Boxing: Iron Mike's Next Bout in Court

NY Post - December 18, 2003


A judge yesterday denied motions to dismiss the case against two men charged with menacing boxer Mike Tyson earlier this year, and instead set Jan. 20 as a date for hearings and trial.

The proceedings in Brooklyn Criminal Court are expected to be a little more orderly than the one on June 21 between Iron Mike and the two men, Samuel Velez, 31, and Nestor Alvarez-Ramos, 24.

The three are trading legal punches - Tyson is charged with misdemeanor assault, harassment and disorderly conduct; the fans are charged with menacing and harassment.

The fight broke out after the men sought Tyson's autograph. The fans' lawyer, Earl Brown, has said Tyson attacked the men after remarking, "Get the f- - - away from me."

But Tyson's lawyers have said their client acted in self-defense after Velez told Tyson his hands might be fast but a bullet is faster, then motioned as if he was going for a gun.

Tyson punched Velez, who suffered two black eyes and a head gash. He then decked Alvarez-Ramos, who had come at him with a metal stanchion, police said.