When Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ear during their second fight for the WBA world heavyweight championship in 1997, it became one of the most controversial incidents in boxing history.

“The Sound and the Fury: Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson 2” will be 24 years old on Monday. After Tyson was disqualified for biting off part of Holyfield’s ear, the fight became known as “The Bite Fight” or “The Bite of ’97.”

The fact that the battle was televised live to a global audience just added to the horrific atmosphere.

Tyson said in a recent interview with Jim Gray on Fox News that he bit Holyfield’s ear because he “wanted to kill him” at the time.

“I bit him because I wanted to kill him. I was really mad about my head being bumped and everything,” Tyson said. “I really lost consciousness of the whole fight. It took me out of my fight plan and everything.”

The contest was a repeat of their original fight on Nov. 9, 1996, which Holyfield won through round technical knockout in round eleven despite being a significant underdog to capture the WBA Heavyweight championship.

Tyson went on a 5-3 run following the bite, including one “No Contest,” until retiring on June 11, 2005, after a loss to Kevin McBride. In November 2021, “Iron” made a comeback in an exhibition boxing match against Roy Jones Jr., which ended in a split draw.

Tyson claimed the bites were revenge for getting head-butted in the second round while speaking to media after the bout.

In the first fight, Tyson had constantly complained about being head-butted, and Holyfield suffered a huge gash above his right eye after evading a blow in the second round.

The head-butt was unintentional, according to referee Mills Lane, who was called in as a late substitute after Tyson’s camp protested the selection of Mitch Halpern, who had refereed the previous bout, and who resisted Tyson’s demands to penalize Holyfield.

“Holyfield butted me in the second round and then he butted me again. He looked right at me and came right into me,” Tyson said in the aftermath of the fight.

“What am I supposed to do? I’ve got children to raise. He kept butting me. Holyfield is not the warrior he claims he is. He got a little nick on his ear. […] He didn’t want to fight, regardless of what he did. Look at me.”

Gray of Fox News questioned Tyson if he would ever perform such a heinous thing again in an interview.

“I hope not,” Tyson responded. “I say, ‘No, never ever again.’ But I might do it again. Well if he does what he was doing to get bitten, I would bite him again. Yeah.”

Following the Tyson fight, Holyfield fought 20 more times until retiring on May 7, 2011, after a technical knockout victory over Brian Nielsen.