Despite the Bite, Tyson Should Be Allowed to Fight Again

My father is a veteran of 80 professional fights and 800 street fights. He has never bitten an opponent. Not in the ring, in an alley or on a street corner.

That is why, when Mike Tyson was disqualified for twice biting Evander Holyfield, my father telephoned me from the arena in Las Vegas and said Tyson should be banned for life. That was a premeditated assault and, if it didn’t happen in the ring, he’d go to jail. It was cowardice. Tyson had violated a code of honor that my father, former light heavyweight contender Irish Bobby Cassidy, has passed on to the fighters he trains today.

You fight hard and clean and you fight to the finish. Tyson, the self-proclaimed baddest man on the planet, fought hard until he realized defeat was inevitable. Then he quit. He attempted to mask his surrender in a fit of rage, but it was a poor disguise.

I attended my first professional boxing card at the age of 9. As a boxing writer and the son of a fighter, I have watched thousands of rounds of boxing. What Tyson did to Holyfield--severing a portion of his right ear with the first bite--was the most barbaric act I recall in a sport that some argue is barbaric even on its best nights.

My father has earned his opinion, having had the courage to take that long, lonely walk from the dressing room to the ring. But Tyson has earned the right to fight again. He paid his debt to society and submitted to every requirement established by the boxing lords who controlled his fate. Recently the Nevada State Athletic Commission gave him his license back. With all due respect, Dad, it was the right thing to do. I do not condone Tyson’s actions, but I can’t see punishing him for eternity.

Tyson clearly sinned against his sport. But he paid a fair price. The former heavyweight champ was fined a record $3 million and had his license revoked for nearly 16 months. That period of inactivity cost him millions more in missed purses. Holyfield has forgiven him, so why shouldn’t we?

The punishment more than fit the crime. Consider this: In a 1965 baseball game, Hall of Famer pitcher Juan Marichal twice slammed catcher John Roseboro over the head with his bat because he felt Sandy Koufax’s pitches were a little too tight. Marichal was fined $1,750 and suspended for eight games. Or how about this: When heavyweight contender Andrew Golota bit an opponent on the neck during a nationally televised fight in 1995, he was neither fined nor suspended. Tyson should be allowed to fight again and the timing couldn’t be better.

Boxing needs him and he needs boxing. Tyson owes the Internal Revenue Service $13 million, and boxing owes its fans some excitement. The industry may not want to admit it, but boxing is mired in its worst slump since the demise of the Friday night fights. The current stars--Holyfield, Oscar De La Hoya, Roy Jones Jr. and Prince Naseem Hamed--are brilliant fighters. None of them, though, is capable of generating the interest, revenue or excitement that Tyson can.

Home run hitters and knockout artists are the most revered athletes in American sports. Tyson, although past his prime, remains an awesome puncher. The brutality and brevity of his contests holds the paying public in thrall. Combine his punching power with his gangsta image and the result is a tremendous gate attraction.

Since he was a 13-year-old purse-snatcher running the streets of Brownsville, N.Y., Tyson has been a bully. That has not changed. During his exile from boxing, it has been alleged that Tyson assaulted two motorists involved in a fender bender with his wife. As Tyson’s late trainer Cus D’Amato once said, “When you are born round, you don’t die square.”

There was a time when we in the media glamorized his combustible lifestyle. It was what made him this terrific fighting machine. That, too, has not changed. Inside the ring and out, Tyson is explosive and unpredictable. That is why when Tyson meets Holyfield for a third time--and that fight will happen--it will be the largest grossing fight in history. Every humble, hard-working champion (read: Holyfield) needs a villain to conquer.

Let’s face it. Tyson vs. Holyfield was boxing’s Armageddon. So was Ali vs. Liston and Leonard vs. Duran. Boxing has always cashed in when promoting good vs. evil. Mike Tyson is back, and it’s business as usual for boxing.

Note: Cassidy is the author of the forthcoming book “Muhammad Ali: Greatest of All Time.”