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Normally when I see two fighters tryn to get a license to fight at the same place, it seems it may be against each other or for a future fight. I think this would be great, regardless of the outcome, it may put a decent spark back into the HW division. I truely think both these guys has what it takes to be champion again (I could be dreaming too)
Washington, D.C., looks like it could be a could be a very busy place this summer for big-name, former undisputed heavyweight champions on the comeback trail.
Rid**** Bowe and Mike Tyson are both eyeing the nation's capital for a June fight, although not against each other.
Bowe's plans are more solidified that Tyson's. Bowe was granted a license Tuesday night by the D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission, vice chairman Michael Brown told ESPN.com.
Bowe
TysonAccording to Brown, Bowe attended the meeting and after being approved by a 2-0 vote (the third voting member of the panel was absent), he paid the $50 fee, thanked the commission and said, "It's good to be coming back home."
Bowe, who last fought in Washington in a 1993 title defense against Jesse Ferguson at RFK Stadium, lives in nearby Fort Washington, Md.
"We are pretty pleased when a hometown guy comes back," Brown said.
Bowe, 37, originally hoped to fight in Washington on April 23, but Brown said the fight would probably take place in June instead at the city's convention center.
Bowe (41-1, 33 KOs) won the first fight of his comeback on Sept. 25 when he scored a second-round knockout of Marcus Rhode in Oklahoma. It was Bowe's first fight since 1996.
Since then, his layoff has included retirement, 17 months in jail for a 1998 kidnapping of his first wife and their children, and questions about whether he had suffered brain damage during his ring career.
The Washington commission was aware of those questions, but "the doctors did an excellent job making sure everything is OK, and he was deemed fit to fight by District standards," Brown said. "From our standpoint, we did everything and more to make sure his safety and the legitimacy of the license was upheld."
Bowe previously was licensed in Oklahoma and Tennessee. A tentative March 25 fight in Utah is still going through the approval process.
Tyson, 38, is looking to rebound from a surprising knockout loss to unheralded Danny Williams in July. His camp is targeting Washington's MCI Center for a June 25 comeback fight.
Adviser Shelly Finkel said he hoped to arrange a fight there for Tyson, but nothing was definite. Tyson, whose ex-wife and children live in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Md., would need to re-apply for a license.
Tyson (50-5, 44 KOs) was licensed in Washington in 2002 as a prelude to his fight with then-champ Lennox Lewis taking place there. But Lewis didn't want to fight in Washington, and the bout wound up in Memphis. Tyson's D.C. license has since expired.
Finkel said Tyson wanted to fight in Washington because he remembers that commission chairman Arnold McKnight went to bat for him during the licensing process.
"Mike would love to fight in the area. He has never fought there before," Finkel said. "They licensed us there before, and Mike feels he owes it to Dr. McKnight to go back there. I think it's very realistic."
Said Brown: "We have not been formally contacted by Tyson or his people. Until we get an official request, it's just a lot of fishing around. You can't put much to it until there is an official communication."
Normally when I see two fighters tryn to get a license to fight at the same place, it seems it may be against each other or for a future fight. I think this would be great, regardless of the outcome, it may put a decent spark back into the HW division. I truely think both these guys has what it takes to be champion again (I could be dreaming too)
Washington, D.C., looks like it could be a could be a very busy place this summer for big-name, former undisputed heavyweight champions on the comeback trail.
Rid**** Bowe and Mike Tyson are both eyeing the nation's capital for a June fight, although not against each other.
Bowe's plans are more solidified that Tyson's. Bowe was granted a license Tuesday night by the D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission, vice chairman Michael Brown told ESPN.com.
Bowe
TysonAccording to Brown, Bowe attended the meeting and after being approved by a 2-0 vote (the third voting member of the panel was absent), he paid the $50 fee, thanked the commission and said, "It's good to be coming back home."
Bowe, who last fought in Washington in a 1993 title defense against Jesse Ferguson at RFK Stadium, lives in nearby Fort Washington, Md.
"We are pretty pleased when a hometown guy comes back," Brown said.
Bowe, 37, originally hoped to fight in Washington on April 23, but Brown said the fight would probably take place in June instead at the city's convention center.
Bowe (41-1, 33 KOs) won the first fight of his comeback on Sept. 25 when he scored a second-round knockout of Marcus Rhode in Oklahoma. It was Bowe's first fight since 1996.
Since then, his layoff has included retirement, 17 months in jail for a 1998 kidnapping of his first wife and their children, and questions about whether he had suffered brain damage during his ring career.
The Washington commission was aware of those questions, but "the doctors did an excellent job making sure everything is OK, and he was deemed fit to fight by District standards," Brown said. "From our standpoint, we did everything and more to make sure his safety and the legitimacy of the license was upheld."
Bowe previously was licensed in Oklahoma and Tennessee. A tentative March 25 fight in Utah is still going through the approval process.
Tyson, 38, is looking to rebound from a surprising knockout loss to unheralded Danny Williams in July. His camp is targeting Washington's MCI Center for a June 25 comeback fight.
Adviser Shelly Finkel said he hoped to arrange a fight there for Tyson, but nothing was definite. Tyson, whose ex-wife and children live in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Md., would need to re-apply for a license.
Tyson (50-5, 44 KOs) was licensed in Washington in 2002 as a prelude to his fight with then-champ Lennox Lewis taking place there. But Lewis didn't want to fight in Washington, and the bout wound up in Memphis. Tyson's D.C. license has since expired.
Finkel said Tyson wanted to fight in Washington because he remembers that commission chairman Arnold McKnight went to bat for him during the licensing process.
"Mike would love to fight in the area. He has never fought there before," Finkel said. "They licensed us there before, and Mike feels he owes it to Dr. McKnight to go back there. I think it's very realistic."
Said Brown: "We have not been formally contacted by Tyson or his people. Until we get an official request, it's just a lot of fishing around. You can't put much to it until there is an official communication."
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