Frank Thomas

Notable Sports Figures
blame them when Tyson felled Holyfield in the first
round. Boxing officials had forced Holyfield to undergo
a battery of tests, fearing he might actually lose his life.
It was a stunning result, but nothing could prepare the
boxing world for the shock they were about to get.
The Holyfield-Tyson rematch, held was one of the
most anticipated in history. The MGM Grand sold out
on the first day, all 16,000 tickets. Millions tuned in on
pay-per-view, anticipating a spectacle. They got one.
The fight was brutal from the start, with Holyfield at one
point head butting Tyson in the second round. Then in
the third, Tyson chomped down on Holyfield’s left ear.
The referee deducted two points from Tyson, but then let
the fight go on. Again the fighters met in the center, and
again Tyson spat out his mouthpiece and chomped
down, on Holyfield’s right ear. And this time he bit a
piece off, spitting it out. This time the referee called the
fight, disqualifying Tyson.
It was bizarre. It was savage. And for many it was the
last straw. Tyson had nearly proved himself too brutal
for boxing—not an easy feat. The Nevada State Commission
withheld his paycheck and suspended his license.
Outrage poured in from all sides, with even the
White House weighing in. Tyson became constant fodder
for late night comedy, and the Hollywood Wax Museum
moved his image from sports to the Chamber of
Horrors. But in the end, Tyson escaped. He was banned
for a year, and fined $3 million, but ultimately, boxing
decided to let Tyson keep doing the only thing he was
really good at: hitting people until they fell down.
The Unrepentant
And Tyson wasn’t finished, with boxing or with outrages.
On October 19, 1998, the Nevada State Boxing
Commission restored Tyson’s boxing license. In December
of 1998, he pled no contest to a road rage incident
and spent a short time in jail the following March. That
year he also initiated a $100 million lawsuit against Don
King after discovering that his $200 million career winnings
had dwindled away, and that in fact he owed $13
million in back taxes. In the summer of 2000, after
knocking down an opponent, Lou Savarese, he continued
to pound the fighter and even lashed out at the referee.
Incredibly, in the post-fight press conference, Tyson
revived his cannibal image in remarks addressed to
heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis, whom Tyson hoped to
meet in the ring some day. “I want your heart. I want to
eat your children,” Tyson declared, adding, “I will rip
out his heart and feed it to him.”
Then, in the runup to the actual Tyson-Lewis match,
Mike Tyson seemed to blow his chances. While the
Nevada State Athletic Commission was considering
whether to give Tyson a license to box there, Tyson
charged at Lewis during a pre-fight press conference.
Lewis’ bodyguard intervened, and a brawl ensued. Nevada
turned him down for a license, but Washington, D.C.,
Mike Tyson
allowed the fight to take place there. When the fight finally
took place in June of 2002, Lennox knocked Tyson
out in the eighth round. It was almost anti-climactic that
the unbeatable Iron Mike had been felled again.
Tyson had come a long way from the days when Cus
D’Amato had dreamed of making him a legend. He had
almost fulfilled those dreams, winning a world championship
at the age of 19 and consolidating all of boxing’s
dubious crowns into one that nobody could dispute. For
awhile he seemed like the champ everyone had been
waiting for. But in the end, he seemed to willfully throw
it all away. Tyson continues to fight, in the face of public
outrage, and maybe he will win back fans and reclaim
his titles—but with every year and every comment and
every altercation, it seems like that goal, if it is his goal,
slips further away.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Address: Office: 10100 Santa Monica Blvd. #1300, Los
Angeles, CA 90067.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Periodicals
Tyson
Boyle, Robert. “The final bell rings for Cus D’Amato.”
Sports Illustrated (November 18, 1985): 20.
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