Phoenix police probe alleged assault by Tyson

Police are investigating allegations that boxer Mike Tyson assaulted a stripper and her boyfriend after an argument at a topless bar in Phoenix, but the fighter denies attacking anyone, officials said on Monday.

A 25-year-old dancer and her 23-year-old companion claim the assault occurred after an altercation with Tyson early on Sunday morning at the Hi-Liter Gentlemen's Club, Phoenix police spokesman Randy Force said.

There were no visible injuries to either alleged victim and witnesses gave conflicting reports of the incident, Force said. Tyson left the premises before officers arrived.

Darrow Soll, Tyson's Phoenix-based attorney, said the claims are false, adding that Tyson had not been interviewed by authorities in connection with the incident.

"The investigation is ongoing, but Mr. Tyson adamantly denies assaulting anyone," said Soll, who said he has recorded statements from witnesses backing the boxer's story.

In February, Las Vegas prosecutors declined to file sexual assault charges against Tyson in two separate cases, saying it was impossible to determine if the women involved were raped or had consensual sex with him.

Tyson, who will fight Lennox Lewis on June 8 in Memphis, Tennessee, served three years in prison in Indiana following a 1992 rape conviction. In 1999, Tyson was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest to two misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland. He was released after 3-1/3 months.

The Lewis-Tyson fight originally was scheduled for April 6 in Las Vegas. But after Tyson and Lewis brawled at a New York news conference on Jan. 22, Lewis claimed Tyson had bitten his leg and the Nevada State Athletic Commission refused to grant Tyson a license.

Tyson was banned from boxing for a year after biting a chunk out of Evander Holyfield's ear in their world title bout in Las Vegas in 1997.