In 1997, Mike Tyson created one of the most controversial situations in boxing history when he bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear in the ring. To this day, this situation is still mentioned and has become an anecdote associated with the name of “Iron Fist”.
However, in reality, Mike Tyson bit his opponent not once but twice. Partly because the first “bite” was so famous, the second incident was less mentioned. That story happened in 2002 when Mike Tyson had a match with world champion Lennox Lewis. Shortly before the match, both sides were present at a press conference to promote the event. The two top names in the heavyweight division at that time could not keep calm and created a chaotic scene.
Mike Tyson bites Lennox Lewis in 2002 brawl
Later in the documentary Lennox: The Untold Story , the truth was revealed: Lewis was the one who struck first, not “Iron Fist”.
“The tension was there when we got to New York. The night before the press conference, he said, ‘If Mike comes in, I’m going to blow it all up. I’m not going to be overshadowed by him,'” Lewis’ close friend Courtney Shand said.
Lewis’s predictions came true. With his personality, Mike did not hesitate to use harsh words towards his colleague. Next, the boxer born in 1966 approached Lewis before scuffling with the British boxer’s bodyguard. Witnessing this scene, Lewis immediately joined in.
Lewis recalled: “All of a sudden I saw him take off his hat, throw it on the floor and start coming towards me. Boom. I jumped in too. I punched Mike three times and he bit me back.”
Mike’s ugly actions were immediately punished. “Iron Fist” had to pay a fine of up to 360 thousand USD. The match between the two sides was almost canceled. However, the promoters knew that the above incident would make the big fight even hotter, and the profits would also increase significantly. Therefore, neither side withdrew and the two sides officially met on June 8, 2002.
“I really didn’t want the fight to happen. I honestly couldn’t believe it could happen. Why did he (Mike) attack me? At that time, I thought he was making a big deal out of it to avoid the fight. At the moment he raised his mouth to bite me, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Millions of dollars in fight money could have been lost because of that action.
For me, a few million dollars was not a big deal at that time. But since I was born, I have never been bitten by anyone,” Lewis shared.
Las Vegas was originally set to host the fight, but the plan was scrapped after the Nevada State Athletic Commission refused to renew Mike’s boxing license.
As a result, the organizers were forced to find another location. Finally, Memphis (USA) was chosen and the event only had to be postponed for 2 months.
At that time, Mike was in good form, not having suffered a defeat since being disqualified for biting Holyfield’s ear. However, Lewis at his peak was too difficult a challenge for Mike. The absolute champion dominated for most of the time before knocking out “Iron Fist” in the 8th round. A year later, Lewis continued to defeat Vitaly Klitschko before retiring as champion.
On the opposite side, Mike also had a victory against Clifford Etienne in 2003. However, two losses against Brit Danny Williams and Kevin McBride made “Iron Fist” decide to hang up his gloves in 2005.
Nearly 20 years after their first fight and the unforgettable bite, Mike Tyson revealed that he will fight Lennox Lewis again in September. In response to this information, Lewis said that the two sides have not agreed on the terms of the fight but admitted that negotiations are underway.
