Boxing: Tyson suspended and $30m purse withheld

The Nevada Athletic Commission yesterday suspended Mike Tyson from boxing with immediate effect, pending the outcome of a further disciplinary hearing, for biting the ears of his opponent, Evander Holyfield, in Saturday night's world title fight. His $30m (pounds 20m) purse is also to be withheld and kept in an interest-bearing account until the penalty is decided.

Mike Tyson's representatives at the hearing, which took place in Las Vegas, said that he was prepared to waive the 30 days' notice for such a full hearing to take place. That hearing is likely to convene next week, and the boxer is widely expected to face a ban, that could be months, or years, and a heavy fine.

In an abject apology read out in Las Vegas on Monday - his birthday - Tyson had pleaded to be allowed to continue his career. "I am just 31 years old, in the prime of my career, and I have made it this far because I had no other way," he said.

Tyson added that he had "just snapped" after Holyfield had headbutted him - "accidentally or not" - and asked for a chance to redeem himself. He also pledged to seek medical help, perhaps including psychiatric advice, and said that he would accept whatever punishment the commission imposed, without question, "like a man".

The apology was accepted, albeit tepidly, by Holyfield who described it as "a good gesture, but the fans deserve it the most". Holyfield was speaking from the golf course, where he was engaged in some post-fight relaxation.

Yesterday, Holyfield's lawyer, Jim Thomas, stressed that acceptance of Tyson's apology did not mean that the punishment should not be harsh. "He certainly accepts the apology," Thomas said, "and hopes that it's sincere. He doesn't have any personal desire to hurt or punish Mike Tyson. Evander wants something done that will help preserve the integrity of the sport, and for that to happen some very meaningful sanctions need to be issued by the commission."

Thomas also indicated that Holyfield had, at present, no intention of suing Tyson. Las Vegas police, who were called to the ring on Saturday night to quell the post-match disturbance, were also thought not to be bringing charges against Tyson, despite reports that Tyson had tried to strike one or more of the officers.

Meanwhile Tyson's apology was creating almost as much controversy as the bites he had inflicted on Holyfield. While some accepted his pleas in mitigation - that "he had just snapped", that many athletes had made mistakes at the height of battle and subsequently been forgiven, and that he was still handicapped by his harsh childhood - others were far more cynical.

Kevin Rooney, Tyson's former trainer, contrasted the boxer's apology with his aggressive self-defence immediately after the fight. "He made a fool of himself and a fool of the sport on Saturday. Apologising was something he had to do," Rooney said.

Kathy Duva, a former promoter for Holyfield, said: "It rings hollow to apologise days later. If he were really contrite he would have done it Saturday night. Why do it today? I'd just take a wild guess and say that somebody told him he'd better say something for the people who were threatening to take away his licence."

Ferdie Pacheco, boxing analyst for the television station Showtime, also belittled Tyson's apology: "Everybody's contrite after you get caught... The con has worked for him so many times. It's so easy, he knows how to bow and scrape if he had to get by."

The black civil rights campaigner the Reverend Jesse Jackson disagreed. Tyson, he said, had "admitted, painfully, before the world a gross error". It was time to "let the healing begin".