Promoters Still Waiting for Tyson to Sign a Deal

Two ads are being prepared by Staples Center to begin publicizing its June 21 fight card. One with Mike Tyson, one without.

Promoter Gary Shaw, who said Monday he had a done deal, wasn’t backing down Tuesday even though Tyson has yet to sign a contract. Shelly Finkel, Tyson’s manager, and attorney Judd Burstein, involved in the negotiations, also remain confident the former two-time heavyweight champion will be in the Staples Center ring as part of a doubleheader co-featuring World Boxing Council heavyweight titleholder Lennox Lewis.

Shaw, Finkel and Burstein all say there are no major problems with the contract. To them, it’s just Tyson being Tyson.

“If I was you,” Shaw told a reporter, “I would get in my car and head for Staples Center for Thursday’s press conference. That’s how confident I am.”

Said Finkel, “My only concern is the same concern I have for every one of Mike’s fights. But every fight winds up happening.”

Conditions appear optimum for Tyson. Shaw and Staples President Tim Leiweke have agreed in principle to a show that would include Lewis defending against Kirk Johnson and Tyson in a nontitle bout against Oleg Maskaev.

Johnson agreed to a contract after Vitali Klitschko, the WBC’s No. 1 contender, turned down a $4-million offer.

While other states have refused to license Tyson, a majority of the six-man California State Athletic Commission agreed in an informal poll by phone Monday to grant him a license without a hearing.

While the outcry from politicians in other states, most recently New Jersey, have prevented Tyson from being licensed, the silence in California Tuesday was deafening. A spokesman for Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn said the mayor would have no comment on the California Commission’s decision. Requests for comments from Gov. Gray Davis, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district includes Staples Center, went unanswered.

Among those called, only councilman Nate Holden responded.

“Unless there is a reason not to license him, I don’t know what should keep the guy from fighting, unless he is incarcerated, on parole with restrictions or he couldn’t pass a physical,” Holden said. “I don’t know why some people in our society feel it is necessary to punish a guy for his entire life....

“This will be a tremendous boost for the downtown hotels, and the economy.”

The uncertainty over Tyson is not unusual. A week before his February fight against Clifford Etienne, Tyson got one side of his face tattooed. He then stopped training, saying he had flu. With a week to go in the fight, it was called off. Twenty-four hours later, it was back on when Tyson made a quick recovery.