I meant to post this awhile back, but there's never a bad time to reflect on anything Mike Tyson-related.
Holyfield-Tyson II was brought to the sporting world on June 28, 1997, in which Tyson decided to take a chunk out of Holyfield's ear. In a fight that was originally billed as "Holyfield-Tyson II: The Sound and the Fury," the bite served as the loudest sound in the world, and the aftermath of the fight furiously derailed the career of the fighter we'd come to love as "Iron" Mike.
The fight also brought the casual fan into a relationship with Mills Lane, the bald-headed, witty old man who was brought in to replace Mitch Halpern as a late replacement when Tyson's camp protested the referee selection. (Halpern referred the first fight, to which Tyson's camp was quite unhappy.)
Three random things I took from watching the full video of the fight above:
1. Hearing Jimmy Lennon Jr. announce the two fighters gave me goosepimples on my goosebumps.
2. Ian Darke can call the hell out of a boxing match, along with a soccer match. (He called Mike a "young savage," and I was totally fine with it.)
3. Holyfield in his prime was impressive. He was as quick as Tyson and seemed way bigger. Tyson's former trainer Teddy Atlas had even predicted before the fight that Tyson would be unable to cope with fighting a man whom he could not intimidate, and would deliberately get himself disqualified. Unreal.
We all know how this ended. Holyfield got gnawed on both ears and the fight was ended with a Tyson disqualification. Tyson's Nevada boxing license was revoked, Tyson was fined $3 million and Tyson was fully gone psychologically in his engagement with boxing. Gone too soon.
Check the video out below for the entire fight and enjoy your pertinent reading material for Tuesday, everybody.
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Wall Street Journal: Game-Changers: Average Joes Take On Former Pros
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The Starting Five: The Yankees put the freeze on Mr. October
Sole Collector: Nike Air Max 97 Hyperfuse - Total Orange
Day and a Dream: What’s 13 More Minutes Of Hype For The Dark Knight Rises?
FOX Deportes: El Cinco: The 5 Players Who Should Get Amnestied...Immediately
College Football Talk: Notre Dame confirms Orange Bowl discussions with ACC
Daily Thunder: NBA Scout Says Perry Jones’ knees will only hold up '3-4 years'
Maurice Garland: Op-Ed: Will the Real Black People of Atlanta Please Stand Up
Eddie Maisonet is the founder and editor emeritus of The Sports Fan Journal. Currently, he serves as an associate editor for ESPN.com. He is an unabashed Russell Westbrook and Barry Switzer apologist, owns over 100 fitteds and snapbacks, and lives by Reggie Jackson’s famous quote, “I am the straw that stirs the drink.”
