In a new book, Mike Tyson has admitted he "wanted to kill Evander Holyfield" during the infamous ear-bite incident in 1997.
Sydney's Daily Telegraph has published an extract from his book, Undisputed Truth: My Autobiography, in which he speaks about the incident. Tyson says he was "furious" about Holyfield's repeated head-butting when the third round began:
I started feeling weary, like I was blacking out a little, but my anger and adrenaline jolted me back. I just wanted to kill him. Anybody watching could see that the head butts were so overt. I was furious, I was an undisciplined soldier and I lost my composure. So I bit him in the ear.
[...]
When I looked at the tape, I must have spit the piece of his earlobe on the canvas because I was pointing to it. It was, like, “Yeah, you take that.” They actually found that piece after the fight and tried to sew it back on but it didn’t take.
Tyson claims he doesn't remember much of the incident because he was "so enraged" but says he still wanted to get at Holyfield after he was disqualified for the biting:
People were pulling me and blocking me and he was standing in his corner, huddled up. Everyone was protecting him. He looked frightened. I was still trying to get at him. I had fifty people on me and I was still fighting the cops.
After that, he says, he should have been tased.
Video of the incident:
H/T Guardian
