One day before the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board was to make a decision on his application for a boxing license, Mike Tyson, the former world heavyweight champion, withdrew the application and instead applied to Nevada - the state that revoked his license last year after he bit Evander Holyfield's ears during a championship bout.
Tyson's withdrawal came in the wake of some strong statements by New Jersey political figures, who contended that Tyson should not be given a license. One of those who spoke up was state Sen. William Gormley, a Republican who is chairman of the Senate's Judiciary Committee and is the brother of Gerard Gormley, who is the chairman of the state Athletic Control Board. In addition, Tyson's initial decision to sidestep Nevada drew a scathing rebuke from U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has been calling for reforms in boxing and who led passage of the Professional Boxing Safety Act in 1997."Sen. John McCain has been a real good friend of boxing in Washington, D.C.," said Jeff Wald, the Hollywood entertainment executive who has been advising Tyson. "He came out this week and said he was dismayed that Mike Tyson was going around the law he had written. We have enough respect for Senator McCain not to do that."
Part of the legislation that McCain helped enact calls for states to recognize suspensions that are handed down in other states. Because Nevada revoked Tyson's license and did not suspend it, Tyson and his lawyers were exploiting a loophole in the federal law by going through New Jersey.
Wald said he, Tyson's attorneys and Shelly Finkel, who is another of Tyson's advisers, decided it was better to stick with the spirit of the law. They formally withdrew the application Thursday afternoon. Almost immediately, they applied to Nevada for a hearing to get Tyson his license back there, according to Marc Ratner, head of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Ratner said it will take 14 to 21 days before Tyson will be granted a hearing, because the commission will have to find a suitable venue to hold the hearing and because he wants to make sure that all five of the commissioners will be available.
"I think that was the proper thing to do," Jim Nave, one of the five members of the Nevada State Athletic Commission told The Las Vegas Journal Review Thursday, regarding Tyson's decision to ask Nevada for his license back. "They should have applied here in the first place. We're the ones who revoked his license, and we should decide if he gets it back."
When Nevada revoked Tyson's license in a hearing in July 1997, Tyson was not present. During his hearing for a New Jersey license on July 29, Tyson was the model of civility as several character witnesses spoke before the panel over the course of three and a half hours. But following a 45-minute questioning by Michael Haas, an assistant attorney general for New Jersey, Tyson became angry, and in remarks to the panel he uttered an expletive. The outburst might have hurt his chances to get a license in New Jersey.
Wald said he and other Tyson advisers did not get a sense that Tyson would have been rejected by New Jersey if they had proceeded with the application. However, Wald acknowledged he was taken aback by the comments by Gormley, who said granting Tyson a license would be bad for the state of New Jersey and bad for boxing, because Gormley is the brother of Gerald Gormley.
"That took away any semblance of impartiality," Wald said. He also said that Tyson is in full agreement with the decision to withdraw his application in New Jersey and apply in Nevada.
Wald added: "I don't think you'll find five points have been taken away from Mike Tyson in the ring in his career. He's not a dirty fighter. What happened with Holyfield was a total ab-er-ra-tion."
"We were surprised to get it today, but we will set up a hearing and it will be a fair and impartial hearing," said Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission.
Ratner, who estimated a hearing could be held in two to three weeks, said he had no idea why Tyson withdrew his application in New Jersey.
Tyson adviser Shelley Finkel didn't give a reason, other than to say there was concern over the perception that the boxer was trying to get around the Nevada ban by applying in New Jersey. Finkel denied he feared Tyson's application would be rejected.
"I felt very positive," Finkel said, adding that he also is confident about Tyson's chances in Nevada. "We can always go back to New Jersey if it's bad in Nevada."
Dr. Elias Ghanem, chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said Tyson was making the right move in returning to the state regulators who revoked his license.
"It wasn't a smart move for him in the beginning," Ghanem said, referring to the New Jersey application.
Nevada boxing regulators expected all along that Tyson would reapply for his license in Nevada after a mandatory one-year wait.
Asking New Jersey for the license was seen as a calculated gamble by Finkel. But many in boxing criticized the move and said that if states did not respect each other's decisions that a federal commission might be formed to regulate the sport.
Nevada Athletic Commission vice chairman Dr. James Nave said he wasn't surprised the New Jersey application was withdrawn, although he had not talked to any of the New Jersey officials.
"I just thought there was a lot going on out there," he said. "I saw a lot of things in the press that led me to believe that there was that possibility. I could see a lot of pressure building."
Tyson's license was revoked and he was fined $3 million for biting Holyfield's ears during the third round of their June 28, 1997, rematch for the heavyweight title.
Ghanem said Tyson is not assured of getting his license back, despite the feeling by some in boxing that he has been punished enough.
"Mike Tyson will have to convince the commission that he is fit to have a license," Ghanem said.
At a July 29 hearing in New Jersey, Tyson's advisers presented a parade of character witnesses who urged regulators to give him another chance, and the boxer apologized for biting Holyfield.
But at the end of the hearing, Tyson got angry, refused to read a closing statement and cursed in front of regulators.