Tyson pays tribute to Ali at gala

Former heavyweight Mike Tyson said he owes it all to Muhammad Ali.

Tyson, while arriving near the end of the Ali birthday tribute Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden, was cornered when he walked past a table of boxing writers.

"I was 10 years old and he comes into my reform school and that's when I got the inspiration to be a fighter. It was 1976 and I became a fighter because of him,” said Tyson, who later went to Ali's table to pay his respects.

Here are some red carpet tidbits from the Ali event and Keep Memory Alive’s “Power of Love” gala to benefit the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and the Muhammad Ali Center in his hometown of Louisville.

HOPKINS TO PLAY HITCHCOCK IN FILM

In a case of genius casting, Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins will be playing British director Alfred Hitchcock, known for his suspense thrillers.

Helen Mirren will play Hitchcock’s wife in “Alfred Hitchcock & the Making of Psycho.”

“He was a very complex guy and it’s a wonderful script,” said Hopkins, who said he met Hitchcock once at the legendary Ma Maison restaurant in Los Angeles.

Hopkins, 74, said he’s long been a fan of “Psycho,” adding it “scared the hell out of me.”

KING HINTS AT BIG PLANS

Longtime CNN talk show host Larry King, whose split with the cable network was announced last week, hinted that he’s got a big deal in the works.

“I can’t say but there’s an announcement coming out soon that I’m totally thrilled about and I don’t want to jinx it,” he said.

King added that his wife Shawn, who was skiing in Utah, has a record coming out that she recorded with Glen Campbell. “Two Beatles songs she put together. Paul McCartney told her to do it. Recorded it about a year ago before (Campbell) got sick.

STEINER TALKS BOXING

While chatting on the red carpet with King, Tony Danza pointed to his friend, Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Charlie Steiner, and tells King, “I went to high school with him.

“My mother one day came in, my old man was on the couch and says, ‘Ya know Matty, we gotta get out of this (Brookyn) neighborhood and he says why, ‘it’s so beautiful.’ And three months later we’re in Malverne (N.Y.).”

Steiner, the play-by-play voice of the Dodgers, told me that the last fight he covered as ESPN’s lead boxing analyst “was here at the (MGM) Grand Garden Arena when Holyfield got his ear bitten and I looked into the camera that night when I was at ESPN and said ‘Evander Holyfield and a portion of his right ear were rushed to the hospital tonight in separate cars.’

“And that’s when I said, I can’t do the fight game any more. First fight I ever covered was Ali-Holmes over at Caesars Palace in ’80. And the last one was Holyfield-Tyson in ’96.”

Steiner, 62, was a sports anchor with ESPN from 1988 to 2002. He’s been with the Dodgers for eight years and worked with the New York Yankees for three years.

Asked how he got his start in broadcasting: “I was in my mom and dad’s basement when I was six years old and I would turn the TV sound down. As a kid all I ever wanted to be was a Dodger announcer, but then they moved. I had to wait 50 years and travel 3,000 miles but it worked out OK.”

VICTORINO ON 'HAWAII 5-0'

Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies, who reports to spring training next week, said he recently shot a cameo on “HawaiI Five-0.” Victorino plays a businessman in the scene.

KRISTOFFERSON MEETS LEONARD AGAIN

Before heading down the red carpet, singer, songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson and his wife Lisa ran into boxing great “Sugar” Ray Leonard.

Lisa asked Leonard if he remembered the last time they bumped into each other.

“Of course, I remember,” said Leonard, wincing a bit at the memory.

The last time they saw each other was when the Kristoffersons' daughter slammed into Leonard while skiing at Squaw Valley.

Kristofferson told reporters he plans to campaign for President Barack Obama in the upcoming election.

“I hope to be around for another term,” said Kristofferson, who turns 76 in June.

— NORM CLARKE, Vegas Confidential