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Friday, May 19
 
British allow Tyson entry despite law

Associated Press

LONDON -- Although Mike Tyson will be allowed to enter Britain for another fight, the fight to keep him out isn't over.

The government's decision to allow Tyson into the country has provoked renewed outrage from politicians and women's rights groups who say the convicted rapist should be kept out.

"We shall be raising this in the Scottish parliament and also I hope that the Scottish Football Association will reconsider staging the event in view of the widespread revulsion and anger felt by the people of Scotland," lawmaker Hugh Henry said.

John Mason, a member of the Glasgow City Council and a member of its licensing committee, raised the prospect of banning the fight.

"It needs a license for public entertainment and also for safety, so I will certainly be opposing these in the council and I hope other councilors will be as well," Mason said.

Meanwhile, Tyson's promoter says the former heavyweight champion was targeted by women who tried to trap him into compromising situations during his last visit to Britain.

"There are a lot of times -- and I have seen this with my own eyes in London -- where women have tried to force themselves on him, checking into his hotel trying to compromise him," Frank Warren said today while announcing that the Tyson will fight Lou Savarese on June 24 at the 52,000-seat Hampden Park soccer stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.

Home Secretary Jack Straw's decided Tyson could enter Britain despite immigration laws stating that anyone who has served at least a one-year sentence for a crime should not be allowed into the country.

"We are very disappointed by Jack Straw's decision and very concerned that the feelings of Scottish people have been ignored," Oona Hay of the Rape Crisis Center in Glasgow said Thursday. "Our main concern is the message that is being sent to women and how seriously the government really takes violence against women."

A poll of 1,000 Scots by the Daily Record of Glasgow found almost two-thirds said they did not want Tyson in their country.

But Straw said Tyson had behaved himself during his last fight in Britain and turning him away might harm the nation's reputation for staging big sports events. Tyson knocked out Julian Francis in the second round in Manchester on Jan. 29.

Warren said more than 15,000 people had applied for tickets to the June fight even before the Glasgow venue had been chosen. Parkhead, the home stadium of the Celtic soccer club, also had been under consideration.

"I know that Mike can't wait to arrive following the immense reception he received when he came in January, and the letters of support that he has received from Scotland," Warren said. "He's here to fight and put on a great show for his fans."




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