Few, if anybody, would ever have guessed that 1997’s rematch between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson would have become infamous in history after Tyson bit a chunk of flesh from his rival’s ear in that notorious third round. While Mike was not disqualified immediately for that specific bite, he was soon thrown out for again attempting to do the same to Evander to his opposite ear. The disqualification resulted in absolute mayhem in the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas when gambling tables were overturned and it took a while for order to be restored.
But what if that never happened and Tyson actually won that fight?
Well, I believe there have been several times when defeat has actually made boxing legends. Coming back from a loss shows courage, great mental strength and discipline. Unfortunately that last factor is something that Tyson lacked in what really occurred. But if he did win then I think that would have elevated his legacy even further. For somebody who committed one of the most gruesome fouls in boxing, the man that was called ‘Iron Mike’ doesn’t really have a bad legacy as it is now, to be honest. People still admire him when he was in his prime and there is still plenty of debate and discussions among fans including thinking about fantasy fights with the likes of Muhammad Ali.
For Evander Holyfield, depending on the nature of how he would have lost to Tyson, there is maybe the possibility that people would have thought that maybe Tyson had a bad day at the office and that Holyfield wasn’t as back to his best that maybe we all thought he might have been. But as I said, how he would have lost would have been crucial because if he was defeated by a close points decision then he may have been given further opportunities later on down the road. And we all know that Evander never gave up boxing easily!
Speaking of further opportunities, the temptation to not stage a third fight between Tyson and Holyfield would have been too much for Don King not to make. Besides, there are many trilogies in boxing. So long as it made business sense then I think the probability of seeing a third bout would have been pretty high. And despite the rematch being one of the richest in boxing history, it would have been very possible that a third fight would have financially eclipsed it’s predecessor!
Had Mike overcame Holyfield again in a rubber match then boxing politics would still have prevented a fight with Lennox Lewis from happening for some time. But it would have eventually taken place before Mike would have caused a lot of chaos and destruction, removing every other challenger in his path.
