Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield, billed as "Finally", was a professional boxing match fought between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson for the World Boxing Association heavyweight championship on November 9, 1996 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The bout was Tyson's first defense of the WBA title that he had won from Bruce Seldon on September 7 of that year. The referee officiating the fight was Mitch Halpern. The fight was promoted by Don King Productions and carried on pay-per-view by Showtime. The bout was the first fight pitting the two boxers
Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II his championship and the incident with Tyson, Holyfield said he already forgave Tyson for biting him since he has 100% faith in God and Jesus. Nonetheless, Tyson was sentenced with a permanent suspension from boxing and his license cancelled indefinitely. Tyson was also fined $3,000,000 and had to serve a period of community service. After a year and an appeal in court, Tyson's license was reinstated. When Tyson and Holyfield retired from boxing they befriended each other and are now close friends today. The fight generated a total revenue of $180,000,000 ($), from live gate, pay-per-view, closed-circuit telecasts, foreign television