Tyson dinner is hailed as a success

Boxing legend Mike Tyson and his team of minders brought a Shropshire hotel to a near standstill when the ex-fighter appeared as guest of honour at a sportsman's dinner.

More than 300 fight fans, paying between £95 and £125 a time, were joined last night by hotel guests keen to catch a glimpse of the former heavyweight champion of the world at the Lion Quays Hotel at Gledrid, near Oswestry.

The event, one of several organised by Gledrid-based boxing promoter Mike Williams throughout the country, was a sell-out.

Before his appearance at the dinner 43-year-old Tyson told the Shropshire Star, in a rare newspaper interview, that he was delighted to be in the county. He said: "I have been to the UK about 40 times so there is hardly anywhere I have not been.

"The British public are very knowledgeable about boxing and it is a pleasure to meet them. I am always grateful for the welcome."

The former champ said he was aware not everyone was happy to see him visit Shropshire. Women's rights campaigners from Oswestry have spoken out against his visit saying they did not want to see Tyson, who was convicted of rape in 1992, make money from his notorious reputation.

Although there was no sign of any protests last night, the former boxer said he accepted his tour would not be to everyone's taste.

He said: "Some people want to bombard me again. It is something that happens. I have been a jerk. Anybody who did the things what I did was wrong."

Tyson, who in his boxing days was billed as The Baddest Man on the Planet, said he was keen to show the public he was no longer the same person who had had several brushes with the law in the past.

Iron Mike said: "People I meet are still in awe of me from my boxing but I want them to be in awe of me for the right reasons.

"I want them to be impressed by my humanity and my positivity."