New Zealand Bars Mike Tyson After Outcry From Women’s Groups

Former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson has been barred from New Zealand, where he planned to give a talk and meet the Maori people who inspired his infamous facial tattoo.

Iron Mike had initially been given permission to enter New Zealand because a children’s charity would have benefited from the proceeds of his appearance. But that charity, the Life Education Trust, removed its support this week over concerns about Tyson’s character. Women’s rights groups in particular objected to Tyson’s visa because of his 1991 conviction for rape.

Tyson’s planned trip down under is also in question because Australia has a strict character test for visa applicants that can exclude people who have spent more than a year in prison. It’s unclear if it includes a clause about ear biting as well.

A spokesman for Australia’s immigration office said Tyson’s potential entry is “still pending.” If the visa doesn’t come through, perhaps this time the ex-champ really will, as he once put it,  “fade into ’bolivian.”