The rematch for the Holyfield vs. Tyson fight was originally set for May 3, 1997 at the MGM in Las Vegas, but was pushed back to June 28 because of a Tyson injury. There would be no trip to see this one live, and I was more than happy to watch it on pay-per-view at home on my big screen tv.
Both men weighed in at 218 lbs. this time, and going in to the fight, I truly believed Evander would win again. If you look at the fight, during the pre-fight referee’s instructions at ring center, you could see the fear in Tyson’s eyes. Evander appears to look right through him, and Mike looks down as if he couldn’t bear to look at the man who had knocked him out eight months earlier.
The ‘Real Deal’ won the first two rounds rather easily, and was doing well in the third as well. Tyson did land a couple of hard combinations, and seemed to be looking more comfortable as the round progressed. What happened next was inexplicable to say the least.
Late in the round, while bother boxers were in a clinch, Tyson leaned in and bit Holyfield’s right ear. All you saw at the time was Evander jump back and in the air, spinning in pain, and grabbing his ear with his glove. When Mills Lane examined the bite, he wanted to end the fight. After consulting with the Nevada Athletic Commissioner Marc Ratner, he decided to deduct two points, and let the fight go on.
As soon as he let the action continue, not but seconds later, Tyson reached in and bit Evander on his left ear as well. It was beyond bizarre to witness on tv, and in between rounds, Lane rightly ended the whole mess, awarding Evander the win by disqualification.
Tyson went on a tirade as if possessed by demons, trying to attack Holyfield, as a ton of Vegas police and security flooded the ring. If I thought this guy was an idiot before, this night only cemented those feelings. His excuses of retaliation for head butts was cowardly and ridiculous, and I hoped I’d never see the jackass in the ring again.
The aftermath was a combination of confusion, disbelief and disgust. His license to box in Nevada was suspended for a year, and the public saw that he was in the least a confused individual, as Dr. Ferdie Pachecho so aptly described him. Evander retained his title, and boxing would be better off without Mike Tyson in it for awhile.
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