SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Mike Tyson will train in the Dominican Republic for his fight with Lennox Lewis, and local boxing officials hope to land the match as well.

Tyson is to arrive March 1 in the Caribbean country to begin a rigorous training program, Sterling McPherson, who is part of Tyson's management team, said Thursday during a news conference.

National Professional Boxing Commissioner Rafael Isenia said he would give Tyson a license to fight in Santo Domingo.

"It would be great for us if Tyson decides to fight in the Dominican Republic. We'd welcome him with open arms," Isenia said.

The fight was originally scheduled for April 6 in Las Vegas, but Nevada officials denied Tyson a license last month in the aftermath of an altercation at a news conference in New York.

California, Texas, Michigan, Georgia, England, Denmark, the Netherlands, Lebanon and the Philippines are among the sites floated by Tyson's supporters as possible venues.

Meanwhile, Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster said the state would not grant Tyson a boxing license. Lewis is welcome to box in Louisiana, but not Tyson, Foster said Thursday.

"It would be a big, big moneymaker for the state, but I don't think we want to make money that way," Foster told listeners to his live radio call-in show. "If we're going to have those kind of sports, it ought to at least be with role models, and he's not a role model."

Foster said Tyson supporters have made several informal overtures over the past month, including a call Wednesday, about the possibility of holding the fight in Louisiana.

Foster said he sent word to the state boxing commission that he doesn't want Louisiana hosting the bout.

"I can guarantee we're not going to do it," the governor said. "He's just not a role model for anybody."

Tyson has had trouble finding a state to grant him a permit to fight Lewis, the WBC-IBF heavyweight champion. The match originally was scheduled for April 6 in Las Vegas, but Nevada officials denied Tyson a license last month after Tyson had an altercation with Lewis at a news conference in New York.

The latest possibility seems to lie with Washington, where the D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission voted Tuesday to hold a hearing March 12 about the proposed June 8 fight at the MCI Center.

Several other states have been listed as possible sites for the fight, including California, Texas, Michigan and Georgia. Georgia and California's governors have indicated they aren't supportive of holding the Lewis-Tyson fight in their states.

Tyson's past includes a three-year prison sentence for rape, a one-year sentence for a road rage assault and a one-year boxing suspension for biting Evander Holyfield's ears during a fight.