Evander Holyfield commented on what his rival Mike Tyson's teeth did to his right ear during their second fight on June 28, 1997, saying that he was shocked by Tyson biting his ear and that he did not expect such a thing.
Tyson used his teeth instead of his iron fist in that situation, which is considered the most violent moment in the history of boxing, and it later became a famous sign in advertising campaigns.
All the spotlight was on the second fight between these two boxers in Las Vegas. A sporting fever during which 16,000 tickets were sold in one day, while about two million people watched the live broadcast, and the revenues from this famous match ranged in total between 180 and 300 million dollars.
The second match between the two arch rivals at the time lasted no more than three minutes. During the two rounds, Holyfield used his favorite tactic of tackling his opponent to handcuff him.
The third round began with violent attacks from Tyson. The two boxers clashed several times, embracing. In one of them, Tyson, who was out of his mind from a bruise under his eye from a headbutt from his opponent, put his head on Holyfield's shoulder and clamped his teeth on his right ear. Holyfield tried to pull back forcefully to free his ear. He succeeded in the second attempt and pulled back, holding his head and twisting in pain, but a piece of his ear remained between Tyson's teeth. The angry boxer tried to break the piece, and referee Mills Lane quickly carried it in a tissue to the box reserved for its owner.
The referee examined Holyfield's bloody head and wanted to disqualify Tyson, but the doctor, after doing the same thing, said that the injured boxer could continue the match.
Referee Mills Lane awarded Tyson two points, gave him a warning and allowed the fight to continue.
Once again, Tyson was hit by his opponent, Ray. His anger arose again and his teeth sunk into Holyfield's ear. This time, the bite was on the left side, and it passed safely, unlike the first. The battered boxer danced in pain, and the match continued with strong punches from Tyson on the head of his rival.
Holyfield refused to continue the fight during the break. The referee looked again at Holyfield's ears and decided to disqualify the perpetrator, Tyson.
Tyson became very angry and attacked his opponent, and the guards were able to stop him with difficulty, while the chaos continued for several minutes.
Then Tyson declared that he was ready to kill his rival at that moment and not just bite off a piece of his ear, indicating that he was ready to repeat his act, placing all the blame on his opponent’s behavior and the continuous headbutts he directed at him!
As a result, Tyson was fined $3 million and stripped of his boxing license. The license was reinstated a year later.
As for Holyfield's right ear, the piece that was bitten off was sewn back into place immediately after the match in the locker room, and it returned to its place with almost no deformity.
Tyson finally admitted in 2009 that he behaved in a terrible manner during that match, and issued an official apology to his opponent, Holyfield, and to the whole world. The two rivals later reconciled and were linked by common activities and a close friendship.