Holyfield could sue Tyson

      Not since George "The Animal" Steele was terrorizing rings throughout the World Wrestling Federation has anyone created so much controversy with a bite.
      The Evan-der Holyfield camp was still in shock and in no mood for the macabre humor that was floating through the media center at the MGM Grand Hotel on Sunday, 14 hours after Mike Tyson lost his self control and bit Holyfield once in each ear in the third round of their rematch for the World Boxing Association heavyweight championship.
      Holyfield, who won and retained his title Saturday after referee Mills Lane had enough of Tyson's tactics and disqualified him, left for his home in Atlanta early Sunday and did not speak to reporters. His attorney, Jim Thomas, would not say whether Holyfield will sue Tyson for the bites, though he said he has sufficient grounds.
      "The actions of Mike Tyson were tortious actions," Thomas said. "Whether Evander Holyfield wants to do something about that or not is up to him. We'll consider it in due course."
      While Thomas was unable to say whether the matter would wind up in court, he said the Nevada Athletic Commission had to levy a significant penalty against Tyson to preserve the integrity of the sport.
      Thomas struggled, though, when attempting to put his finger on what he feels would be a suitable punishment for the former champion, who reportedly kept saying in the locker room minutes after the fight, "My career is over. My career is over."
      "I don't know if there is any precedent for this," Thomas said. "I think in order to determine what the correct consequences should be, one would look at a body of information on other fouls and what the commission had done and come up with something appropriate. Both of us feel that for the good of this sport that Evander has put a lot of effort into over many years, for the good of the sport there needs to be some consequence to keep people from doing this.
      "When boxing is practiced appropriately in accordance with its rules, it's not boxing that's bad. When somebody does something to harm the sport, then that person needs to face some consequences. Otherwise, you're telling everybody that they all ought to break the rules."
      The seeds of Tyson's rule-breaking were sown early in the fight, Holyfield trainer Donald Turner said. Turner said Holyfield was dominating the action early and Tyson quickly realized he could not win.
      Turner said Tyson's decision to foul and ultimately get himself disqualified may have been germinated in the seconds after he took a thunderous right cross from the champion that wobbled him in the first round.
      "I thought Holyfield would knock out Tyson and I thought that from the very beginning," Turner said. "In the first round, he almost did. That set the stage for what happened."
      What happened was bizarre even by the standards of a city that in the last five years has seen a hang-glider fly into the ring in one heavyweight championship fight and a challenger break down and cry in the ring in another.
      That it happened in boxing's biggest spectacle further damaged a sport that can hardly withstand more trauma, Thomas said. But he was still not prepared to say what advice he intended to offer Holyfield regarding potential litigation. Holyfield's decision, Thomas surmised, will be influenced heavily by the action taken by the Nevada Athletic Commission and/or the WBA against Tyson.
      "Understand, it's just been hours since somebody bit a piece out of one of my best friends," Thomas said. "I probably ought to calm down a little bit before I start deciding about what we ought to do about it.
      "I would intend to take into consideration whether anybody else is enforcing any kind of reprimand. If there is no other consequence, then I would be more inclined to recommend that somebody, on behalf of decency and justice, (will ensure) that there is some kind of negative consequence for that kind of behavior."
      Thomas also ridiculed Tyson's bravado following the fight, when he stormed after Holyfield seconds after the disqualification and later outside his locker room when he said he was still prepared to fight but that Holyfield was not.
      That brought a smile to Thomas' face, which didn't happen very often in his 45-minute session with the media.
      "We found it kind of curious that when Tyson had a chance to fight, he chose to bite the ear and get himself out of there," Thomas said. "But when he had people to hold his arms, then he wanted to fight."