Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II

Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II, billed as The Sound and the Fury and afterwards infamously referred to as The Bite Fight, was a professional boxing match contested between the champion Evander Holyfield and the challenger Mike Tyson on June 28, 1997, for the WBA World Heavyweight Championship.

[1] It achieved notoriety as one of the most bizarre fights in boxing history after Tyson bit off a part of Holyfield's ear.

Tyson was making his first defense of the WBA championship he had won from Bruce Seldon in a first-round knockout.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission ruled against the Tyson camp, but Halpern willingly withdrew from the fight days before because he felt his presence would be a distraction.

In doing so, he head-butted Tyson, producing a large cut over the latter's right eye (although trainer Ritchie Giachetti believed the injury happened in the first round).

A one-inch piece of cartilage was torn from the top of Holyfield’s ear, which Tyson spat out onto the ring apron.

[5] Holyfield leapt into the air in pain and spun in a circle, bleeding profusely from the bite wound.

Lane separated the men, moved Tyson to a neutral corner, and went back to check on an enraged Holyfield.

Lane called Marc Ratner, the chairman of Nevada’s athletic commission, up to the ring apron and informed him that because Tyson had bitten Holyfield’s ear, he was going to disqualify him and end the fight.

Holyfield told the press afterward that Tyson bit him because he knew he was going to get knocked out, and he chose to lose in a disqualification instead.

[citation needed] Reporters then interviewed Tyson's instructor, John Horne, who was upset about Lane's decision.

[9] Later, during post-match interviews, Tyson was walking back to his locker room when a fan from the venue tossed a bottle of water in his direction.

As a result of biting Holyfield on both ears and other behaviour, Tyson's boxing license was revoked by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and he was fined $3 million plus legal fees.

On October 16, 2009, on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Tyson made amends with Holyfield, telling him "it's been a pleasure passing through life, being acquainted with you."

Excerpt from Showtime Championship Boxing 's broadcast of the fight, showcasing Tyson's (black shorts) first and second bites of Holyfield (black and white shorts), and Lane's (blue top) subsequent response.