3-2 majority vote in his favor from the commissioners. Will he get it?

“Boxing needs Mike Tyson,” Carano said. “The question is whether boxing can stand Mike Tyson.

“I don’t have any real feelings at this point. If he wants to start fighting again, then we’ll review the evidence.

“Mike Tyson is still a young man. He can do anything he wants to do. But he has to decide what he wants to do. Football has wonderful role models like John Elway and Joe Montana. People want to be like Mike, Michael Jordan. There is no reason why Mike Tyson can’t turn into a role model, But he has a long way to go.”

Will the Tyson image make-over and the fact that he has rid himself of the controversial people around him be factors in the commission’s decision?

“Those are factors and I’m sure they will be in the commissioners’ minds,” Nave said. “But I don’t think that those of us sitting on the board can comment further. This is very serious. It is very important for the state that we give a fair judgment to Mike Tyson. We must be open-minded.”

Should the commission vote not to give Tyson his license back, he would have to wait an additional year before applying again.

Should the commission vote in Tyson’s favor, Finkel said the former champion, who has remained on a workout schedule and weighs 217 pounds, would fight in the fall. One possibility is Holyfield-Tyson III, although that seems less likely now. Another possibility is a Tyson-Andrew Golota fight.

Talk about two images in need of repair. Golota might be the one fighter who could make Tyson look like the good guy.

LAS VEGAS

Why do hotels pay huge site fees to get fights on their premises? Because, beyond the publicity and the huge amount of foot traffic that comes in for the event and stays around to gamble, the hotel can also lure the high rollers.

But last year’s riot shook up some of those high rollers. And thus, the hotels. Why would high rollers spend their time and money to come to Las Vegas only to have their winnings scattered in all directions by an out-of-control mob surging past the gaming tables?

In the last year, Caesars Palace has gotten rid of Rich Rose, who headed its sports operations, and put on hold plans to build an arena on its property to stage fights.

But that doesn’t mean it is totally severing its ties to boxing. Instead, hotel officials, whose plans also have been muddled by an ownership change, seem to have reached a compromise. They will hold their fights for now at the Thomas & Mack Center at UNLV. That allows Caesars to bring in the high rollers, shuttle them across town for the fight and then shuttle them back to its property to gamble, leaving the less desirable elements of the fight crowd to create their mischief elsewhere.

Thomas & Mack was the site of the Holyfield-Michael Moorer fight last November, hosted by the Mirage, and it will be the site of the Oscar De La Hoya-Julio Cesar Chavez rematch, hosted by Caesars, in September.

A boxing revival now seems under way in Las Vegas. Both the Mirage and new Mandalay Bay hotels plan to soon have 12,000- to 15,000-seat arenas.

“There will continue to be mega-fights and club fights in this town,” Nave said. “We are not interested in the middle-level fights. But if there is a mega-fight, we will still go after it and we will get it.”

HOLYFIELD

He has publicly forgiven Tyson and moved on, knocking out Moorer last November. But negotiations are stalled on the fight everyone wants to see, a heavyweight unification bout between Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.

There is hope it might happen in the fall. If not, how about Holyfield-Tyson III?

It’s still the biggest money fight out there. A year’s time has quieted the outrage over Tyson’s actions, revived the hunger to see him fight and stirred the interest in a third meeting.

Holyfield’s ear is fine now. So is his hearing. And if somebody whispers in his ear, “You fight Tyson, you get $50 million,” be assured, he’ll be listening.

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A Look Back

Mike Tyson’s last two fights with Evander Holyfield, and the events that led to his suspension:

* Nov. 9, 1996: Loses WBC and WBA titles after being stopped by Evander Holyfield in the 11th round of their bout.

* June 28, 1997: Tyson is disqualified after third round of rematch with Holyfield because he bit Holyfield twice, once on each ear. Nevada State Athletic Commission withholds Tyson’s $29.8-million purse, pending a hearing.

* June 30, 1997: Tyson apologizes for his actions, saying he “snapped.”

* July 1, 1997: Nevada State Athletic Commission suspends Tyson pending a hearing to determine his final punishment for biting Holyfield. It also is withholding his $29.8-million fight purse.

* July 9, 1997: Nevada State Athletic Commission revokes Tyson’s boxing license. He cannot reapply for that license for at least one year.

* July 9, 1998: Date Tyson can reapply for license.