Mike Tyson once explained what went through his mind when he infamously bit off the ear of heavyweight boxing rival, Evander Holyfield, during the third round of their second encounter in June 1997. The incident is regarded as one of the most shocking moments in the storied history of boxing, as a fight between two massive icons of the sport has never been decided for such a bizarre reason.

Having lost the WBA heavyweight title via an 11th round stoppage in his first fight against Holyfield in November 1996, Tyson was naturally hyped up and looking for revenge in the rematch a year later. However, after growing increasingly frustrated in the opening three rounds of the contest due to Holyfield starting out the better, ‘Iron Mike’ allowed his emotions to overcome him and the bit landed on his rival’s right ear.

Mike Tyson once explained what went through his mind when he infamously bit off the ear of heavyweight boxing rival, Evander Holyfield, during the third round of their second encounter in June 1997. The incident is regarded as one of the most shocking moments in the storied history of boxing, as a fight between two massive icons of the sport has never been decided for such a bizarre reason.

Having lost the WBA heavyweight title via an 11th round stoppage in his first fight against Holyfield in November 1996, Tyson was naturally hyped up and looking for revenge in the rematch a year later. However, after growing increasingly frustrated in the opening three rounds of the contest due to Holyfield starting out the better, ‘Iron Mike’ allowed his emotions to overcome him and the bit landed on his rival’s right ear.

Once the second bite was brought to the attention of the referee, Mills Lane, at the conclusion of the third round, Tyson was officially disqualified and Holyfield named the winner. Millions of fans watching around the world couldn’t believe what they had just seen and, once the chaos had died down, most had only one question: Why did Tyson do it?

The New York-born slugger’s former coach, Teddy Atlas, has stated that the incident happened because Tyson was ‘intimidated’ by Holyfield. However, Mike himself has described exactly what he was thinking in the moment – and he paints a different picture.

Mike Tyson has singled out his ‘smartest’ opponent from a career that featured wins over Larry Holmes, Frank Bruno and Evander Holyfield.

Iron Mike, who became the youngest heavyweight champion of the world in 1986 at the age of 20, will go down as one of the all-time greats.

In total, the New York-born fighter took part in 58 professional bouts between 1985 and 2005, where he recorded 50 wins and just six defeats.

He often displayed unrivalled power and speed, with his impressive record of 44 victories via knockout being a testament to Tyson’s relentless style.

But which one of his opponents was the smartest?

Buster Douglas shocked the world with a 10th-round knockout of Tyson in 1990, while Lennox Lewis recorded a famous KO win against “the Baddest Man on the Planet” in 2002.

However, former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes was Tyson’s stand-out opponent when it came to ring intelligence.

After the pair came to blows in 1988 when Tyson was just 21, Iron’ Mike emerged victorious with a fourth-round knockout, inflicting a third straight defeat for the long-time heavyweight champion.

When previously asked to name the smartest he came up against, the 58-year-old told The Ring: “Larry Holmes was the smartest of all. It comes with being a champion for seven years.”

Tyson went on to name Holmes as having the best defence, adding: “Even though I did win inside the distance, he was very tough to hit cleanly.”

Boxer Mike Tyson wasted no time in splashing his cash after netting a reported $20 million paycheck from his infamous fight with Jake Paul—snapping up a $13 million megamansion in Florida, as well as a nearby plot on a local airstrip.

The 58-year-old sporting legend was left seemingly dumbfounded after he lost his bout against Paul, 27, which was broadcast live to the world on Netflix in November. But luckily, he has an extravagant new pad where he can lick his wounds and move on.

Images obtained exclusively by Realtor.com® reveal the staggering property for the first time, showcasing the 12,286-square-front waterfront estate in all its glory.

The sprawling six-bedroom, 11-bathroom abode sits on a 2.7-acre plot in an exclusive gated community called Tierra del Ray Estates. It was originally listed for just under $17 million, when it was still in the process of being built.

Construction was completed at the end of 2024, and property records show that Tyson and his wife, Lakiha, closed on the home on Jan. 9, 2025

Mike Tyson feared he would be sued if he pulled out of fighting Jake Paul for a second time.

The heavyweight legend made an unlikely full professional return against YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul at the age of 58, and was outpointed in a blockbuster commercial event.

It was a concerning admission, and boxing fans questioned why he simply didn’t just abandon the plans.

But in a new interview with Fox Nation, he revealed exactly why he chose not to.

He admitted: “I haven’t thought about that [if it weakened him].

“I was worried about getting sued, you know, because I was like, God, they’re going to sue me if I don’t do this fight.

He said: “I wanted to give the fans a show.

“But I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.

“There was a point where he was not engaging back, I could just tell his age was showing a little bit.

“That violence war thing… that went away as the rounds went on. People just love to hate me. I intentionally say things for people to hate.

An ex-UFC fighter has ripped into the iconic Iron Mike Tyson by insisting the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world has never actually beaten anyone good, insisting he isn’t a great boxer.

Matt ‘The Immortal’ Brown said that whilst he respects the 58-year-old for his accomplishments in the sport, he isn’t his favorite fighter and struggled to beat the other greats of his time such as Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis and Buster Douglas; as well as failing to take on Riddick Bowe.

“Not actually,” Brown told the JAXXON Podcast when asked if Tyson was his favorite. “I swear to God. I like Evander Holyfield way more. He was always a great fighter.

“Don’t get me wrong man Tyson had an image. And Tyson‘s got the aura. He’s got all that sh** going on for him. But he ain’t that great of a boxer

“See that’s all mythical bulls**t Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against Mike Tyson. I love the dude. I love watching him. I love his aura. I love to watch him train. All that s**t.

“I mean when you look at, like, the record, there were so many guys even in that era far, far better than him. Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis. He didn’t beat the good guys.”

Iron Mike racked up a 50-6-2 record before his first retirement from professional boxing back in 2005, but five of his losses came after his stint behind prison for rape from 1992-1995; interrupting his career after he had become the youngest ever champion.

Prior to the sentence, he racked up a 41-1-0 win with the only defeat coming via a shock loss to Douglas in 1990 when he lost the WBA, WBC and IBF belts in Japan after being knocked out in the 10th round.

In those 41 fights, he knocked out 36 opponents and beat all of the other five who managed to go the distance via unanimous decision. His rise was so rapid he is widely considered one of the best boxers of all-time.

Mike Tyson was viewed as an unstoppable force throughout the late 1980s.

His rapid rise to the top of the heavyweight scene began when he won his first 19 fights by knockout, 12 of them inside the very first round.

That led to him defeating Trevor Berbick to become WBC heavyweight champion in November 1986 at the age of just 20 years and 145 days, making him the youngest world heavyweight champion in history, a record that still stands to this day.

Victories over the likes of Tony Tucker, Michael Spinks and James Smith then saw ‘Iron Mike’ become undisputed in the division, an accolade he held until his shock defeat to Buster Douglas in February 1990.

While he was seen as one of the best heavyweights of all time during that period, Tyson has told ThisIs50 that even during his prime, he would have been unable to defeat Muhammad Ali.

“There is no man like him, there just isn’t. Everything we have he supersedes us in. He was an animal, he looked more like a model than a boxer.

“He’s like a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a pretty face, he’s mean, he’ll take you to deep waters and drown you. He’s very special. The best. Nobody beats Ali. I can’t beat the man, hell no.”

Ali is the only three-time lineal heavyweight champion in history, helping to show exactly why he is regarded as ‘The Greatest.’

He beat a number of boxing icons during his illustrious career, including George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson.

One man that fought both Ali and Tyson was Larry Holmes, and the former world heavyweight champion has given his prediction for who would have won between the two legends.