Referee gets out of bout

      Team Tyson got its wish after all regarding referee Mitch Halpern.
      The Las Vegan withdrew late Thursday night as the referee for tonight's World Boxing Association heavyweight championship fight between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson at the MGM Grand Garden.
      Mills Lane of Reno will replace Halpern in the ring, said Dr. Elias Ghanem, chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission.
      "The bottom line is the story was getting way too big," Halpern said Friday. "It was getting bigger than the fight. The referee shouldn't be the center of attention. These are two great fighters. I didn't want to take anything away more from the fight than I already had."
      Marc Ratner, the commission's executive director, said he received a phone call from Halpern on Thursday about 11 p.m.
      "Mitch was working out last (Thursday) night at the Sporting House," Ratner said. "He thought long and hard about the situation at hand and felt that he shouldn't be the focus of one of the great boxing events in the history of the sport.
      "He called me and said he thought about this and felt very strongly that he should step aside, so that focus is squarely on the two fighters."
      Halpern withdrew less than four hours after the commission denied a protest by the Tyson camp that he not referee the fight.
      The commission voted 4-1 Thursday night to deny the protest. Luther Mack of Reno was the only commissioner to vote approving the protest. Halpern was selected by a 5-0 vote of the commission June 20.
      Halpern, 30, said he was not under pressure to withdraw from Ghanem or any other member of the commission.
      "This was entirely my decision," he said.
      Halpern also denied he felt pressure from the Tyson camp, which implied that Tyson wouldn't fight if Halpern were the referee.
      "I heard rumors of that, but that didn't have anything to do with my decision," Halpern said. "I'm a referee, but I'm also a boxing fan. Boxing fans around the world deserve to watch a fight that is all about the fighters, not about the referee."
      Ghanem said he did not pressure Halpern to pull out.
      "I talked to Mitch for a long time yesterday (Thursday)," Ghanem said. "I told him it was his own decision. I did not ask him to withdraw.
      "He is a great referee. He has nothing to be ashamed of. In my eyes, he can referee any big fight there is. Mitch will always have my blessing for any kind of fight."
      Halpern will not work any other fights on tonight's card.
      Lane, a Washoe County District Court judge, had not been assigned to work tonight's card. He will be paid $10,000, the same amount Halpern was to receive.