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 The American boxer and convicted rapist is currently in Paris
having been due to arrive in Britain this week to plug his new
autobiography "Undisputed Truth."
New immigration rules, however, mean anyone with a previous
conviction resulting in a jail sentence of more than four years is
barred from entering the country.
Tyson, 47, was sentenced to six years in the 1992 for raping an
ex-beauty queen.
"There was a change in the UK immigration law in December 2012 of
which we were unaware," his publisher Harper Collins was quoted as
saying.
"For this reason Mike had to change location to Paris to salvage his
press obligations for the UK."
Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion of the world in 1986,
at age 20, and was the first heavyweight to own all three major
boxing world title belts a year later.
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The British Home Office confirmed it had changed the rules
last year.
"We would not comment on the details of an individual case," it
said in a statement.
"We reserve the right to refuse entry to the UK to anyone who is
convicted of serious criminal offences.
"In December 2012 we toughened up the rules on entering the UK,
replacing the previous discretionary approach with a clearer,
stronger framework including mandatory refusals based on the
length of, and time since, sentence."
Tyson has fought in Britain before, defeating Julius Francis in
Manchester in 2000 and Lou Savarese in Glasgow the same year.
(Reporting by Toby Davis; additional reporting by Freya Berry;
editing by Ed Osmond)
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