Mike Tyson claimed he did not know when or if he will fight again after the Nevada State Athletic Commission renewed his licence yesterday. After a four-hour hearing in Las Vegas commissioners voted four to one to allow Tyson to box again.

That clears the way for Tyson to make his comeback and it has been widely reported that he will do so at the end of this year, probably against the German Axel Schulz in America.

But Tyson, who was banned last year for twice biting Evander Holyfield's ears in a world title rematch on June 28th of last year, said: "I'm undecided when I'll fight again. I don't know whether I'm prepared to fight. I've been going through a lot of things."

Tyson, who was near tears as his supporters hugged him and patted on his back after the decision was announced, added: "I'm just happy I won."

Basketball legend Magic Johnson, who testified before the commission on Tyson's behalf, said: "He's been inactive a long time. We're going to bring him along very, very slowly."

Commission chairman Elias Ghanem said that Tyson had made many mistakes but deserved another chance. "I want to warn you, from my view, this will be your last chance," Ghanem said. "You will either conduct yourself in accordance with our rules and regulations, or you will probably never fight again in Nevada."

Tyson told the Nevada Athletic Commission that he had suffered long enough and needs to box to make a living.

Joining Johnson in testifying was Muhammad Ali, who told the commission that despite all of Tyson's problems he should be allowed to box again. "There are only a few punishments worse than being denied a right to make a living," Ali said in a statement read by his wife, Lonnie, who sat next to the ailing boxing great. Ali was banned from the sport for three and a half years for refusing military induction.

In one pointed exchange with James Nave - the only commissioner to vote against renewing Tyson's licence - Tyson said that he was humiliated by the hearing and the psychological tests the commission told him to undergo last month.

"Please don't torture me any longer, sir," Tyson said. "I made a mistake. Other fighters have made more. I'm just a human being trying to live my life."

With a couple of hundred people watching in the commissioners' hearing room, Tyson said that he had no one to blame but himself for biting Holyfield, but he once again said he was reacting to what he thought were intentional head-butts from the champion.

Tyson also denied accusations that he punched and kicked two men following a car accident in Maryland in August. "I'm not going to kill anybody. I'm not a mass murderer," Tyson told the commissioners when asked about his ability to control his temper. His wife, Monica, who was in the car with Tyson, told the commission she never saw her husband hit anybody following the accident.

Tyson's hearing came one month after he was told to undergo the psychological tests to help the officials make their decision. The doctors who examined Tyson tried to reassure the commissioners that the fighter most likely won't snap again in the ring, a conclusion they outlined in their report, released last week.

Dr Ronald Schouten, one of five doctors who examined Tyson at Massachusetts General Hospital, told the commissioners that the boxer's low self-esteem was a "chronic situation" but that he could be helped through weekly treatment.

He said Tyson was so upset by losing his licence that he most likely would not do anything to jeopardize it in the future. "The impact of losing his licence has been devastating," Schouten said. "He wants his job back." Dr Thomas Deters told the commissioners that allowing Tyson to fight again would have "therapeutic value." Tyson's advisers pushed for the earliest possible hearing so that Tyson could fight before the end of the year.

The boxer owes the Internal Revenue Service £8.6 million despite having made more than £66 million in purses since his release from prison in 1995.

But there are more potential problems ahead for the boxer. He is still on probation for his rape conviction, and could be sent back to prison if convicted on the assault charges from the car accident.