MIKE TYSON withdrew his application for a NJ boxing
license, just one day before the NJ State Athletic Control
Board was to have made a decision on the application,
according to Timothy Smith of the N.Y. TIMES. Instead,
Tyson applied in NV, the state that revoked his license last
year. JEFF WALD, who has been advising Tyson, cited U.S.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), who "has been calling for reforms
in boxing" and led passage of the Professional Boxing Safety
act, as a reason for the switch. Wald called McCain "a real
good friend of boxing," adding, "He came out this week and
said he was dismayed that Mike Tyson was going around the
law he had written. We have enough respect for Senator
McCain not to do that" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/14). Tyson attorney
ANTHONY FUSCO: "I honestly don't know why he did it." In
N.Y., Tracy Connnor writes that NJ regulators were "said to
be having second thoughts about breaking ranks with [NV] and
breaching boxing protocol by lifting another jurisdiction's
suspension" (N.Y. POST, 8/14). NV Athletic Commission Exec
Dir MARC RATNER said "it would probably take two to three
weeks to get the commissioners together and find a suitable
venue for the hearing" (L.V. REVIEW-JOURNAL, 8/14).
REAX: A source of NEWSDAY's Jason Molinet said that the
NJ commission "apparently opted to deny Tyson's license,"
which forced Tyson to NV (NEWSDAY, 8/14). CNN/SI's Nick
Charles reported that Tyson's advisor SHELLY FINKEL said
"the reason they withdrew the license application in New
Jersey was, 'Because of what we'd been hearing from all the
commissions that Mike was hurting them.' What he meant was
that by going to New Jersey, Tyson was in fact causing a
split in the ranks" (CNN/SI, 8/13). ESPN's Al Bernstein said
he thought Tyson's camp felt "public sentiment was starting
to go against" him, and that they "had a clue perhaps [NJ]
was not going to rule in their favor" (ESPN, 8/13).
