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24th Aug 2013

Video: Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield laugh and joke about the bitten ear incident 16 years on

They say that time heals all wounds, but we never thought we’d see Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson laughing about a bitten ear as if it was mere slap in the face.

Conor Heneghan

They say that time heals all wounds, but we never thought we’d see Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson laughing about a bitten ear as if it was mere slap in the face.

Most of you will be well acquainted with one of the most infamous incidents in boxing history back in 1997, when Mike Tyson twice took a bite out the ear of bitter rival Evander Holyfield during a bout in Las Vegas, leaving a not insignificant chunk of Holyfield’s ear on the canvass. For those of a younger generation, observe exhibit A below, but make sure you’re not eating when you do.

Obviously the incident left a bitter taste in the mouth – and not just immediately afterwards for Tyson when he spat the piece of ear onto the canvass – but the pair have since patched up their differences and are now friends, with Holyfield recently inviting Tyson to help launch a line of barbeque sauce.

Iron Mike has recently produced a series about his life for FOX Television, Being: Mike Tyson, and in one of the six episodes, he and Holyfield recount the incident and have a good laugh about it, although the fight itself could have been a whole lot worse and more bloody if Holyfield had carried through on his threat of revenge.

It feels a bit strange to see the two lads talking about such a serious incident in such a light-hearted manner years later, but fair play to Holyfield for being big enough to put it behind him.

Ear, ear.

Video via YouTube/Fox Sports