Newz Forum: BOXING: Tyson avoids jail with plea bargain

Associated Press - February 26, 2004

NEW YORK (AP) - Mike Tyson avoided a return to jail on Thursday by agreeing to plead guilty to disorderly conduct in a brawl with two men outside a Brooklyn hotel last year.

The former heavyweight champion's lawyer, Mel Sachs, called the agreement a ``fair and equitable resolution of this matter.''

Tyson was at the Brooklyn courthouse during the negotiations, appearing relaxed as he flipped through a catalogue of boxing memorabilia or read the newspaper.

Under the agreement, he will perform 100 hours of community service, teaching and instructing children in boxing, Sachs said.

Once that is completed, other charges against Tyson will be dropped and he will plead guilty to disorderly conduct. No court date was immediately set.

Tyson's lawyers described the violation as equivalent to a traffic ticket, although prosecutors pointed out that in some cases it can carry a 15-day jail sentence.

Tyson initially was charged with assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. He had faced up to a year in jail if convicted.

The 37-year-old Tyson was arrested after an early morning brawl with Samuel Velez and Nestor Alvarez-Ramos, who allegedly threatened him last June while the boxer waited for a ride to the airport.

Velez and Alvarez-Ramos are awaiting trial on charges of menacing Tyson before the fight began.

In December, a judge rejected Tyson's bid to have the case thrown out and ordered him to go on trial. Attorneys for Tyson had argued he was acting in self-defense when he battered the pair.

This case was the latest legal travail for Tyson, who was jailed in 1992 for raping a beauty pageant contestant, and again in 1999 for assaulting two Maryland motorists.

Tyson hasn't fought in a year, since knocking out Clifford Etienne in 49 seconds.

I didnt think at all that these charges were necessary in the first place, but hes not in jail, maybe if he was in jail his debt problem would go away.

These kind of things are going to plague Tyson forever,sadly he is not the fighter he was,he must still have the power and stuff but it seems like he has lost the will to win.I would just like to see him have a fight like the Tyson of old just one last time.

Yeah tyson was a fantastic fighter but as you say things like this will continue to happen to him,i could see him ending up a bum and most prob not seeing his 50th birthday.