For once, all quiet on Tyson front

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen

By

What a wild weekend. A Washington Redskin was arrested for assault. A Washington National ran over an umpire. And Mike Tyson came to town, and no one got arrested or run over.

Who would have thought Tyson's arrival would be the least controversial sports story in the city? The chances of that happening were as likely as a Washington baseball team being in first place this late in the season.

Then again, this is the new and subdued Tyson -- Mellow Mike instead of Iron Mike. That's why there was little furor this time around, when Tyson was licensed in the District -- as opposed to 2002, when he was still radioactive before his fight with Lennox Lewis.

Three years later, some things have changed. For one, the District actually got the Tyson fight, as opposed to the ridiculous role the city played back in 2002, when it was used by promoters to raise the money in Memphis. There was virtually zero chance of that fight coming to Washington. Since Memphis, Tyson has done Louisville and now Washington. His next stop depends on whether he beats his hand-picked opponent, Kevin McBride, Saturday night at MCI Center.

If he wins, maybe Tyson will be allowed back on the bigger stages in boxing -- New Jersey, New York, maybe even Las Vegas.

If he loses the way he did to Danny Williams, the next stop is Scranton.

Also, Tyson has been declawed since he raged on a New York stage and went after Lewis, threatened reporters and offered up the sort of beep-filled sound bites that wind up on "SportsCenter."

No more. Tyson was on his best behavior in July in Louisville before his fight with Williams, engaging and seemingly under control. And for the most part he has stayed out of trouble. (There was that incident in December in which he was accused of jumping on the hood of someone's car outside a suburban Phoenix strip club, but who among us hasn't done that at one time or another?)

Not that he still doesn't leave victims in his path. But these days they are more of a political nature than a criminal one.

When Tyson was licensed to fight in Kentucky last year, the governor was not pleased and did away with the entire athletic commission. D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams didn't get rid of the entire D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission when Tyson was licensed for this fight -- just one commissioner.