Oklahoma considers Tyson fight

     From staff and wire reports
      If Mike Tyson wants to fight in the United States, one state boxing commissioner would let him -- as long as all proceeds are donated to charity.
      Oklahoma boxing commissioner Jim Gasso said his state would allow Tyson to box if the fighter and his promoter, Don King, give all the profit to charities benefiting amateur boxing and underprivileged children. Nevada officials revoked Tyson's license Wednesday for biting Evander Holyfield's ears during their June 28 fight at the MGM Grand Garden.
      "If Tyson and Don King are serious and really want to turn over a new leaf, then this would be a great way to show everyone," Gasso said. "Come in here, raise some money for a great cause, and we'll permit him to do it."
      After reading Gasso's comments, the state labor commissioner, who oversees the boxing commissioner, said she wouldn't permit Tyson to fight in the state as long as his license was revoked.
      "Mike Tyson will not be allowed to fight in Oklahoma, whether it is for charity or any other reason," labor commissioner Brenda Reneau said through her administrative assistant, Skip Nicholson.
      "We stand behind the decision made by Nevada and will abide by its decision. Until Mr. Tyson's license is re-instated, he will not fight in Oklahoma."
      Two Nevada commissioners said Tyson should not fight, charity or not.
      "There is nothing we can do if any state allows him to fight," said Nevada commission chairman Dr. Elias Ghanem of Las Vegas. "I appreciate the fact it is for charity, but it is a fight. I think it is an excuse to get him to fight. Once he starts fighting in any state, charity or not, it doesn't make sense to me. That is a fight anyway. It's a fight any way you look at it."
      "Exhibition or charity would still be not permitted in this state," commissioner Jim Nave of Las Vegas said. "It would be a violation of our rules. It would be extremely disappointing that any state would not honor the actions we took (Wednesday)."
      Even though profit from the bout would go to charity, Oklahoma would be breaking an oral agreement made by most U.S. boxing commissioners to honor Nevada's revocation of Tyson's license. Although a federal law passed July 1 requires states to honor other states' suspensions for health and safety-related issues, it doesn't apply in Tyson's case, boxing commissioners said.
      "I don't think any of the other commissioners would have a problem with this," Gasso said. "Every cent is going to help kids and boxing."
      Greg Sirb, the president of the Association of Boxing Commissioners, said he wants to see Gasso's proposal before recommending to other members whether their organization should approve of Tyson fighting in the U.S. -- even for charity.
      "I want to see the meat and potatoes of what Oklahoma wants to do," Sirb said. "I don't think that we'd sign off on something like this if Tyson were fighting. A training session might be different."
      If the commissioners did sign off on such a bout, a Tyson spokesman said he wasn't sure whether Tyson would agree to fight outside of Nevada, even for charity.
      "Mike's not going to do anything that would anger anyone in Nevada," a Tyson spokesman said. "I don't know whether this type of fight would fall into that category."
      Nevada Deputy Attorney General Joe Rolston, who argued for the license revocation, said during an interview Wednesday on CNN's Larry King Live that he didn't know whether his state's ruling would prevent Tyson from fighting for charity in another state.
      "All I know is that he can't do it in Nevada," Rolston told King.
      Although Gasso said he isn't sure how much money a Tyson fight could raise, it would make much more than the $40,000 in revenue his state generates from around 100 fight cards a year.
      Like most boxing commissions, Oklahoma earns revenue from a percentage of pay-per-view sales, ticket sales, and television rights.
      The pay-per-view audience for the Tyson-Holyfield bout, 1.8 million people at about $50 each, was worth $90 million. The live gate at the MGM Grand Garden was about $14 million, casino executives said.
      The Nevada Athletic Commission gave Tyson the maximum penalty allowed under its state law Wednesday by revoking Tyson's license for at least a year and fining him $3 million for biting Holyfield.
      Under the penalty, Tyson can't box again in Nevada unless his return is approved by the state's athletic governing body. He can re-apply for reinstatement after a year, although there is no guarantee he'll ever get his license back.
      Gasso said he hopes that other commissioners understand why he'd let Tyson fight in his state, but he doesn't expect Tyson or King to accept his offer.
      "When was the last time Don King ever did something and didn't get paid for it?" Gasso asked. "This wouldn't be his style."