Tyson Finds a Place to Fight

The members of the D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission were not about to be swayed, not by the ruling of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, not by the opposition of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), not by the protestations of women’s groups across the country, not by the outrage of Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, and not even by the past actions of Mike Tyson himself.

In a hearing Tuesday night at Ashburn, Va., the three commissioners voted unanimously to give the former two-time heavyweight champion a boxing license.

Whether he uses it for a proposed title match against champion Lennox Lewis on June 8 at MCI Center remains to be seen. Michigan and Tennessee also are viable contenders for the fight.

While Detroit and Memphis, the proposed sites, are negotiating for a site fee between $12 million and $13 million, which was the amount pledged by Las Vegas’ MGM Grand hotel when it was the proposed site, there would be no site fee at the MCI Center.

Staples Center officials had expressed an interest in the match, but, with a gubernatorial campaign going on, creating an uncertain political climate, Shelly Finkel, Tyson’s manager, has backed off from his early enthusiasm about bringing the fight to Los Angeles.

Also still to be determined is Lewis’ willingness to go along with such a match. Said Lewis last month: “I want to make clear, as I have already told the Tyson camp, that Mike Tyson must get some psychiatric help before we go forward in June.”

Lewis alleges Tyson bit him in the thigh at the bottom of a pileup in January when a news conference to announce the fight at a New York City hotel turned into a brawl after Tyson took a swing at a Lewis bodyguard.

The Nevada commission subsequently denied Tyson’s bid for a license to hold the match at Las Vegas. In turning him down, the Nevada commissioners cited Tyson’s failure to get his life in order since he bit Evander Holyfield’s ears in a 1997 title fight.

“We looked at the application. That’s what it is,” Michael Brown, vice chairman of the Washington commission, said after Tuesday’s vote. “It’s an application for a boxing license, nothing more, nothing less.

“It would be frivolous for us to stand up here and not be concerned about Mr. Tyson’s past.”

Washington Mayor Anthony A. Williams has promised “a safe environment” if the fight is held in his city.

McCain has publicly objected to the fight being held in Washington. Various women’s groups have opposed Tyson, who was convicted of rape a decade ago and served three years in prison. When it appeared the fight might be headed for Georgia, Barnes called Tyson “a sexual predator.”

The Nevada denial came after a hearing that portrayed Tyson negatively, but Tuesday night’s vote came in a much more favorable setting. Sixty speakers in the two-hour session supported Tyson.

“I’m thrilled to be licensed in Washington D.C.,” Tyson, who was not present, said in a statement. “I applaud their decision and will give the fight fans in the District the fight they deserve--the chance to see me knock out Lennox Lewis in June.”

Tyson was interviewed by the commissioners last week and submitted to medical and psychiatric tests.