Holyfield-Tyson II
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Holyfield-Tyson II (also known in some circles as "The Bite Fight" or "Bite of the Century") is a name sometimes used to identify the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield on June 28, 1997, in which Tyson bit off a portion of Holyfield's ears. The fight was originally billed as Holyfield-Tyson II, The Sound and the Fury and was a follow-up rematch of the first Tyson-Holyfield I fight.
The fight took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The referee officiating the fight was Mills Lane, who was brought in as a late replacement when Tyson's camp protested the original selection of Mitch Halpern (who officiated the first fight) as the referee.[1]
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[edit] The Fight
The fight began with Holyfield winning against Tyson, who lost the first two rounds. Problems started when a clash of heads in the second round opened a large cut over Tyson's right eye. Tyson had repeatedly complained about head butting in the first bout between the two.[2] A time-out was called briefly, but since there was no indication at the time that Holyfield had intentionally fouled Tyson, no point deduction was taken from Holyfield.
As the third round was about to begin, Tyson came out of his corner without his mouthpiece. Referee Mills Lane ordered Tyson back to his corner to insert it. Tyson inserted his mouthpiece, got back into position and the match resumed. Suddenly Holyfield got Tyson in a clinch, and Tyson rolled his head above Holyfield's shoulder and bit Holyfield's right ear, taking a piece off of it with the force of the bite. Holyfield pushed Tyson away at which Lane called for a time-out. Holyfield turned to walk to his corner, and Tyson ran up to Holyfield and pushed his back, startling both the crowd and Holyfield, who fell into the ropes. Lane moved Tyson and directed Holyfield back to his corner. The fight was delayed for several minutes as Lane told Tyson he was penalizing him with a two-point deduction. A physician examined Holyfield's ear and determined he could continue to fight.
After another clinch, Tyson bit Holyfield's left ear. Holyfield threw his hands around to get out of the clinch and jumped back. Lane did not stop the fight this time, so the two men continued fighting until time expired. The men walked back to their respective corners when the fight was then stopped.
After the fight was stopped, Tyson ran at Holyfield and Holyfield's trainer Brooks while they were still in their corner. Tyson took swings at the people in his way, but was pushed back to his corner. Announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. read the decision: "Referee Mills Lane has disqualified Mike Tyson for biting Evander Holyfield on both of his ears."
Later, Tyson was walking back to his locker room when a fan tossed a full bottle of water in his direction. Tyson climbed over a temporary railing and up into the stands, made obscene gestures to the crowd, and made his way up the side of a stairway before he was dragged to his locker room. Tyson was suspended and his license withheld.
[edit] Tyson's response
Tyson later told reporters that he felt forced to retaliate because Holyfield was not penalized for what Tyson felt were repeated intentional headbutts delivered throughout the opening rounds.
| “ | Holyfield butted me in the first round and then he butted me again in the second round. As soon as he butted me I watched him. He looked right at me and came right at me. He kept on going down and coming up, then charged into me, and no one warned him. No one took any point from him. What am I supposed to do? This is my career; I can't continue getting butted like that. I've got children to raise and he keeps butting me, tryna get me, stopped on cuts I gotta retaliate. | ” |
[edit] The Showtime Call
The fight was broadcast on Showtime, with Steve Albert, Ferdie Pacheco and Bobby Czyz as the announcers. The call after Tyson bit Holyfield the first time:
Albert: “What happened here?”
Pacheco: “He got bit, I think.”
Albert: “Evander Holyfield—LOOK OUT!—is pushed right here, above us, by Tyson!”
Pacheco: “He got bit in the ear.”
Albert: “Oh, my goodness! He's got a bloody right ear! Holyfield bitten by a dirty Mike Tyson!”
Czyz's response during the replay, after Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield the second time:
“If I were Evander, I would have kicked him.”
[edit] Aftermath
As a result of biting Holyfield on both ears and other behavior, Tyson's boxing license was revoked by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and he was fined USD $3 million plus legal costs.[4] The revocation was not permanent; a little more than a year later on October 18, 1998, the commission voted 4-1 to restore Tyson's boxing license.[5]
Tyson argued that officials had failed to address Holyfield's illegal headbutts, which opened a wound over Tyson's left eye.[2] Novelist and commentator Katherine Dunn wrote a column that criticized Holyfield's sportsmanship and charged the news media of being biased against Tyson.[6] However, one of Tyson's former trainers, Teddy Atlas, predicted before the fight that Tyson would deliberately get himself disqualified.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ Lane late replacement, center of action, AP via Slam! Boxing, 1997-06-29, Retrieved on 2007-03-09.
- ^ a b Tyson: 'I'd bite again', BBC Sports, 1999-10-04, Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
- ^ "A MATCH TO SINK HIS TEETH INTO", PBS.org Online newshour transcript, 1997-06-30, Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Tyson banned for life, AP via Slam! Boxing, 1997-07-09, Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ Mike Tyson timeline, ESPN.com, 2002-01-29, Retrieved on 2007-03-09.
- ^ Dunn, Katherine., DEFENDING TYSON, PDXS via cyberboxingzone.com, 1997-07-09, Retrieved on 2007-04-18;
- ^ Broder, Jonathan., A coward and his due, Salon.com, 1997-07-10, Retrieved on 2007-04-19.
[edit] External links
- Video of the fight
- Las Vegas Review-Journal coverage of Tyson-Holyfield II
- Slam! Boxing headlines coverage of Tyson-Holyfield II at Canoe.ca
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