Tyson Ready to Enter The Ring for Steele

Steele was ringside in June 2005 when Tyson -- once the most feared boxer in the world, winning his first 37 bouts -- left the MCI Center after losing the third of four fights in a comeback attempt.

Tyson was booed by many in the crowd of 15,732 for quitting, and one fan threw a cup of soda at him as he left the arena, published reports said. Tyson responded by using his middle finger to express an obscenity.

Although Steele has never talked much about his relationship with Tyson, the boxer's fame has ensured that the public record has plenty about it. Steele received some unwanted attention after trying to help his sister settle her divorce with Tyson without, in his words, having "the lawyers muddle everything."

While Steele was running for lieutenant governor four years ago, the state Democratic Party accused him of practicing law without a license, a matter that was eventually dropped.

And in 1998, when Steele was a candidate for state comptroller, he was on hand to lend support when Tyson pleaded no contest to assault charges. As Tyson was marched from a Montgomery County courtroom, he had only one thing to say to the waiting clutch of reporters: "Vote for Michael Steele."

Tyson said this week that he was "overwhelmed" by Steele's support for him at the time.

"I don't want him to jeopardize his career for me," he said. "He's just such a moral person. Boxing attracts scum. Being around him was a breath of fresh air."

Also this week, the lieutenant governor secured the support of another controversial boxing figure, promoter Don King, who offered this endorsement: "I must have an indictment list longer than his awards list."

Asked what to make of Steele's eclectic backers -- who include White House aide Karl Rove and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons -- Matthew A. Crenson, a Johns Hopkins University political science professor, sighed deeply. "This guy has a very strange collection of friends," he replied.

Staffer writer David Fahrenthold and staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.