Columnist Benjamin Grove: Tyson fight would be blow to nation’s capital

Benjamin Grove

Friday, Feb. 22, 2002 | 3:28 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- With Congress out of session last week, the hottest debate in the nation's capital wasn't about campaign finance reform, Enron or school vouchers.

It was about Mike Tyson.

On Tuesday the three-member D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission voted to review Tyson's application to fight at the MCI Center downtown, probably on June 8. It's not a done deal -- the panel plans to hear public comments and make a final decision at a March 12 hearing.

Washington is pouncing on Nevada's scraps. The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted not to license the bout, although on Friday Tyson's handlers said they will reapply now that the latest sex crime complaints against Tyson have been dismissed.

Regardless of whether Washington hosts the fight, the debate here over the event among local religious, civic and business leaders is itself a fascinating spectacle.

Washington Mayor Anthony Williams is scrambling to explain how Washington could host a fight featuring the contemptible Tyson -- spurned even in Sin City. Unlike Las Vegas, Washington is encumbered by a notion that as the nation's capital it is a moral center for America.

Washington's motive to land the fight is simple: money. Mayor Williams is a vocal supporter of the fight because he has been trying to reinvigorate the city's struggling tourism economy since Sept. 11. A Tyson bout could pump as much as $200 million into the city's economy.

"We're in a hole, a very big hole," Williams said at a press conference last week. "I want to leave the door open to every opportunity we can get at."

But Tyson critics say he isn't welcome in the nation's capital because he spent three years in prison for rape, and because he bites opponents. They say Tyson could give this proud city a black eye.

"A Mike Tyson fight is not a noble thing," one Washington tourist from Los Angeles told the Washington Post last week. "The Lincoln Memorial is."

City church leaders and the Greater Washington Board of Trade oppose the fight. So do several city council members and Ohio congressman Michael Oxley.

Critics argue that controversy and violence follow Tyson outside the ring, and they don't want more chaos in Washington. They point to the calendar: June 8 is the same day 100,000 Girl Scouts are expected in town for a sing-along event at the base of the Washington Monument.

But many businesses relish a Tyson fight. Washington's tourism industry lost an estimated $1.2 billion last year and limousine drivers, vendors, shop owners and hotel and restaurant managers are desperate for a big weekend. The St. Regis Hotel is already planning to put mints in the shape of boxing gloves on pillows during fight weekend.

Fight backers argue that the Tyson bout is not a moral issue for the city. They say Tyson would not be coming to Washington to launch some spiritual crusade, lead a march or make an important speech (nobody expects the profanity-spewing, crotch-grabbing Tyson to deliver "I have a dream"). Tyson is just a boxer -- the guy would be coming here to fight, and lots of people want to see it, the bout's supporters say.

My thoughts: Tyson is despicable and doesn't deserve another big payday. He shouldn't get it in the nation's capital, even if it would mean a sizable economic boost to the city.

Mayor Williams has his heart in the right place. But city leaders should back off their effort to land this bout and go back to finding us a Major League baseball team.

Meanwhile, highbrow Washingtonians who argue that a Tyson fight would tarnish the city's noble image should cut their chatter, too. This city's scandal-ridden politicians and bureaucratic government entities make it the butt of cheap jokes. Anyone remember Marion Barry? The suggestion that a Tyson fight would make Washington less respectable is silly.

Washington is not the nation's moral center. But it should strive to be. It can start by passing on Tyson.