Mike Tyson is infamous for many things, one of which is his disqualifying bite on Evander Holyfield’s ear.
Mike Tyson had amassed a record of 45-1 when he came face to face with Evander Holyfield. His one loss had come by a massive upset against Buster Douglas.
The fight did not go his way, and Tyson was stopped in the eleventh round, with a rematch sure to follow.
The rematch saw one of boxing’s most iconic and infamous moments, and it seems one man knew it was going to happen.
Teddy Atlas predicted that Mike Tyson would get disqualified against Holyfield
On the night before Tyson vs Holyfield 2, Teddy Atlas, former assistant coach to Cus D’Amato and trainer to Mike Tyson, stated to a group of reporters, according to BoxRec, that Tyson would grow frustrated and get himself disqualified.
He said Tyson “will try to get lucky, naturally,” but if he can’t land a knockout punch early, “he’s going to try to disqualify himself, either by elbowing, or throwing a low blow, butting or biting.”
Whilst he didn’t elbow, low blow, or butt Holyfield, who lost to Nikolai Valuev, he certainly did bite, and he certainly did get himself disqualified as he realized he may not be able to turn the tide of the first encounter.
Evander Holyfield’s ear was returned to him by an employee at the venue
After the fight, which caused Holyfield, who was accused of cheating against Bobby Czyz, to require eight stitches, an MGM Grand employee found part of his ear and took it to Holyfield’s changing room.
He reportedly said “I have something he probably wants,” before returning the ear in the hopes it could be reattached.
The ear was, however, lost on the ambulance ride to the hospital.