Mike Tyson at his infamous press conference with Lennox Lewis in January.
Washington, D.C. appears ready to give Mike Tyson a boxing license, paving the way for him to challenge heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on June 8 at the MCI Center.
The three-member D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission—chairman Arnold McKnight, vice chairman Michael Brown and commissioner Mable Boatwright—voted 3-0 via conference call Tuesday to move ahead with the licensing procedure. But it's not a done deal. There will be a public hearing March 12 before the final vote. Tyson must also pass a physical.
Brown believes the license will be granted: "We're expecting a lot of opposition, but we're expecting a lot of support."
Said Tyson adviser Shelly Finkel, "This is the best shot for the fight to happen."
Jay Larkin of Showtime, Tyson's TV home, added, "I am not assuming that D.C. is a done deal. It's encouraging and it would be a great event there, but put it this way—I'm not packing my bags yet."
The news conference Brown held drew protests from about a dozen sign-bearing members of the National Organization for Women. "This is a man with an appalling history of violence against women," NOW member Terry O'Neill said.
Lewis and Tyson were to meet April 6 in Las Vegas, but Nevada denied Tyson a license Jan. 29, a few days after he sparked a brawl at a news conference in New York to announce the bout.
"To say we are not concerned about his past would be disingenuous," Brown said.
Since the Nevada denial, Tyson has canvassed the nation looking for a license and suitable venue. He was rebuffed in Colorado, Texas and New York. Georgia licensed him Feb. 7, but it was met with strong opposition. Gov. Roy Barnes referred to Tyson—a convicted rapist facing two more possible rape charges in Nevada—as a "sexual predator." Monday, Tyson returned the license.
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