June 28, 1997: Evander Holyfield defends the Heavyweight Championship of the World against Mike Tyson. He puts his heart into it. And another body part that he didn't expect.
"Iron Mike," then the Champion, and "The Real Deal," then the Number 1 contender, were supposed to fight for the title on October 25, 1990. But in a warmup fight, Tyson got knocked out by James "Buster" Douglas, one of the greatest upsets in boxing history. So Holyfield fought Douglas on that date.
After Holyfield won that fight, they tried a 2nd time to set up a fight between Holyfield and Tyson, but Tyson went to prison. By the time he got out, Holyfield had lost the title to Riddick Bowe. And regained it from Bowe. And lost it to Michael Moorer. The title was once again splintered among the various governing bodies. In 1995, released from prison, Tyson regained the WBA version of the title. Meanwhile, Holyfield fought Bowe a 3rd time, without either man holding any piece of the title, and lost.
But Holyfield got another shot at the title, facing Tyson on November 9, 1996, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on the Las Vegas Strip. (Like most of the major Vegas casinos, it's actually outside the city limits of Las Vegas, in Paradise, Nevada.) The fight was billed as "Finally." Tyson, 45-1, was heavily favored, but Holyfield, 32-3, beat the hell out of him, knocking him down in the 10th round. In the 11th, referee Mitch Halpern stopped the fight.
There had to be a rematch, and it would also be at the MGM Grand. This time, after Tyson's camp refused to have Halpern officiate again, the referee was Mills Lane, a former boxer himself, and a Judge in nearby Washoe County, Nevada.
Holyfield dominated the 1st round. Early in the 2nd round, Holyfield ducked a Tyson punch, resulting in him, apparently, head-butting Tyson. Tyson had complained about Holyfield's head-butts in the 1st fight, and now, he just plain lost his cool. At the start of the 3rd round, Tyson came out without his mouthpiece. Lane noticed this, and told him to get back in his corner and put the mouthpiece in. He did.
Holyfield dominated this round as well. With 40 seconds left in the round, the fighters clinched and Tyson... reached around and bit Holyfield on the right ear, tearing a piece of it off, and spitting it onto the ring floor.
Holyfield jumped in pain. Lane saw it, and had the timekeeper stop the clock. Holyfield started back for his corner, thinking Lane had already disqualified Tyson. He hadn't. And Tyson blindsided Holyfield with a shove. Lane sent Tyson to a neutral corner, and looked at the bleeding ear.
Lane decided the fight would continue, but he deducted 2 points from Tyson, and restarted the fight. There was another clinch, and, this time, Tyson bit Holyfield's left ear. This one wasn't nearly as damaging, but, given that it happened after the first bite, it was even more blatant.
Lane stopped the fight, and disqualified Tyson. Tyson and his men rushed Holyfield's corner, but security officers were able to prevent a much bigger fight.
I thought the media missed the obvious headline: "TYSON'S MIDNIGHT SNACK!" I had forgotten that the fight was in Las Vegas, thus there was a 3-hour time difference, so it was around 9:15 PM, not 12:15 AM. Instead, the headlines were things like "HEAVYWEIGHT CHOMP," "BITE OF THE CENTURY," and "EARMARKED."
Tyson did it for the same reason that Sonny Liston had liniment put on his gloves, to try to blind Muhammad Ali in their 1st fight in 1964: Because he was getting his head handed to him.
In the coming days, Holyfield said he forgave Tyson. Tyson continued to complain about Holyfield's head-butts. Eventually, however, bygones were bygones. Like many other multi-fight rivalries -- Jack Dempsey & Gene Tunney, Joe Louis & Max Schmeling, Muhammad Ali & Joe Frazier -- they became friends. The professional respect overcame the momentary personal animus.
Holyfield held the title until 1999, when he was beaten by Lennox Lewis. He regained the WBA version of the title in 2000, by beating John Ruiz; then lost it to Ruiz 7 months later. Tyson got another shot in 2002, for the WBC and IBF titles held by Lewis, but Lewis ruined him, too.
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June 28, 1997 was a Saturday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians, 12-8 at Yankee Stadium. David Wells had nothing, nor did his replacement, Kenny Rogers. Tino Martinez and Cecil Fielder hit home runs, and Derek Jeter went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs, to no avail.
* The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-1 at Turner Field in Atlanta.
* The Florida Marlins beat the Montreal Expos, 4-2 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 12-6 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros, 5-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-5 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants, 9-2 at Coors Field in Denver.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 2-0 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum).
* And the Anaheim Angels beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle.
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