Flood of ‘Bite Fight’ flashback
Will Tyson handle Holyfield barrage?
It looks good to see Mike Tyson terrorising his trainer with some ultra-violent combos during training for his much-publicised boxing match, probably against Evander Holyfield, a rematch set to be for charity.
You can hardly tell that Tyson turned 54 last month. He shows the speed of a flyweight on pad work and rocks the punching bag from pillar to post, before barking “I’m back” in a recorded video. Holyfield is hard at it too. But his timing when doing pad work shows some slowness. He is 57, after all.
The physical aspect of the two old-time greats is impressive. Be that as it may, one wonders what will happen the moment Holyfield lands on Tyson. Remember, Iron Mike does not like getting hit and dominated. That was evident when he bit a big chunk of Holyfield’s ear at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas on June 28 1997. He was disqualified for his barbaric act.
Tyson enjoys intimidating his opponents and instilling fear in them. That was his biggest strength, but it did not work against Holyfield right from their first fight that Holyfield won in 1996 by a stoppage at the same venue, and for the later bout that was infamously referred to as “The Bite Fight” or “The Bite of 97”.
The WBA heavyweight belt was on the line. Tyson was disqualified and lost his boxing licence, though it was later reinstated.
Holyfield dominated Tyson from the start to win the first three rounds. Tyson suffered a cut over the right eye after an accidental headbutt by Holyfield in the second round.
Tyson had repeatedly complained to referee Mills Lane about head-butting. He began the third round with a furious attack. With 40 seconds remaining in the round, Holyfield got Tyson in a clinch, and Tyson bit him on his right ear. Tyson said he was retaliating for the headbutts. The rest, as they say, is history, but will it not play itself out again should Holyfield dominate Tyson in charity fight?
Tyson enjoys intimidating his opponents and instilling fear in them