Tyson Is Free Again

Mike Tyson was given his freedom Monday.

He will have to regain respect and credibility on his own.

Tyson, the former two-time heavyweight boxing champion, was paroled from a Montgomery County jail in Rockville, Md., after serving 3 1/2 months of a one-year sentence for assault.

There is no question that he plans to get back into the ring, but that is not expected to happen until fall, perhaps as late as December.

Tyson had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault charges after he struck two motorists following a minor traffic accident in Gaithersburg, Md., last summer. He was sentenced to the year of imprisonment plus 60 days for violating terms of his probation for a 1992 rape conviction in Indiana.

The Maryland Parole Commission voted, 5-1, last Friday to approve Tyson’s release. But that couldn’t happen without the approval of Indiana Superior Court Judge Patricia Gifford, who had the final say. Gifford agreed Monday to end Tyson’s probation, ruling that the time served in Maryland was sufficient punishment for his violation.

“Our No. 1 reason for release is to assure that Mr. Tyson will reintegrate safely into society and follow the general rules of his parole,” a commission official told the Associated Press. “He needs to be supervised and held accountable to public standards of conduct.”

Tyson will be on parole until February, said Leonard A. Sipes, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. He also must meet certain probation conditions--including 200 hours of community service--during the next two years. He will be subject to urine testing at least twice a week and unannounced home visits by state authorities. He must also receive permission before leaving Maryland, complete a psychiatric evaluation and undergo anger-management treatment.

So Tyson, who has spent more time with lawyers than trainers over the last two years, gets yet another chance to put his turbulent life in order.

And yet another ring comeback looms ahead.

After serving three years in an Indiana prison on the rape conviction, Tyson stepped out portrayed as a reformed man, one who was ready to embrace religion and family values.

But the other side of Tyson surfaced again the night of June 28, 1997, when, in the third round of his heavyweight title rematch against Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas, Tyson bit both of Holyfield’s ears, chewing off a piece of the right ear.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission revoked Tyson’s boxing license and he had to undergo hearings, public scrutiny and an extensive mental examination before getting his license back last October.

And in the midst of all that, he assaulted the two motorists, who were old enough to have been his father, because he was angry that they hadn’t inquired about the condition of his wife, Monica Turner, after the Tyson car had been rear-ended with Turner at the wheel.

Before being incarcerated, Tyson managed one fight in the ring, against Francois Botha last January, looking very beatable before landing a fifth-round knockout punch.

Tyson returns stripped of the aura of invincibility he once enjoyed, his days of bullying and intimidating opponents seemingly behind him. Once opponents signed to fight him with great trepidation and little hope of leaving the ring with anything more than a paycheck. Now, they are lined up around the block for a chance to earn their reputation with a victory over a less-than-imposing Tyson.

He is still tied contractually to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and the Showtime cable network. He has one fight remaining on a two-fight promotional deal with the America Presents boxing organization.

“He wants to fight again,” said Shelley Finkel, who serves as Tyson’s manager although the fighter dislikes the use of that term. “We’ll have to sit down and talk about when he’ll fight.”

Finkel has reserved a pay-per-view date in December. He wants to avoid a September fight for Tyson, since the proposed Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad blockbuster on Sept. 18 is expected to be the focus of the boxing world that month.

Finkel said he thought August would be too soon for Tyson’s return. So that means Tyson could try to fight in October and squeeze in two bouts before year’s end, or simply fight in December.

This much seems certain: Despite all the controversy, Tyson, because of his unpredictability and explosiveness, remains a marketable product.

People may hate Tyson, a few may even still love him, but hardly anybody can ignore him.