Former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson walks into Maricopa County Superior Court in Mesa, Arizona Nov. 19, 2007. Tyson was sentenced to three years probation and one day in jail for drug possession and driving under the influence. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was sentenced to one day in jail instead of four years, for cocaine possession and driving under the influence, media reported Tuesday.

    The 41-year-old boxer who had pleaded guilty in September to a single felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI count will begin serving his jail time Tuesday morning.

    "I take responsibility for my actions," Tyson told Superior Court Judge Helene Abrams.

    In addition to the jail time, he was also ordered to serve three years' probation on each count, pay a fine, submit to drug testing and perform 360 hours of community service.

    Tyson, the "Iron Mike," was arrested on Dec. 29 after he had spent the evening at a night club in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was seen driving erratically and almost collided with a police vehicle. An officer said he saw Tyson wiping a white substance off the dashboard of his black BMW, and that his speech was slurred.

    Authorities said they found 2.16 grams of cocaine in several bags in Tyson's pocket and in his car.

    Tyson told officers later that he used cocaine "whenever I can get my hands on it," and that he preferred to smoke it in Marlboro cigarettes with the tobacco pulled out, according to court documents.

    He also told police that he used marijuana that day and was taking the antidepressant Zoloft, the documents state.

    Prosecutors had sought one year in prison for the boxer, saying he was a repeat offender with a violent past and that the court needed to send a strong message.

    County Attorney Andrew Thomas said he was disappointed in the judge's ruling.

    "His intentional criminal conduct seriously endangered the public," said Thomas, in a prepared statement.

    "DUI is a very serious offense which too often results in death or injury to others."

    Tyson attorneys had argued for probation because he had admitted his mistakes and was trying to battle his addictions. He had passed 29 straight drug tests, said his attorneys.

    Tyson, who became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 20, spent three years in an Indiana prison following a 1992 rape conviction and another spell in jail for two misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland in 1999.

    His career hit a low point when he bit Evander Holyfield's ear during a fight in 1997.

    Recently the former fighter had been trying to revive his career with a series of boxing exhibitions.

    (Agencies)

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson turns away from the judge after hearing his sentence in Maricopa County Superior Court in Mesa, Arizona, Nov. 19, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>