When Mike Tyson Bit Off Another Boxer’s Ear
Tom Casino/Getty ImagesBoxer Mike Tyson was at the center of one of the most shocking 1990s scandals.
In the 1990s, Mike Tyson was considered one of the greatest boxers to ever live. In 1990 and then later in 1996, he was the highest paid athlete in the world, and his fans loved his fierceness in the ring. But Tyson became the focus of a major scandal in 1997 when he bit off an opponent’s ear.
The infamous bite occurred on June 28, 1997, during a match between Tyson and Evander Holyfield for the WBA heavyweight championship in Las Vegas.
Holyfield had previously shocked boxing fans by beating Tyson in 11 rounds back in November 1996, and he brought the same relentless energy to their match in June 1997. Holyfield dominated Tyson in the first couple of rounds of their match — and soon the crowd was chanting Holyfield’s name.
Shelka04/Wikimedia CommonsEvander Holyfield in 2007.
In the third round, Tyson completely lost his temper. He spit out his mouthpiece and bit Holyfield’s right ear, tearing off a part of it and spitting it onto the ground. Then, Tyson bit Holyfield’s other ear.
“I cannot tell why exactly I acted like I did, other than to say when the butting occurred and I thought I might lose because of a severely — of a cut above my eye, I just snapped,” Tyson later explained.
But boxing officials were so outraged that they wouldn’t accept any excuses. As a result of this scandal, Mike Tyson was disqualified from the fight, fined more than $3 million, and had his boxing license temporarily suspended.
