Nevada Panel May Prove to Be a Hard-Bitten Foe

Two heavyweight fighters are, as Muhammad Ali might say, going to get whupped Saturday.

But at least Vaughn Bean will be handsomely paid for his beating at the fists of Evander Holyfield in Atlanta. I’m not sure why Mike Tyson is persisting in his fight against the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Perhaps subscribing to the bromide that time heals all wounds, even to Holyfield’s ears, Nevada’s five commissioners might have been predisposed to treat Tyson with kid gloves in his request for a license to replace the one they took from him last summer.

That, however, was before recent allegations that he assaulted two men after an automobile accident in Maryland.

Now, it is virtually certain he will face more intense scrutiny in this Las Vegas hearing than in a similar one two months ago in New Jersey. You might recall the aplomb with which he handled that experience.

“It’s going to be a very, very tough hearing I’m pretty sure, only because of what has happened recently,” Dr. Elias Ghanem, the commission’s chairman, told the Associated Press. “It all has to come into play.”

With that in mind, promoter Bob Arum said this week it is ludicrous for Tyson to pursue the hearing. Even if the commissioners don’t reject his appeal outright, Arum said, they cannot logically rule in his favor until they know the outcome of the litigation in Maryland.

Arum, a lawyer, suggested it is even possible Tyson will have to return to prison if it’s decided he violated his parole for a 1992 rape conviction.

There are unsubstantiated rumors that Shelly Finkel is no longer advising Tyson, probably started because no one can believe this is the kind of advice Finkel would give.

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Presuming Oscar De La Hoya will dispose of Julio Cesar Chavez on Friday night in Las Vegas, Arum already has arranged for De La Hoya to fight a real contender, Ike Quartey. . . .

It wasn’t easy, however, for Arum to get the date he wanted, Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas because USC and UNLV were scheduled to play basketball there that night. . . .

USC Coach Henry Bibby balked at moving the game to Friday night because that wouldn’t allow the Trojans enough time to recover from a Wednesday night game against San Diego State. . . .

But USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett intervened and persuaded San Diego State to play USC on Tuesday night. . . .

Everyone is satisfied now, especially USC’s athletic department because it received a $35,000 donation from Arum that the Trojans have promised to share with San Diego State. . . .

“Now Oscar has to do his part by beating Chavez,” Arum said. . . .

What happens if he doesn’t? . . .

Easy. Arum would arrange a third fight between De La Hoya and Chavez. . . .

If Tyson receives his license, speculation is his next opponent will be Axel Schulz. . . .

Even without a license, Tyson could conceivably fight Schulz in Europe. But, under the terms of Tyson’s parole, he can’t leave the country without permission from Judge Patricia Gifford. We all know how well they get along. . . .

Glenn Hoffman probably didn’t fail to notice that former Boston and Texas manager Kevin Kennedy was sitting in the Dodger Stadium box shared by Kevin Malone and Tom Lasorda on Monday night. . . .

Why isn’t Mike Scioscia listed as a candidate for the Dodger manager’s job any more? . . .

More than one critic has suggested that a recent list here of Jerry West’s greatest hits was incomplete because his 1987 acquisition of Mychal Thompson wasn’t included. . . .

He proved to be the antidote the Lakers needed for Boston’s Kevin McHale in the finals that season. . . .

How optimistic is Larry Brown about a settlement in the NBA’s labor dispute? For October, when the 76ers should be in training camp, he has scheduled a family vacation in Europe. . . .

Actor Dane Clark, who died last Friday at 85, always said one of his favorite roles was as Harlem Globetrotter founder Abe Saperstein in the movie “Go, Man, Go!” . . .

According to the Daily Racing Form, Lewinsky finished eighth in her debut last Saturday at Woodbine in Toronto. Competing in a race restricted to maidens, she ran coupled in the betting with a filly named Lovesachanceutake.

You couldn’t make this stuff up.

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While wondering if anyone would have believed the players would burn out before Dick Vermeil did, I was thinking: The Dodgers must be relieved they don’t have to fight over playoff tickets, maybe Bill Clinton can join Marv Albert on the MSG network, what an original coaching choice the Sacramento Kings made in Rick Adelman.