Mike Tyson was released from a New York police precinct, hours after his arrest on assault charges following a brawl with two men outside a hotel.

　　The former heavyweight champion, who was charged with assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor, walked silently past reporters standing outside a Brooklyn police station in driving rain on Saturday afternoon.

　　Fans shouted, "Mike! Mike!" as the boxer was led out by police.

　　Tyson, who turns 37 tomorrow, was arrested at 5:30 am after a fight with two Pennsylvania men outside a hotel, police said. All three were guests at the hotel.

　　According to police, Samuel Velez, 31, and Nestor Alvarez, 24, were with a woman outside the hotel when the fight began. One of the men used a metal pole grabbed from the lobby against Tyson, who was treated for minor cuts to his hands. He had his right hand bandaged when he left the police station.

　　A source close to the investigation said the two men started the fight with Tyson, adding that the boxer feared the men would hit him with the pole.

　　"They did instigate it," the source said. "They were harassing him, saying things to him. But Tyson was the one who threw the first punch."menacing in the third degree and harassment, all misdemeanors, said a spokesman for Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J Hynes. Velez and Alvarez pleaded not guilty at an arraignment early yesterday.

　　One of the men and their female companion were treated for minor injuries at Bellevue Hospital, police said. Tyson was not taken to hospital.

　　Tyson, with a long history of legal trouble, was convicted of rape in 1992 and was sentenced to six years in prison. He served three years before being released on parole.