Tyson faces Friday hearing on latest antics

Tim Dahlberg

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1999 | 10:08 a.m.

Mike Tyson might have hurt Orlin Norris and angered some fans by punching after the bell. However, Nevada boxing commissioners don't appear eager to take action on his latest ring antics.

The Nevada Athletic Commission will discuss Tyson's aborted fight with Norris at a Friday meeting, at which he is expected to get the $8.7 million purse that has been withheld pending a review of his fight with Norris.

Commissioners may fine Tyson for the late blow, but they are not expected to take any action to suspend Tyson from the ring or change the decision in the fight from a no contest to a disqualification.

Commission chairman Dr. Elias Ghanem does not view what happened Saturday as serious as Tyson's biting of Evander Holyfield's ears. That cost Tyson $3 million and got him banned from boxing.

"If there was a disqualification it would have been a different ball game," Ghanem said. "When he (referee Richard Steele) deducted two points, that means the fight could continue. That's the big difference."

Steele's ruling in the ring that the left hook that dropped Norris after the bell sounded was not deliberate may help Tyson avoid any penalties for the late blow, which ended the fight when Norris dislocated his knee on the way down to the canvas.

"The important thing is that it was an accidental foul and that was the determination that was made," said Marc Ratner, the commission's executive director.

Under Nevada law, which was changed in the wake of Tyson's biting of Holyfield, a boxer can be fined his entire purse for an infraction.

"I would be in favor of some kind of fine based on what I saw and how the fight took place - a fine and a strong letter to Tyson and his advisers that this won't be tolerated," Commissioner Luther Mack said Monday.

"He got $8.7 million. I dont have a number in mind (for a fine). It has to be a sum that he (Tyson) knows we're serious," said Mack, a Reno businessman.

"We have to make sure we protect the integrity of boxing. We have to take a strong stand."

Tyson is not expected to attend Friday's commission meeting, which was called in the wake of the ending that caused fans to boo both fighters.

He said after the fight that he did not hear the bell, even though it rang five times as Steele moved in to try and separate the fighters in the middle of the ring.

Ratner said Monday there was no dispute that Tyson hit Norris after the bell, but he noted that hitting after the bell is relatively common in fights. Felix Trinidad did the same thing to Oscar De La Hoya twice in the middle rounds of their welterweight title fight last month, and was not penalized.

Steele took two points from Tyson after Norris went back to his corner. But the fight did not resume after Norris said he could not continue because of an injured knee.

An MRI showed his knee was dislocated, and doctors said Norris may need surgery.

Norris said he did not think Tyson hit him deliberately after the bell. He said it was loud in the ring and hard to hear the bell.

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