MESA, Arizona: Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, who pleaded guilty in September to drug possession and driving under the influence (DUI), was sentenced by a judge on Monday to 10 days in jail, but will only serve one.

In addition to jail time for the driving offense, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Helene Abrams ordered Tyson to serve three years' probation on each count and perform 360 hours of community service.

The 41-year-old former fighter was arrested on December 29 when he was spotted driving his black BMW erratically and nearly collided with a police vehicle. Tyson had just left a nightclub in Scottsdale, Arizona.

There were 2.16 grams of cocaine in several bags in his possession at the time and traces of marijuana in his system, prosecutors told the court in September.

Prosecutors had sought one year in prison for the former fighter, saying he was a repeat offender with a violent past and that the court needed to send a strong message.

County Attorney Andrew Thomas said he was disappointed in the judge's ruling.

"His intentional criminal conduct seriously endangered the public," said Thomas, in a prepared statement. "DUI is a very serious offense which too often results in death or injury to others."

Tyson attorneys had argued for probation because he had admitted his mistakes and was trying to battle his addictions.

Since his arrest, Tyson had undergone treatment at a California rehabilitation center and worked with children preaching a message of staying sober and keeping off drugs. His attorney said in court he had passed 29 straight drug tests.

"If you do good deeds and you help other people recover, alternatives to imprisonment are the better route," attorney David Chesnoff said outside the courthouse.

Tyson left the court without speaking to reporters. He will report to jail on Tuesday morning, his attorney said.

He faced a maximum of three years and nine months in prison for felony possession of drugs and another six months in jail on the misdemeanor DUI charge. Tyson pleaded guilty to the charges in September under an agreement with prosecutors.

Authorities said he revealed his cocaine addiction during the arrest and admitted to using the drug that same day.

Tyson spent three years in an Indiana prison following a 1992 rape conviction and another spell in jail after pleading no contest to two misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland in 1999.

The man known as "Iron Mike" shocked the world and was banned from boxing for a year when he bit a chunk out of Evander Holyfield's ear during a title bout in 1997 in Las Vegas. He finished his career with a 50-6 record with 44 knockouts.

Agencies

(China Daily 11/21/2007 page23)