[Neville:] And welcome back to TALKBACK LIVE, everybody. Before the break, Reggie here wanted to weigh in on whether or not you think Tyson should fight in
[D.c. Reggie:] Definitely. Let him fight. I love the sport of boxing. I'm a boxing fan. Mike Tyson is a great fighter. Lennox Lewis is a great fighter. The whole world wants to watch the fight. It is going to generate a lot of revenue for the city of D.C. And I guarantee you everyone here is going to be at a fight party. Everyone here is going to either buy the pay-per-view. Arthel told me she is coming to my house to watch to my fight party.
[Neville:] You see what happens when I forget to wear my ring for one day?
[Reggie:] And I guarantee you Rob is going to watch the fight.
[Becker:] You are wrong. I am not going to watch it.
[Reggie:] I'm sure Rob is a fan of boxing. And, Rob, you are welcome to come to my fight party as well.
[Becker:] While I'm very happy you invited me, I must respectfully decline.
[Reggie:] Once again, in my opinion, Mike Tyson is not a saint. He's not a preacher. I don't really care what Mike Tyson does outside of the ring. No one should emulate Mike Tyson to be a role model. But Mike Tyson is a great fighter. And it is going to be a great fight. And I'm sure the world wants to watch it. It is just too bad that Vegas did not allow the fight to happen in Vegas, because I love Vegas. I love to go to gamble.
[Neville:] Well, thank you, Reggie, for weighing in on that. I appreciate your comments. And I think we have a caller now, Brian or Ryan from...
[Caller:] Yes, Ryan.
[Neville:] Go ahead, Ryan. What do you have to say?
[Caller:] Well, I think that Tyson is basically an animal. He has bitten people twice. He has been convicted of rape. I think that what we should do for Lennox Lewis is, the first time he fought Holyfield, he was obviously robbed. They should let the fight go on in London. And maybe, just maybe, Lennox Lewis will pound some sense into Mike Tyson. And that is pretty much all I have to say.
[Neville:] Joe or Rob, go ahead and respond.
[Madison:] Well, I want to make something clear. I am not a fight fan, even though my grandfather was a prize fighter. I am not going to the fight, because I certainly can't afford the ticket. And doubt if I am even going to watch it on pay-per-view. What I am saying is and I am not a fan of Mike Tyson. I have three daughters, and I don't want any of them to bring him home. This is not what it is about. The decision by the commission is going to be made on economic and legal reasons. You know, we have NFL players that are peeping through holes drilled in locker rooms to watch women take showers. No one is suggesting that we not play...
[Becker:] Right. And they have gotten sued. And they have been sued.
[Madison:] No one is suggesting that we not have NFL games. We have rap artists that rent out facilities all over this country that have misogynistic lyrics, some of them very racist lyrics, but yet we still have these concerts. And Hugh Grant should never be allowed to make another movie or have it distributed if we want to play that kind of game.
[Becker:] There is a difference here?
[Neville:] What's the difference, Rob?
[Madison:] Yes, what's the difference?
[Becker:] I'll tell you. We have a public body regulating the situation. And they have to use their discretion. It is not a question of: Does Tyson have a right? He does not a right to fight anywhere until someone gives him a license. And when this body is using their discretion and representing the city and, to some extent, I would say even the country, they should keep in mind what this says to people. It says you to people: Look, you can do all of these things and you can still make millions and millions of dollars. It is really OK. We say it is not OK, but it is really OK, because you can make a lot of money. And I think it is about time this commission which, by the way, I do not know if you are aware of this. This commission has an inborn conflict of interest. They, on the one hand, promote fights and draw the fighter to come to Washington and then they regulate it. In fact, in particular, Michael Brown, the vice chairman of this committee, he brought in he has been recruiting Tyson for weeks. And now this same guy is going to vote on whether it's OK. What do you think is going to happen tonight?
[Madison:] This same guy is a very distinguished individual in our community.
[Becker:] Yes, that's right. He paid a $5,000 fine for illegal campaign contributions five years ago.
[Neville:] What does that have to do with the subject, Rob? Rob, come on.
[Madison:] This same guy is a very. He is a son of a very good friend of mine, the late Ron Brown. He is a distinguished individual. My point is that there are a lot of cab drivers, a lot of maids, a lot of hotel managers, and, you know, quite honestly, a lot of people around this CNN studio who want this fight.
[Neville:] We have got an interesting caller now. His name is Phil. He's in Arizona. And he used to be on the boxing commission in Arizona. Phil, what do you have to say about all of this?
[Caller:] Thank you for taking my call. I am a past chairman of the Arizona State Boxing Commission. First of all, I would like to say that any fighter that we find to be suspended in D.C. or any other state, when they come to Arizona, we reciprocate by not allowing them to fight, with our suspension relevant to theirs. And the other point is that D.C. needs the money. Well, so does Phoenix. So does Tucson. And so does New York and Detroit and every other city in the country. And we do not allow them to just take any fight they want once they've got a suspended fighter. And the last part is that Tyson is a convicted felon. He is a public batterer. And he is a wife beater. And, frankly, this state wouldn't have someone like that in the ring.
[Neville:] You know what? Joe, excuse me. I would like to hear a woman's opinion in response to what the caller just said.
[Helen:] Well, I just believe very strongly that there are just more things in life more important than just money: principle and role models. And I believe that what Mike Tyson needs is he is out of control and he needs to be in a mental institution. That is my personal opinion.
[Neville:] Thank you, Helen. Go ahead, guys.
[Madison:] Like I said, I am not a psychiatrist. I have all the same feelings at some point in time. All I am saying to you, though, and this comparing the city, outside of federal government, the No. 1 industry in Washington, D.C. is tourism. And all I am saying is, if people were coming to Washington, D.C., if their schoolchildren were coming here on their spring breaks and their summer, maybe this wouldn't even be an issue. But the mayor has an obligation to try and find revenue for this city and get it back on its feet. We were hit hard by the terrorist attack, like New York was. And New York received a tremendous billion-dollar bailout. Washington, D.C. did not get that. So, all I am saying is, I agree with the attitude everybody has about Tyson. But if that is the way you feel, there would be a lot of people who wouldn't be in sports. Didn't we just see Darryl Strawberry?
[Neville:] Yes.
[Madison:] And excuse me.
[Becker:] Strawberry is a different issue. He does not hurt people and he has a problem with cancer. That's a completely different issue from Mike Tyson. We cannot put them together.
[Madison:] Of course it is different, but he obviously can't be a good role model. And they are getting ready to bring him back to New York to work for the Yankees.
[Becker:] No, I don't believe they are.
[Madison:] Yes, they are.
[Neville:] Joe, Rob, we can go on with it, because there are lots of other comparisons we can make to this story.
[Madison:] Yes.
[Neville:] But I do have to go now. But, Joe, can you do me a favor, please, when you see Mr. Mayor, Anthony Williams? Let him know that I was not calling him a pimp.
[Madison:] I think he understands.
[Neville:] I'm asking the questions.
[Madison:] I understand.
[Neville:] OK. All right.
[Madison:] All right.
[Neville:] Joe Madison and Rob Becker, thanks so much for being here today.
[Becker:] Thank you.
[Neville:] All right, still ahead: David Letterman's new deal. Is Dave worth it? We will talk about that when we come back. [Begin Video Clip, "the Late Show With David Letterman"]
[David Letterman:] What I have decided to do and this has not been a very easy decision for me I have decided to stay here at CBS. And I want to thank...