full image Don King has been free to come and go as he pleases in England.

Mike Tyson, of all people, has shown that there are a lot of hypocrites at work for Her Majesty's Service. Full steam ahead for HMS Baloney. As political capital, Tyson appears to be very bankable on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The British Immigration Service originally said that Tyson may be sent home when he is scheduled to arrive Sunday at London's Heathrow airport. But Thursday, it was revealed he will be allowed to enter the country. The threat came about a month after it is announced he will fight Julius Francis on Jan. 29 at Manchester. The fight was in jeopardy. Tyson was almost a fighter without a fight. Where was this Immigration Service about four weeks ago? On holiday in front of a Las Vegas slot machine?

Come on.

It's clear that Tyson has become a pawn in the London mayoral race. Candidate Glenda Jackson, an actress and member of Parliament, has found a stage. Ban Tyson for the ballot box. Her Labour Party rivals, Frank Dobson and Ken Livingstone, have jumped on board. They, too, are saying that Tyson should be barred on the basis of an obscure law that is supposed to keep ex-felons off an island-nation that produced Jack The Ripper and a few battalions of soccer hooligans, of which Francis was a member.

This is no defense of Tyson. He is about as defensible as pornography, of which there is plenty in Britain, both homegrown and imported. But Tyson isn't under suspension in Nevada, New York, New Jersey or Britain. Jackson, Dobson and Livingstone went through the law books and discovered that any convict with more than a year in jail on his resume can be kept off the British shores. Tyson did three years on a 1992 rape conviction. Promoter Don King did more than a year on a manslaughter conviction, yet he has been allowed to promote in London.

Tyson, no.

King, yes????

Maybe, it has something to do with the promoter's last name and the British infatuation with royalty. The Brits couldn't say no to a King, could they?

Other than selling out the 21,000-seat Manchester Stadium within a few hours, Tyson apparently has no fans or business in England. That, at least, appears to be the thinking of Jackson, Dobson and Livingstone. But perhaps the actress, actors and politicians should study the power of the box office. Given Jackson's background, it's a surprise she doesn't understand it. A lot of people want to see Tyson. Perhaps, she can stand at the gate and attempt to bar Tyson's entry. Perhaps, she can explain how promoters are expected to make refunds on tickets that were sold a month ago. Perhaps, she can explain why she was so late in her attempt to bar the controversial heavyweight. Then again, that wouldn't be politically correct.

An element that makes this whole plot even more suspect is Frank Maloney, manager for Francis, as well as heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. He is an independent in the race for London mayor. A boxing manager in a political office seems unlikely. Then again, wrestler Jesse Ventura is Minnesota's governor. Maybe Maloney has a chance.

Tyson, himself, continues to be a candidate only for the rubber room. Rambling interviews from his training camp in Las Vegas make him sound like somebody who should be pitied instead of banned.

One day, he says he loves Britain.

"I have tons of friends there," he said. "More than in the U.S. There is a different mentality in England. They know where I come from. They know it's no fun being one of a black minority. They understand what it is to be locked up. In America, even a lot of black people treat me like a dog. But when I was in prison, I got 60 letters a day from England."

On another day, Tyson expressed respect for one of Britain's infamous criminals, Reggie Kray, who nailed the heads of his murder victims to the floor of a pub.

Tyson's penchant for unpredictability and stupidity is part and parcel of whom he happens to be. Like it or not, that's why he's a circus that never fails to attract an audience. But it is folly for politicians to bar him if boxing authorities won't. The attempt is part prohibition, part censorship. The only fools are the people who try it. If reports are accurate about Jackson's opposition to boxing, then she should step forward and try to ban the sport instead of the person. But that would be about an issue, which is something actresses and politicians never have understood in any nation.

Or any ring.

At the movies

Perhaps boxing should follow the old, upside-down cliche about life imitating art. There are more interesting films about boxing these days than there are fights. But there is also some of the same controversy.

Denzel Washington's critically acclaimed role as Rubin Carter in Hurricane includes a scene in which it appears he is robbed of a decision after a one-sided beating of former middleweight champ Joey Giardello in Philadelphia, a couple of years before Carter was framed in 1966 on a murder conviction. But people at ringside at the time and Giardello, himself, recall a far different fight. Giardello, now 69, relied on his jab to score a convincing decision. Giardello is unhappy at the way he has been portrayed. By implication, he says he has been cast as a racist. He is considering legal action against the filmmakers. In an attempt to explain their father's side of the story, his sons have established a web site, www.joeygiardello.com. It will include footage of the Giardello-Carter bout.

Meanwhile, ABC's treatment of Muhammad Ali in King of the World virtually ignored Angelo Dundee's critical role as trainer. Without Dundee, Ali never would have emerged, much less survived, in the ring against Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier and George Foreman.

Play It To The Bone -- a Ron Shelton-directed movie that was filmed last year during Oscar De La Hoya's victory over Oba Carr -- might be the best of the bunch. Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas play roles based on a story of two undercard fighters who agree to a bout on a 1961 Las Vegas card featuring Sugar Ray Robinson. They jump into a car in East Los Angeles, drive across the desert and step through the ropes seconds before the opening bell. They fought with a furor that is remembered today.

While still at the movies, here's an unofficial pound-for-pound rating of the best five actors to play boxers:

1. -- Robert DeNiro: He made Jake LaMotta look like a sympathetic figure in Raging Bull.
2. -- Kirk Douglas: With that chin, he was a target for every heavyweight looking for an easy knockout. No truth to the rumor Tyson wants to fight him.
3. -- Marlon Brando: He could have been a contender.
4. -- Ali: Nobody ever played him as well as he played himself.
5. -- Sylvester Stallone: If he hadn't been so good in the first Rocky, we wouldn't have had to endure all those sequels.

Briefly...

• Party pooper: Who could have guessed Johnny Tapia would have been too tired to celebrate his victory last Saturday over former World Boxing Organization bantamweight champion Jorge Eliecer Julio. He went straight to bed. Tapia is hoping to avenge his loss to Paulie Ayala, who took the World Boxing Council's 118-pound title from him. But the ever-resilient Tapia says he wants to fight Ayala at a heavier weight. "Ayala needs me more than I need him," he said. "If they offered me to fight Ayala at 118, I might look into it. But I don't think so."
• From Everlast to NASCAR: Apparently the on-again, off-again bout between David Reid and Felix Trinidad is on again. King has applied with the Nevada Athletic Commission for the same March 4th date in Las Vegas that he announced a couple of months ago. He hopes to stage it at Caesars Palace. Trouble is, Paulie Ayala is scheduled to defend his title against Jimmie Bredahl on the same night in a Bob Arum-promoted bout at Mandalay Bay. Predictably, Arum is enraged. But there's reason to think King is only woofing. That weekend also includes a NASCAR race in Las Vegas. "I wanted to go with the auto race," said King, Trinidad's promoter. "I am going to tie in with Jeff Gordon and all the NASCAR drivers. Tito will meet Jeff Gordon. We may even sponsor a car." They should call it The Bandit.

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