Tyson agrees to plea deal

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson agreed on Thursday to plead guilty to disorderly conduct instead of assault for his part last year in a Brooklyn hotel brawl.

The case had appeared set to go to trial when last-minute settlement negotiations broke down on Thursday morning, but just as jury selection was about to begin in Brooklyn criminal court, Tyson struck a plea deal.

The trouble-prone Tyson agreed to 100 hours of community service -- lecturing, training and instructing at Gleeson's boxing gym in Brooklyn and undergoing counseling. He also took responsibility for his actions.

"On June 21st 2003 I was in a situation and engaged in conduct very disorderly," Tyson told Brooklyn criminal court judge John Carter.

If Tyson completes his community service and counseling in accordance with the agreement, he will plead guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct, a lesser charge than three counts of assault the prosecution originally filed.

Tyson, 37, was charged with assaulting Samuel Velez and Nestor Alvarez last June at the Marriott Hotel after the pair approached the ex-champion for an autograph. Tyson pleaded not guilty to three counts of assault.

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Velez

and Alvarez are charged with menacing and harassing Tyson. They pleaded not guilty. Their case was scheduled to go to trial later this year.

Settlement negotiations had been under way for more than a month and a last-minute round of talks earlier on Thursday appeared to have been the last chance to break the impasse, but then prosecutors and Tyson's lawyers made a breakthrough.

"I'm happy with the outcome of the whole situation," Tyson told reporters outside the court.

Tyson has had several highly publicized run-ins inside and outside the ring. He served three years in prison for the 1991 rape of a former beauty queen and was suspended from boxing after he bit the ear of opponent Evander Holyfield in a 1997 heavyweight title bout.