Tyson makes bid for licence

Dean Juipe

Monday, Oct. 19, 1998 | 11:39 a.m.

If Mike Tyson was nervous about his chances to regain his Nevada boxing license, it didn't show as the continuance of his boxing relicensing hearing got under way this morning at the Clark County Government Center.

Flanked by his wife, Dr. Monica Turner, and his Las Vegas-based attorney Jim Jimmerson, Tyson appeared in a jovial mood.

Prior to the hearing, he jokingly pretended to take a bite out of his wife's ear, not aware that the television cameras were focused on him. When Tyson saw that the cameras were turned in his direction, he mugged for them.

Later, Tyson feigned pain when Jimmerson massaged his neck.

Tyson, wearing a dark sports jacket and gray slacks, was subjected to few questions from the Nevada State Athletic Commission as the Sun went to press.

"There's nothing wrong with me. I'm not going to bite anybody again," Tyson told commissioner Dr. James Nave, who was the most aggressive of his inquisitors during the fighter's initial hearing. "I'm not interested in being humiliated anymore."

Today's relicensing hearing was a continuation of one adjourned Sept. 19, when Tyson and a team of advisers and doctors testified for more than six hours before the commission. That hearing was postponed when the NSAC demanded an impartial review of Tyson's mental state, and the former heavyweight champion complied by selecting Massachusetts General Hospital and undergoing five days of psychotherapy testing.

The continuance began with testimony from the team of MassGen physicians, who concluded that Tyson is mentally capable of returning to the ring, contingent on his commitment to further psychological treatment and therapy.

The MassGen test results became public record last week when the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that Tyson could not show he would suffer irrepairable harm if they were released.

Tyson, whose boxing license was revoked by the NSAC July 9, 1997, as a penalty for his disqualification loss to Evander Holyfield two weeks earlier, has been training in Phoenix in past two weeks with the hope of being relicensed and fighting by the end of the year. The MGM in Las Vegas has expressed an interest in renewing its association with him and is eyeing a Dec. 5 date for a Tyson fight against an opponent yet to be determined.

Tyson also has a hearing scheduled for Dec. 1 in Maryland to answer assault charges filed by drivers of two vehicles involved in a minor traffic accident with a car driven by Tyson's wife Turner. One man said he was punched in the face and the other man said he was kicked in the groin by Tyson following the Aug. 31 mishap.

Jimmerson admits an out-of-court settlement is a possibility in Maryland.

Tyson remains on probation in Indiana as a result of a sexual-assault conviction.

Tyson, 32, is 45-3 as a professional fighter. He won his first heavyweight championship in 1986 and won his first 37 fights before losing to Buster Douglas in 1990. Following his release from prison in 1995, Tyson regained the WBC championship before losing by technical knockout to Holyfield in their first fight, Nov. 9, 1996.

Tyson lost the June 28, 1997, rematch by DQ when he twice bit Holyfield's ears during the fight.