Despite what seemed to most folks to be a doomed mission, boxing legend Mike Tyson failed to receive a license to fight Lennox Lewis in Las Vegas on April 6. The attempt was something that Mike Tyson didn’t believe was initially possible anyway.
“I didn’t think I was going to get licensed, but (adviser) Shelly Finkel was forcing me to come anyway,” Tyson said in The Oregonian, and to reporters as he walked to his limo after his mandatory hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 29.
But as most of you already heard, the Nevada State Athletic Commission voted 4-1 on Tuesday against Tyson saying that they refused in giving him a license because, “Tyson could not control his emotions.”
Oh really? I wouldn’t have ever thought it’s because of that.
As a former sports writer with the Vanguard, I couldn’t help but throw in my 50 cents concerning this issue. My point is that Mike shouldn’t have even humiliated himself by showing up to that hearing, especially after the thug rushed Lewis at that news conference in New York last week.
And I know most of you remember that.
This guy is killing me because episodes just keep getting better and better don’t they? That said, if it wasn’t the ear incident a few years ago, or rape charges brought against him back in the day, then what can we expect from the thug next?
A street fight?
Yes, I said “thug.” If you read or heard the quotes, which many of you did, that Tyson told the media illustrates my “thug” point.
“No, it doesn’t look like there’ll be a fight. I don’t know,” he said. “I think Lennox is a coward. I’m going to fight him any time I see him in the street.”
Kudos to the commissioners in placing the April 6 economic opportunity for Vegas aside and looking at the bigger picture, especially since that fight had potential to bring millions of dollars to the city.
However, denying Tyson’s license for that fight was the right thing to do because he needs to learn how to be a boxer – remember Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali, right? This should be Tyson’s aim as opposed to some thug who takes his actions to the extreme in wanting to throw down with someone away from the ring.