Gloves are off as prosecutor wants Tyson back in jail

FORMER world heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson has been charged with drug possession and driving under the influence of drugs in the US, and the Maricopa County prosecutor in Arizona says he wants to send him to prison.

“He has run out of second chances, at least in my book,” said lawyer Andrew Thomas.

Mr Tyson, 40, was charged with two felonies for drug possession and two misdemeanour counts of driving under the influence of drugs. If convicted of all four charges, he could be sentenced to between two and seven years.

He was released without bail after a brief court appearance and would be back in court for a preliminary hearing within two weeks, Mr Thomas said.

The charges stem from his arrest last Friday in Scottsdale, where Mr Tyson was pulled over after leaving a nightclub. An officer found bags of cocaine in his back pocket and another in a package of cigarettes in his car, according to court records. Mr Tyson’s arrest was the latest in a string of run-ins with the law, dating back more than a decade.

In 1992, Mr Tyson was convicted of rape in Indiana. Six years later, the former boxing champ pleaded no contest to misdemeanour assault charges in Maryland.

Mr Thomas said Mr Tyson’s record made him eligible for prison time instead of Arizona’s drug treatment programmes for non-violent offenders.

“I don’t take any pleasure out of doing this,” Mr Thomas said. “A week ago, my kids and I were watching Rocky Balboa in the movie theatre, and we saw Mike Tyson make a cameo appearance in the movie, and now here we are and he’s looking at going back to prison.”

Mr Tyson has got back in the ring for a four-round exhibition fight series.

Announcing the world tour, Tyson told reporters he was deep in debt and wondered if people would still pay to watch him fight.