Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II, billed as "The Sound and the Fury" and afterwards infamously referred to as "The Bite Fight", was a professional boxing match contested on June 28, 1997 for the WBA Heavyweight Championship. It achieved notoriety as one of the most bizarre fights in boxing history, after Tyson bit off part of Holyfield's ear. Tyson was disqualified from the match and lost his boxing license, though it was later reinstated. The fight took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The referee officiating the fight was
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