It was 1997 when Mike Tyson lost his temper in the ring and bit off a portion of Evander Holyfield’s ear.
Now, 25 years later, the two can laugh at – and even capitalise on – the matter.
Tyson and Holyfield’s rivalry came to a bitter end that cast an unflattering light on the sport of boxing.
‘Iron’ Mike felt like ‘The Real Deal’ Holyfield was leading with his head a bit too much in their rematch, and he repaid his opponent by tearing off a one-inch piece of his ear with his teeth. It became known notoriously as the bite fight.
Despite burying the hatchet long ago, the two sporting legends have taken their amicability even further this winter by promoting Tyson’s cannabis edibles, Mike Bites. They are, if you haven’t put the pieces of the puzzle together yet, shaped like ears.
In the promo for the Cherry Pie Punch flavour, Tyson and Holyfield exchange gifts. The biter then gets heated, insisting that’s what the bitee’s ear tastes like. After all, he would know.
It’s the time of the y(ear) that brings people together. 👂🏾🥊 Shop the Delta 8 Holy Ears collection at https://t.co/ktPFTTl2rL now! @itstyson20@holyfieldpic.twitter.com/ZESidPvVAf
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) November 14, 2022
Although certainly not for everyone, it’s a pretty funny way for the pair to make light of what was a huge scandal at the time.
Tyson’s drug of choice in retirement has become somewhat of a lucrative – and less bruising – hobby of his.
This collaboration – Holy Ears – is his latest in a string of involvement with CBD and THC products. In a recent interview with HuffPost to promote the new product, Tyson joked that things might be very different had he found the drug years ago.
“If I was on cannabis, I wouldn’t have bit [Holyfield’s] ear!”
As for Evander, the first time he tried cannabis was, quite bizarrely, in the form of his own ear.
“I wanted to make sure I got home and didn’t do anything to anyone. I ate it and laid down. I woke up the next morning and was like, ‘Whoa.’”
Whoa, indeed.