A boxed solution to taxes

He-men, take a celebratory body-slam. Settling business disputes with your fists may not be as outmoded as you thought. Restaurateur Jim Mitchell, for instance, wants to free Pittsburgh’s restaurants of a much-loathed 10-percent local drink tax by going mano a mano with Allegheny County executive Dan Onorato while the community cheers them on.

According to an Associated Press report, Mitchell is willing to climb into the ring with Onorato at a charity boxing event. If Mitchell wins, Onorato drops the drink tax, which was levied Jan. 1 to fund transportation initiatives. If Onorato has his gloved hand raised by officials at the end of the match, Mitchell will drop his opposition to a countywide smoking ban, which he challenged last May in a lawsuit.

The AP reported that Onorato plans to stop by Mitchell’s Restaurant, Bar & Banquet Center on Friday for a cigar, a beer and a sit-down. If they added a poker game, men everywhere would feel a surge in The Force.

So far, there’ve been no sightings of Don King.