By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

If the state antes up several million dollars to host the NFL Pro Bowl each year, what would it be willing to pay to bring a world heavyweight title fight here?

Where showcasing Mike Tyson is concerned, self-respect was too high of a price.

The Hawai'i State Boxing Commission reportedly had an opportunity to throw its name in the hopper of those offering themselves up for a shot at a championship fight and the circus that would have come with it.

Instead, in what has been described as an "unofficial" straw poll, the commissioners signaled a thumbs down with a 4-1 thanks-but-no-thanks "vote."

Whether the proposed Tyson-Lennox Lewis World Boxing Council-International Boxing Federation title fight would have ended up here even if the commissioners had voted unanimously in favor and done handstands downtown at noon was a long shot anyway.

The belief is that promoters have been looking for a handful of compliant commissions to leverage the best deal now that both the Nevada and New York state athletic commissions have already vetoed the idea. And just because Hawai'i might have been willing to license Tyson is no guarantee the fight would have been here.

With the rich carrot the promoters are waving — a $20 million deal for Tyson and the promise of millions more in tourism for the city that takes in the fight — somebody someplace will eventually take the fight unless the guest of honor is behind bars.

And while Hawai'i can certainly use an economic boost these days, the commission did the right thing in saying we're not that desperate, thank you.

It is a decision that took strength of conviction, a commodity in rare supply in the boxing industry these days where, as long as there is a buck to be made, almost anything goes.

Of course, the Hawai'i commission needed to look no further than its own history for inspiration on that count. In 1981 another promoter came promising riches and worldwide exposure if only Hawai'i would take in a fight that was having trouble finding a home.

The flamboyant Harold J. Smith tried to talk the commission into licensing a fading 39-year-old Muhammad Ali to fight European champ John L. Gardner here after several other groups, including Nevada, had refused. It would put Hawai'i on the map, Smith promised.

It came to an official vote and after Bobby Lee rode in from retirement on his white horse to cast the deciding ballot, the bout died a loud and controversial death.

But the wisdom of the decision was subsequently twice underlined when Smith was convicted of fraud and the extent of Ali's brain damage came to light.

Twenty-one years later, the commission has again taken the right stand for the right reasons.