Commission gets chance to redeem itself

Monday, June 30, 1997 | 4:17 a.m.

Not that the town couldn't use a good delousing to alleviate the stench permeating from the MGM Grand Saturday night. Then again, we should have seen it coming when the Nevada State Athletic Commission caved in to the pressure and forced referee Mitch Halpern to step aside from the Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson rematch.

Something reeked from the events of late Thursday night and it carried over into the ring Saturday. It's clearly evident today that Tyson was not prepared to beat Holyfield and, in fact, had no honorable way out.

Tuesday, a rematch of sorts will be staged at City Hall between the commission, Tyson, and his management, specifically John Horne and Rory Holloway. It will be interesting how this one plays out.

One thing's for sure: Tyson won't be the favorite to prevail this time around.

You may recall last Wednesday the Tyson crew tried psychological warfare, escalating to a "take-my-ball-and-go-home" mentality if it didn't get its way and Halpern wasn't removed as the referee.

They got their wish, something they may be second-guessing today in lieu of what transpired. But even with veteran Mills Lane in the ring, it was quickly apparent Saturday that Tyson didn't have the right stuff to beat Holyfield.

If there was a game plan for the rematch, it was hardly executed, if at all. And when an accidental Holyfield head-butt opened a gash above Tyson's right eye 10 seconds into the second round, you knew it was going to be only a matter of time before the proceedings were going to come to a halt.

Holyfield had Tyson's number. And no matter what Tyson was going to do within the rules, Holyfield had an answer for it. All three judges had Holyfield winning the first two rounds and the third was close, though Tyson may have had a slight edge.

Tyson wasn't about to run the risk of being humiliated by being knocked out. So he reverted to his roots and the vicious, street-brawling thug re-emerged. By biting Holyfield not once, but twice on the ear, Tyson had to know he was probably going to be disqualified. But it beat getting KO'd, or worse, suffering the indignity of his corner having to throw in the towel.

In essence, Tyson pulled a Roberto Duran. He said "No mas" in his own despicable way. But like Duran, he didn't bow out with honor.

What transpired in the ring Saturday may well be the end of Tyson. And that's why Tuesday becomes so important.

The athletic commission is not in the revenge business, but here's a golden opportunity to square the ledger after the way Tyson's co-managers belittled and browbeat them into taking Halpern off the fight.

Make no mistake about it, Halpern did not step aside of his own free will. No professional in his right mind would step aside voluntarily from an assignment as lucrative, as prestigious and as important as this fight.

More important, it's a chance for the commission to repair its own tarnished image. The Halpern incident brought about tremendous criticism for the commission, much of it deserved, frankly. But what happened in the ring must be dealt with quickly and without political pressure.

The commission has the power to lower the boom on Tyson and it should. It should fine him the maximum amount. It should suspend his license as long as the law allows and it should review the licenses of every person involved in Team Tyson, including promoter Don King.

The city of Las Vegas' image, as well as the state of Nevada's, was severely damaged by what took place the past 72 hours. It is the commission's utmost responsibility to repair as much of that image as possible as quickly as possible. Anything less is unacceptable.

We all saw what happened. It's not just a black eye this time. It's a bloody ear as well. And the world will still be watching and listening to what transpires at City Hall Tuesday morning.

The chance for redemption is there. Let's hope the NSAC doesn't blow it.

STEVE CARP is a Las Vegas SUN sportswriter.