[ BOXING ]
Adviser says Tyson will
not fight in HawaiiFinkel says there is no contract
between Tyson and a K-1 fighter
Mike Tyson's proposed fight in Hawaii may end up being contested where so many of Tyson's other fights have been held -- in the court room.
Shelly Finkel, Tyson's adviser, told the Star-Bulletin yesterday that as far as he is concerned, there is no contract between his fighter and K-1, a mixed martial arts group that proposed a boxing match between Tyson and Jerome Le Banner to the Hawaii state boxing commission this month.
"They breached the contract, we are not fighting in Hawaii," Finkel said.
Because the contract prohibits any of the participants from talking about it, Finkel declined to say what the specific breach was other than to say submitting a K-1 fighter as a prospective opponent was out of line.
Finkel has changed his stance since last week when he told the Star-Bulletin that the contract would be honored as long as a suitable opponent was brought before him.
K-1 president Scott Coker, who has a contract signed by Tyson for his comeback fight, is not going down without a fight, though.
"He (Finkel) is greatly mistaken," Coker said. "If anyone breached the contract, it is Mike. We still have Sept. 11 and are going forward. We are not going to walk away from this."
But a contract fight may not be Coker's only problem. Forcing Tyson to do something he doesn't want to do is another one.
During a press conference for Tyson's upcoming bout against Danny Williams in Louisville on July 30, the former champion said that he chose Kentucky for its ease of obtaining a license. Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher has since announced that he will restructure his commission for the way it handled licensing Tyson without a hearing.
"No one asked me anything here," Tyson said. "I wasn't willing to go through any hearings. If so, I wouldn't have (fought) here."
Alan Taniguchi, Executive Officer of the Hawaii State Boxing Commission, has held firm in his stance that Tyson would be welcome in Hawaii only if he passes a physical and appears before the commission.
Finkel confirmed that Tyson would "probably not" fight in Hawaii if he had to face the commission, but added that the prospect of a Tyson bout in Hawaii is nothing more than speculation.
"It's irrelevant," Finkel said. "Unless another group comes up with an event in Hawaii, Mike will not fight there."