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Boxing world reeling from bite night
Sadly, King's flimsy attempt backfired after his fighter went ballistic during a highly anticipated rematch against world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.
Tyson, who has made millions living up to his reputation as boxing's bully, shocked even the most hardened followers of the not-so-sweet science when he bit both of Holyfield's ears inside the MGM Grand ring.
That maniacal move led to Tyson's disqualification after the third round and sparked a riot inside the ring, in the arena, in the MGM casino and out on the Las Vegas strip.
One day later, with the promoters still reeling from the fiasco, there are numerous questions to be answered:
- Will boxing survive this latest black eye? Probably. Incidents of this sort are almost commonplace and the sport somehow keeps bouncing back.
- It's not a matter of will Tyson be suspended, but for how long, and will he face criminal or civil charges for his actions in the ring and out? He allegedly took a couple of swipes at Las Vegas police officers. There is talk that Tyson may have violated his parole - he was convicted on rape charges in 1992 - as a result of his actions.
"When you're out on the edge of a plank, you don't want a lot of people sawing on it," said renowned boxing commentator and fight doctor, Ferdie Pacheco. "Tyson's on the edge of the plank and he may end up in jail."
Holyfield's lawyer, Jim Thomas, said yesterday he was not ruling out civil charges.
- What is in store for Holyfield, who spent part of the night in a nearby hospital having his right ear sewn up and faces plastic surgery to have the tip of the ear reattached?
Thomas said his man probably will fight again, but it's doubtful Tyson will fight within the next year, nor will he face Holyfield again.
"Only if (Tyson) has his teeth removed," Holyfield's trainer, Don Turner, said.
Thomas was adamant that Tyson-Holyfield III would never happen - even if King waved $50 million in front of the WBA champion's face.
"We do not believe that Mike Tyson deserves the privilege of being in the ring with someone like Evander Holyfield, fighting for a title," said Thomas, who believes Tyson's act reflects the deterioration of U.S. society.
"I'm amazed there are big Tyson fans out there after some of the things he has done."
No one associated with Team Tyson made an appearance yesterday at the MGM Grand. There was only Pacheco to speak for Tyson. "I believe he needs serious psychiatric help," Pacheco said.
Meanwhile, a Nevada legislative panel moved yesterday to impose harsh sanctions for violations of fight rules - up to half the purse a fighter gets, with the money going to abused, neglected or molested children.
It couldn't be applied retroactively to Tyson. Under current laws, only up to 10% of the purse can be withheld.
Panel members urged the Nevada Athletic Commission to conduct a probe to see whether Tyson's actions amount to a crime.