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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Tyson’s fight here reason
to be excitedBIG news today that Mike Tyson, the boxer formerly known as the "Baddest Man on the Planet," is going to bring his brand of madness to our humble island home for the second fight of his latest comeback.
(Car commercial fine print: Pending legal documents, contracts, a pre-fight physical and his not biting anyone during an official licensing hearing before the State Boxing Commission.)
Really. If you read the sports section first, go ahead, grab A-1.
"This," said Scott Coker, CEO of K-1, the company that would be putting on the fight, "is going to be the mega event K-1 has ever put together. This is like the Super Bowl for us."
And us, too.
At least.
How does something like this happen?
It's been a journey.
"Since August of last year," a visibly relieved Coker said. "That's when we started the courting process. It's been a very long courting process, to get him."
And his entourage. And wait a minute. Isn't he broke? How does he still have an entourage?
Oh.
"It's very expensive to court Mike Tyson," Coker said. "But we did it for eight months."
And there was the dance, too. This has been going on for weeks, since the commission's May meeting. Initial contact was made by a man on the ground, a friend of a friend.
K-1 needed to hear that Tyson would be "welcomed." The Boxing Commission insisted proper protocol be followed, no exceptions.
A sportswriter wanted to run with it right now.
How many phone calls in those three weeks?
Yesterday, everyone heard what he or she wanted to hear. Everybody did what he or she had to do. K-1 flew in. The commission, conditionally, uttered the magic word. Coker, in turn, promised his camp is happy to meet every state law.
Tom Moffatt did that voodoo that he does.
And everybody smiled. Couldn't help it.
"It's in motion," Coker said.
It's in fast-forward now. Moffatt has a pile of posters already printed. Coker is on the phone with pay-per-view prospects as I type.
The Super Bowl is coming to town.
Barring a biting (and paperwork shouldn't hurt, since K-1 manages the whole thing), they will have made it happen.
The commissioners can only regulate the sport, not promote it.
But they can be happy when promotion comes their way.
They can feel good about yesterday, and they do.
And they should.
There was intrigue even into Wednesday night. K-1 has the contract for Tyson's comeback fight, and wanted Hawaii. But Mike's manager, Shelly Finkel (and multiple calls to his New York office have not been returned over the past two weeks), was apparently working his own deal, in Louisville. Try to stop him.
It was a possible train wreck. Potential legal action.
Instead, compromise. Two fights. Hawaii gets the second.
This is exciting. I'm excited. Are you excited? I'm excited.
Yesterday Coker seemed happy. And a little tired.
He should be both.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com