01-24-2002, 01:04 AM
<font size="3">Tyson: 'I will let my boxing talk for me'</font>
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Saying he's not "Mr. Politically Correct," Mike Tyson made an apology of sorts Wednesday for his part in a news conference melee that could deny him a license to challenge Lennox Lewis.
"I'm a boxer, and from now on, I will let my boxing talk for me," Tyson said in a statement.
He did not comment on whether he bit Lewis' left leg in the brawl at the Hudson Theater on Tuesday. A source close to Lewis' camp, who asked not to be identified, said Tyson did bite the WBC-IBF champion.
Lewis and his advisers declined to talk about it.
"It (the melee) is under investigation by the Nevada commission," said Gary Shaw, chief operating officer of Main Events, the American promoter of the champion from Britain.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission is scheduled to consider Tyson's application for a license on Jan. 29. It was the Nevada commission that fined Tyson $3 million and revoked his license after he bit Evander Holyfield's ears in 1997.
Tyson got a license a year later, but it lapsed in 1999.
"There was obviously a miscommunication between our camps with regards to the face-off, and chaos broke out," Tyson said, explaining how the brawl began.
Apparently, each man was to come on stage upon being introduced and stop on a small platform, which were not close to one another. They were to turn and stare at one another.
Tyson was introduced first. After Lewis got up on his platform, Tyson walked toward him, claiming he was going to engage in a staredown.
When he got close, he was pushed by Lewis' bodyguard and threw a punch at the man. Lewis threw a right hand that grazed Tyson's head and suddenly people were pushing, shoving and rolling around onstage.
"After our skirmish, I was provoked by a member of the audience who was shouting obscenities at me and I defended myself as I saw fit. In the process, things that I said may have offended members of the audience. To these people, I offer my apologies."
After a semblance of order was restored, Tyson threw up his arms in triumph and made an obscene gesture. Then he became enraged and shouted vulgar abuse at a man who had yelled, "Put him in straitjacket."
"I came to New York to promote a fight that I want and boxing fans want to see," Tyson concluded in his statement. "I am not a role model or Mr. Politically Correct. I am a boxer, and from now on I will let my boxing talk for me."
During the fracas, Tyson was cut on his hairline, while WBC president Jose Sulaiman sustained a concussion when he hit his head on a table.
Sulaiman was treated at a hospital and attended a news conference Wednesday for Shane Mosley's WBC welterweight title defense against Vernon Forrest Saturday night in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
another story.....
LONDON -- An English bookmaker has taken more bets on Mike Tyson being disqualified if he fights Lennox Lewis than for either heavyweight to win the fight.
The bookmaker William Hill cut the odds Wednesday on a Tyson disqualification from 6-1 to 4-1. William Hill has Lewis at 4-9 to win the fight and Tyson at 13-8.
"Those punters who are prepared to bet on the fight at this time are choosing to bet on a disqualification rather than one or the other winning," spokesman Graham Shapre said.
The future of the fight was thrown into doubt Tuesday when a brawl broke out as Tyson and Lewis exchanged punches during a news conference in New York to announce the April 6 title fight in Las Vegas.
Tyson is awaiting a license to fight in Nevada and must explain to boxing authorities there next week why he went after Lewis. Also, Las Vegas police said they found evidence supporting a woman's claim she was raped by Tyson.
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Saying he's not "Mr. Politically Correct," Mike Tyson made an apology of sorts Wednesday for his part in a news conference melee that could deny him a license to challenge Lennox Lewis.
"I'm a boxer, and from now on, I will let my boxing talk for me," Tyson said in a statement.
He did not comment on whether he bit Lewis' left leg in the brawl at the Hudson Theater on Tuesday. A source close to Lewis' camp, who asked not to be identified, said Tyson did bite the WBC-IBF champion.
Lewis and his advisers declined to talk about it.
"It (the melee) is under investigation by the Nevada commission," said Gary Shaw, chief operating officer of Main Events, the American promoter of the champion from Britain.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission is scheduled to consider Tyson's application for a license on Jan. 29. It was the Nevada commission that fined Tyson $3 million and revoked his license after he bit Evander Holyfield's ears in 1997.
Tyson got a license a year later, but it lapsed in 1999.
"There was obviously a miscommunication between our camps with regards to the face-off, and chaos broke out," Tyson said, explaining how the brawl began.
Apparently, each man was to come on stage upon being introduced and stop on a small platform, which were not close to one another. They were to turn and stare at one another.
Tyson was introduced first. After Lewis got up on his platform, Tyson walked toward him, claiming he was going to engage in a staredown.
When he got close, he was pushed by Lewis' bodyguard and threw a punch at the man. Lewis threw a right hand that grazed Tyson's head and suddenly people were pushing, shoving and rolling around onstage.
"After our skirmish, I was provoked by a member of the audience who was shouting obscenities at me and I defended myself as I saw fit. In the process, things that I said may have offended members of the audience. To these people, I offer my apologies."
After a semblance of order was restored, Tyson threw up his arms in triumph and made an obscene gesture. Then he became enraged and shouted vulgar abuse at a man who had yelled, "Put him in straitjacket."
"I came to New York to promote a fight that I want and boxing fans want to see," Tyson concluded in his statement. "I am not a role model or Mr. Politically Correct. I am a boxer, and from now on I will let my boxing talk for me."
During the fracas, Tyson was cut on his hairline, while WBC president Jose Sulaiman sustained a concussion when he hit his head on a table.
Sulaiman was treated at a hospital and attended a news conference Wednesday for Shane Mosley's WBC welterweight title defense against Vernon Forrest Saturday night in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
another story.....
LONDON -- An English bookmaker has taken more bets on Mike Tyson being disqualified if he fights Lennox Lewis than for either heavyweight to win the fight.
The bookmaker William Hill cut the odds Wednesday on a Tyson disqualification from 6-1 to 4-1. William Hill has Lewis at 4-9 to win the fight and Tyson at 13-8.
"Those punters who are prepared to bet on the fight at this time are choosing to bet on a disqualification rather than one or the other winning," spokesman Graham Shapre said.
The future of the fight was thrown into doubt Tuesday when a brawl broke out as Tyson and Lewis exchanged punches during a news conference in New York to announce the April 6 title fight in Las Vegas.
Tyson is awaiting a license to fight in Nevada and must explain to boxing authorities there next week why he went after Lewis. Also, Las Vegas police said they found evidence supporting a woman's claim she was raped by Tyson.
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