After Mike Tyson bit both of Evander Holyfield’s ears during a wild night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on June 28, 1997, Mike Tyson was disqualified in the third round of the rematch and Holyfield was able to keep the WBA heavyweight belt.
At the same venue, Holyfield had shocked Tyson eight months prior by defying overwhelming odds and scoring a memorable 11th-round stoppage. Financially speaking, Holyfield vs. Tyson 2 was the biggest heavyweight championship bout to date, so the sequel was inevitable.
The following June in a rematch, when the two faced off, Holyfield headbutted the boxing icon, which caused him to lose his composure in the third round. “Iron” Mike took advantage of the fact that the two were about to win by biting each other’s ears and even removing a piece of his own.
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Mike Tyson Fined For Physically Assaulting Evander Holyfield During A Boxing Match
He was disqualified as a result, which cost him the battle and even sparked a brawl afterwards. The Brooklyn native was also required to pay a fine of $3 million. The former champion, nevertheless, has no regrets at all about what he did.
Since Buddy Baer was disqualified from his first fight against Joe Louis in May 1941, this was the first time a fighter had been declared the winner of a heavyweight title match. The Nevada State Athletic Commission fined Tyson 10% of his $3 million purse and placed him on a 12-month ban.
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The rematch was a complete failure, but the first fight ended in victory. Even though the episode is now frequently made fun of, it’s hard to overestimate the extreme hostility that the sport experienced for months afterwards. The only positive outcome was that Tyson and Holyfield grew close in the years that followed.
Amazingly, Lane would disqualify Henry Akinwande for continuous holding in a battle against WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis within two weeks after Holyfield-Tyson 2.
