Boxing: Tyson faces licence panel

Mike Tyson will appear in front of a Nevada State Athletic Commission panel today as they vote on whether to issue a boxing licence to the former world heavyweight champion.

Short of medical matters, an annual licence application would usually pass through the system in the blink of an eye.

But Tyson's part in last week's press conference brawl with Lennox Lewis in New York has forced him to meet the panel headed by chairman Luther Mack and explain why the Nevada Commission ought to give him the green light to compete in the April 6 super-fight in Las Vegas.

If Tyson can give a justifiable reason then he is doing better than most.

In his last three Las Vegas fights he has bitten Evander Holyfield's ear, tried - by his own admission - to break Frans Botha's arm and hit Orlin Norris after the bell resulting in a one-round no contest.

On his travels, he has knocked over referee John Coyle while trying to attack a beaten Lou Savarese in Glasgow and failed a drug test after a farcical win over Andrew Golota.

Outside the ring, Tyson faces an indictment for sexual assault after the Clark County District Attorney's Office received notification from the Las Vegas Police Department that they had enough evidence to proceed.

He is also under investigation for being photographed in Cuba - a country which US citizens are forbidden to visit (when Tyson saw the photographers he hurled Christmas tree baubles at them).

But Lewis versus Tyson is no ordinary fight, and nor are these ordinary circumstances for the towering neon palaces which battle for business either side of the Strip.

The resort hotels have seen a large downturn in tourists and high-rolling gamblers since September 11 and they would do anything they could to ensure a fight which would generate millions of dollars will come to their city.

Lewis versus Tyson is so big it would take place with or without the sanctioning bodies, and nobody would care much if there was no alphabet belt for the winner to pick up at the end.