Tyson pleads case in New Jersey

Mike Tyson walked into the offices of the New Jersey Athletic Control Board today in Trenton and lobbied on his own behalf for a boxing license.

The board is not expected to respond to Tyson's request until next month and legally has 45 days to reply.

"There's nothing simple about it," said the board's spokeswoman, Rhonda Utley-Herring. "The application has been received and now we're into the public comment phase. There won't be any decision for a while."

The New Jersey Athletic Control Board is a three-member panel and its decisions are based on majority rule.

The fact that Tyson is applying for a license in New Jersey rather than Nevada, where his license was revoked one year ago, has Nevada senator Richard Bryan looking to patch a loophole in the 1997 federal boxing bill that was sponsored by he and Arizona's John McCain.

"If New Jersey should allow Tyson a license to fight, I think it's going to undermine the regulatory process," Bryan said. "If they do, I'll seek to change that. Clearly, the issue of reciprocity and respect for other commissions ought to be the governing principle on how the commissions act."

Nevada boxing officials were hoping New Jersey would defer to Nevada regarding Tyson's licensing, but there was no sign of that happening today as Tyson and a handful of character witnesses spoke in favor of relicensing the former heavyweight champ.

"We want to show a brighter side of Tyson, not just a darker side," said Tyson's legal representative in New Jersey, Anthony Fusco Jr. Toward that goal, Fusco utilized two ex-fighters who live in New Jersey, Bobby Czyz and Chuck Wepner, to pay tribute to Tyson in front of the Athletic Control Board.

Introducing the arguments on Tyson's behalf, Fusco told the board "Tyson is a very extraordinary man."

Fusco added that Tyson was applying in New Jersey because "he has strong ties" to the state, although he has not fought there since 1990.

He also said "we want to show what Mike has done in the last year. We want to show he's competent to accept a license and that the kind of behavior that went on in the (Evander) Holyfield fight won't reoccur."

The New Jersey attorney general's office also had a representative at the hearing and spokesman Roger Shatzkin said he didn't believe the McCain-Bryan bill was being undermined by New Jersey acting upon Tyson's request.

"Right now, we're working within the framework of the law," Shatzkin said. He didn't anticipate an immediate response from the panel, saying "I would expect they're going to take their time weighing a lot of evidence."

Tyson had his license revoked in Nevada for twice biting Holyfield's ears during a June 28, 1997, fight at the MGM Grand Garden. In revoking Tyson's license, the five-member Nevada State Athletic Commission told Tyson's representatives that the fighter could reapply for a license no sooner than July 9, 1998.

But rather than reapply in Nevada, Tyson applied in New Jersey.

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