Soon it will be known if Mike Tyson’s bark is as bad as his bite.
Tyson, who had a year to prepare his case to lift his ban from boxing, lost his temper, cursed and abruptly ended a New Jersey Athletic Control Board hearing Wednesday in Trenton on his request to get a boxing license.
The question is how badly the former heavyweight champion hurt his cause when he lost control in front of the regulators just as he was trying to explain why he lost control in the ring last year.
Assistant Atty. Gen. Michael Haas’ repeated questions as to why he bit Evander Holyfield’s ears in their fight in Las Vegas 13 months ago, which led to his license being revoked, upset Tyson so much he refused to read his prepared closing statement to the three-member New Jersey board.
“I don’t want to say it now, because I’m angry,” Tyson concluded.
When his attorney, Anthony Fusco Jr., tried to calm him, Tyson blurted that he has become the victim of his actions against Holyfield:
“You know what I mean, man? Why do I got to go through this (inaudible) (expletive) all the time?”
That reaction was consistent with his earlier testimony that “this ordeal ruined my life internally.” Even as he voiced contrition, saying he “just snapped” when he bit Holyfield and was “sorry for what I did (and) I wish it never happened,” Tyson included himself as a victim.
“It will haunt me for the rest of my life,” he said.
Criteria for a license under New Jersey’s boxing law include “good character, honesty, integrity and responsibility.” Time will tell whether Tyson and eight character witnesses at Wednesday’s 3 1/2-hour hearing convinced the state boxing board to license him. But there is no doubt he again lost control of his emotions.
It showed Tyson’s “frustration” at being banned from boxing by the Nevada State Athletic Commission since the Holyfield fight, said attorney Fusco, as he apologized to board members. “You’re seeing a guy ripped apart.”
At a news conference after the hearing, Tyson insisted, “I never lost my cool. I was just expressing my hurt.”
The board adjourned without comment and scheduled an executive session Aug. 6 to begin deliberating. Two of the three members must vote yes to grant Tyson a boxing license.
The image that Tyson has been fighting since the night of June 28, 1997 in Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, is this: Beaten in the first two rounds and bleeding from a clash of heads he insists was a head butt, he bit Holyfield’s right ear, severing the tip. After a 4-minute delay, referee Mills Lane let the fight continue. Tyson then bit Holyfield’s left ear, causing Lane to stop the fight and disqualify Tyson.
The event remains pay-per-view’s all-time leading telecast, with 2 million buys.
On July 9, 1997, Tyson’s Nevada boxing license was revoked by the State Athletic Commission, which fined him $3 million and said he could not apply for reinstatement for one year.
Somewhat surprisingly, Tyson chose to apply in New Jersey, where he hasn’t fought in eight years, rather than in Nevada, where he fought seven of his last eight fights . . . and where the disciplinary action was taken.
The federal Professional Boxing Safety Act passed last year requires all states to honor others’ suspensions, but New Jersey authorities interpreted that not to include revocations.
As Tyson arrived, holding hands with his wife, for Wednesday’s hearing in the Hughes Justice Complex, there were some boos, but he was cheered by many.
