Tyson Shows Teeth Again

Reverting to the savage behavior that once cost him his boxing license, Mike Tyson bit Lennox Lewis on the leg Tuesday at a news conference, according to several of Lewis’ representatives, capping a brawl that left two prominent boxing figures unconscious on the floor and plans for a Tyson-Lewis matchup in the air.

Police investigators announced later Tuesday they had found evidence to back up a woman’s claim she was sexually assaulted at Tyson’s Las Vegas home in September. No charges have been filed.

In Tuesday’s wild scene on the stage of the Hudson Theater in the Millennium Hotel, Jose Sulaiman, head of the World Boxing Council, briefly blacked out when he fell, hitting the back of his head. He was being evaluated for a possible concussion late Tuesday. Gary Shaw, Lewis’ promoter, lost consciousness for a short time after being pummeled in the head as he tried to separate the two fighters.

Tyson emerged with a small cut on his head.

Lewis and Tyson have signed to meet April 6 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, with Lewis to receive $20 million and Tyson $17.5 million. But, in a statement issued after Tuesday’s fiasco, Lewis said, “As a result of today’s events, I will evaluate my options after the relevant boxing commission has ruled.”

To fight in Las Vegas, Tyson must obtain a license from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which stripped him of his license in 1997 after he bit Evander Holyfield on both ears during a heavyweight title match.

Representatives of the commission weren’t ready to say, before examining videotapes of the brawl, whether Tyson’s actions would prevent him from getting a new license. Tyson is scheduled to appear before the commission next Tuesday.

The news conference, held to formally announce the fight, began with Tyson walking out stage right. Lewis came out stage left with the idea that the two would step up to a raised platform and meet eye to eye.

But when Lewis appeared, even before a spotlight had been thrown on him, Tyson rushed forward.

A Lewis bodyguard interceded and Tyson threw a left hook at the bodyguard. As the two tumbled to the floor, Lewis threw an overhand right aimed at the back of Tyson’s head.

At that point, the stage was filled with bodyguards, security people, handlers for both fighters and numerous publicists.

“My motivation for approaching Lewis,” Tyson said in a statement, “was to stage a faceoff which, I was told, both camps had agreed to. I was here to promote a fight, not be intimidated.”

The biting, if it did indeed occur, happened at the bottom of the pile, beyond the view of any camera.

“He took a bite out of Lennox’s leg,” Harold Knight, Lewis’ assistant trainer, said of Tyson. “Lennox has got a gash on his leg. He’s going for a tetanus shot. He’s got an open wound.”

Said Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada commission, “Those are unsubstantiated allegations. I’m a football official and when I try to break up a pileup in football, do I see biting and grabbing and things you could probably be arrested for if they happened elsewhere? Yeah. But you can’t always tell what happened in a pileup.”

Luther Mack, chairman of the Nevada commission, said he also wants to examine Lewis’ behavior in the incident.

“I was told he threw the first punch at Tyson,” Mack said. “And this is Lewis’ second time [he wrestled with Hasim Rahman at a news conference last summer before to their title fight]. Tyson also has a history with this type of thing. We are still going ahead with our hearing and everything will figure in.”

In assessing the sexual-assault charges against Tyson, who spent three years in an Indiana prison after being convicted of rape in 1992, the commissioners will look at the results of a four-month investigation by Las Vegas police.

“We think there’s probable cause to believe a crime occurred,” said police Lt. Jeff Carlson, commander of the city’s sex crimes unit. “We’re not the attorneys. It’s their decision whether to prosecute.”

The case has been turned over to the office of Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell. A spokesman for Bell’s office said Tuesday no decision has been reached on pursuing the case.

“You are innocent until proven guilty,” Ratner said. “Certainly a condition could be put on Tyson’s license, if it is granted, that could revoke it if he is convicted.”

Given the pace of legal proceedings, there is no chance Tyson could charged, tried and convicted by April 6.

Beyond Tuesday’s fiasco, Ratner and Sulaiman decried the overall pattern of recent months in which there has been one news conference fight after another. It began with Lewis-Rahman, followed by featherweights Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, who fought at a December news conference in Houston, followed by Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas, who got into a shoving match last week at the Biltmore Hotel.

“Sadly, this has become part of the sport,” Ratner said, “and I hate it. There is no reason for it. We may have to have separate press conferences.”

Said Sulaiman, “This is not good for boxing. It is time we do something about it. This is one big demerit for the sport. We have become a Roman circus, it seems.”

After exiting the news conference, Tyson took a walk around the block in midtown Manhattan. It looked like a victory lap. He was besieged by autograph seekers and well-wishers, slapping him on the back and cheering him on.