A quarter of a century has passed since the famous ear-biting incident involving Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield…
What happened to Holyfield’s ear bitten by Tyson 25 years ago? It has been 25 years since Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ear. Photo: LATimes June 28 marked the 25th anniversary of one of the most unusual and iconic moments in boxing and sports history: Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield’s ear in their rematch.
On February 11, 1990, in Tokyo, Japan, Tyson lost to Buster Douglas. In 1992, he was imprisoned after being accused of rape by Desiree Washington. In 1995, Tyson was released from prison, and in 1996, he suffered his second defeat in his professional boxing career when Evander Holyfield knocked him out in the 11th round on November 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The rematch was agreed upon on June 28, 1997, with a similar scenario, but this time, Tyson’s rage and thirst for revenge took over.
Holyfield and Tyson’s rematch garnered significant attention… Photo: Twitter Holyfield and Tyson’s rematch garnered significant attention… Photo: Twitter As in their first fight, Holyfield dominated, and Tyson couldn’t withstand for long. In an unprecedented move in boxing and sports history, Tyson bit into his opponent’s ear. “Iron Mike” displayed his desperation and bit off a piece of Holyfield’s ear. Holyfield screamed to referee Mills Lane, who inspected and then decided to disqualify Mike Tyson to the astonishment of the audience, who didn’t know what was happening.
It wasn’t until slow-motion footage of Tyson biting Holyfield aired that fans understood the full extent of the situation. That “scar” stayed with Tyson for life, leading to a suspension from boxing and no fights until 1999. Holyfield retained his World Boxing Association heavyweight title but lost a part of his ear. The bout went down in history as “The Bite Fight.”
A portion of Holyfield’s ear bitten off was lost. Photo: Twitter A portion of Holyfield’s ear bitten off was lost. Photo: Twitter What happened to the severed part of Holyfield’s ear?
There’s no doubt that this event has and will be remembered in the history of world boxing, a chapter that no one can forget in Mike Tyson’s career, as he continues to be criticized to this day.
But the question remains, what happened to Holyfield’s ear? According to some reports, the 59-year-old former boxer and strength coach at the time, Tim Hallmark, said it was lost in the ambulance transporting Evander from the MGM to the hospital.
“I bit Evander,” Tyson said at a press conference two days later. “It was the worst night of my life, and I’m here to apologize to everyone. I was afraid of losing. And that crazy act was done because I had no other way to win.” However, in his autobiography, Tyson admitted that he only read words written by others and felt embarrassed by every word that came out.
