Finkel: claims of lies untrue

It was after midnight in New York when Shelly Finkel called, looking to clarify or put his own slant on Mike Tyson's situation.

"Whatever it takes in Nevada to be licensed, we want to do it," he said, a rough day behind him Thursday, the chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission having said Tyson would "unlikely" be relicensed in Nevada Oct. 3 when the hearing on the subject reconvenes.

"We want to do precisely what the commission wants," Finkel said. "I hope that on Oct. 3 we and Mike can do what's necessary to be licensed."

Serving as Tyson's adviser and unofficial manager, Finkel was accused by NSAC chairman Dr. Elias Ghanem of being "wishy-washy." Ghanem also implied Tyson would be better off without Finkel and the battery of doctors and attorneys he brought with him to last Saturday's NSAC hearing on relicensing the former heavyweight champion.

The NSAC deferred making a decision on relicensing Tyson until Oct. 3 and after receiving the results of an independent analysis of Tyson's mental status.

In a separate story in Thursday's Sun, Finkel was accused of "flat-out lying" by the manager of top-ranked IBF heavyweight contender Frans Botha. In that story, Sterling McPherson claimed Finkel -- despite his denial before the commission -- had called him seeking input on a possible Tyson vs. Botha fight.

"That was incorrect," Finkel said. "Magic Johnson somehow got involved with Mike and he brought (promoter) Frank Warren to me to make an offer (for a Tyson fight against an unspecified opponent). I said 'put it in writing' but he never did."

Finkel claims when the NSAC asked him if he had been pursuing a fight for Tyson with the presumption he would be relicensed by the commission, he responded that he had not "except for in Nevada."

McPherson claimed Finkel proposed a Tyson vs. Botha or Tyson vs. Axel Schulz fight could be made overseas, with or without NSAC approval.

"I made it very clear that there were no negotiations to fight anywhere except in Las Vegas," Finkel said. As for McPherson's claim that Finkel had called him, Finkel said "I'd only talked to him at the luncheon honoring Dr. Ghanem." (That luncheon, sponsored by the World Boxing Council, was held Sept. 17.)

Finkel admitted that he had talked to overseas cable networks about a Tyson fight, but it was only "for the rights" to televise that fight from Las Vegas.

As for Ghanem's intimation that Tyson would have a difficult time being relicensed in Nevada, Finkel said "I don't think there's any bias against us. Hopefully we can turn the odds to our favor. I've always admired Dr. Ghanem and I can't imagine why" he spoke out against Tyson.

The former heavyweight champion, whose license was revoked by the NSAC last year for biting the ears of Evander Holyfield during a fight at the MGM Grand Garden, spent Thursday undergoing a battery of psychological tests to determined his mental fitness to fight.

"I just want to let the Nevada commission know I'm extremely sorry and I'm really a good guy," Tyson told the Associated Press after his second day of testing at Massachusetts General Hospital. As part of the testing, he was required to answer hundreds of questions from psychiatrists and neuropsychologists, as well as undergo an MRI.

"This is a weird situation," said the attending doctor, Robert Schleser. "There's no test that specifically is going to tell you whether a boxer is going to bite someone's ear. That is why this is a huge task for these guys."

The test results are due at the NSAC office by 5 p.m. Monday.

Finkel said they would be there.

"It shouldn't be a problem," he said. "I just want to ask, what is the criteria for acceptability for a fighter, and two, how is that criteria determined?"

He also said he "understood" the consequences if Tyson refused to answer questions concerning an Aug. 31 traffic accident in Maryland in which Tyson allegedly punched one man and kicked another. Ghanem said Tyson would have to answer those questions Oct. 3 "or he would have a big problem."

"We'll defer to our attorneys," Finkel said of the Maryland situation, which could be resolved at an Oct. 2 hearing in that state.

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