Texas might welcome Mike
Tyson
Richard Whitrock
Let's face it: Mike Tyson has problems.
Aside from financial, legal and psychiatric problems, the latest in his
soap-opera life has
him scrambling to find a place to fight
Lennox Lewis.
In response, the boxing administrator for
the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations, Dickie Cole, who has
the authority
to approve boxing licenses, has come to
the rescue. As recently reported on the ESPN.com news service, Cole has
said Tyson
is more than welcome in Texas.
"We have no reason not to license him here,"
Cole told the New York Daily News. Cole was also quoted as saying, "There's
no
way we could deny him a license here.
We're not altar boys down here. We don't hold church in our boxing arenas
... I'd love to
see it (the Tyson-Lewis match) happen
in Texas."
Of course, there are other players in the
Tyson-Lewis scavenging ruckus. South Africa and Denmark have expressed
interest,
and the boxer has said that he would apply
for a California license and would like to have the match in Los Angeles.
The Tyson-Lewis fight was supposed to be
an injection into Las Vegas' badly sagging economy, an infusion that was
sorely
needed. Perhaps it wasn't such a good
call on the city's part to deny Tyson a boxing license.
Who cares about them, anyway? Tyson should
come to Texas. Aside from the virtual guarantee of a venue in this great
state,
Texans would be happy to have him.
Not all of us may care for the man or the
sport, but anybody who can punch through a punching bag deserves a chance
at the
title. Tyson is just now in the shape
he needs to be in to truly have a chance at the title, and far be it from
me to deny him that.
After the shocking upset by Buster Douglas,
Tyson hasn't been the same. The slew of legal battles and other problems
that have
plagued the boxing star haven't let up
enough for him to concentrate on boxing like he could.
In fact, Tyson is fighting more than just
legal battles and boxing matches. Ever since his rape conviction, he has
been fighting the
public. Everywhere he goes he is surrounded
by people who call him an animal and treat him worse than they used to.
Is it any
wonder that he has such a bad attitude?
Tyson, without a doubt, was one of the
greatest boxers of our time. Is he still? The only way to find out is to
let him fight. The man
hasn't had it easy, and while many of
his problems cannot be blamed on anyone but himself, he still deserves
the chance to see
if he can regain the title.
Lewis needs it for his own reasons, but
Tyson needs it because it is all he has left. For those who say Tyson is
not fit to be in a
boxing ring, that he is too unbalanced
and is a disgrace to the boxing world, I say let him who is without sin
cast the first stone.
My upbringing may not have been perfect,
but there are two lessons I took care to learn. One was to forgive and
forget, and the
other was that it is not my right to judge.
I doubt that any of us is in a position to judge Tyson, and until we are,
we should leave
him alone.
Come to Texas, Tyson, you are welcome here.
