Heavyweight Boxing Championship History

Copyright (C) 1994 by Don Sibrel

April 22, 1994 Las Vegas.  Holyfield defends title against 26 year 
old Michael Moorer.  His record was 34-0 with 30 KOs.  This fight 
ended in a very close decision.  While Moorer doesn't have the boxing 
skills and variety of punches of Riddick Bowe, he does protect 
himself well, fights southpaw, and has a good right jab.  Holyfield 
appeared to be in his usually superb shape. However, he did not 
fight with his usual high energy level, and often seemed either 
tired or pacing himself. 

The first three rounds were good ones for Evander.  He was the more 
active fighter.  Near the end of round two, Moorer hurt Holyfield 
with a hard right to the jaw.  But while pressing the attack, 
Michael got caught with a two punch combination of a right to the 
forehead and a left hook to the jaw.  Down he went, more stunned 
than hurt.  He held off Holyfield until the bell. 

Round four saw Moorer dominate with superior inside fighting.  

Round five was very good for Moorer.  He landed most of the 
punches, and all of the power punches, hurting Holyfield several 
times.  Before the round was over, blood was coming from the left 
eye of Holyfield.  It would bleed periodically the rest of the 
fight. 

Round six saw Holyfield show much more movement, mainly just 
trying to avoid being hit on his cut.  He only landed five 
punches to Moorer's 35. 

Round seven had much more action, as Evander chose to fight, but 
Michael still landed more effective punches. 

Round eight had not much action, as both fighters boxed rather 
than take the offensive. 

Round nine had the tide turn in Holyfield's favor.  He landed 
more punches with several combination and one good right uppercut.  
Moorer rallied as the bell sounded. 

Round ten had Moorer land a right left combination to Evander's 
jaw and forced him against the ropes.  Holyfield came back strong 
in the middle of the round, while Michael connected with a hard 
right before the bell. 

Round 11 showed Evander using more motion, with both fighters 
landing some good shots, but none doing damage. 

Round 12 went back and forth with Moorer probably getting the 
best of it.  Holyfield was very tired.  But so was Moorer. The 
majority decision went to Moorer in a very, very close fight.  
It was scored as  114-114, 116-112, and 115-114.  Michael Moorer 
became the first left-handed heavyweight champion in history. 


November 5, 1994 in Las Vegas.  The 26 year old champion Moorer
defends title for first time against 45 year old George Foreman.  
Most people felt that Foreman didn't deserve another title shot.  
He hadn't fought for eighteen months.  In his last fight, he was 
beaten easily by glass jawed Tommy Morrison.  Foreman now had a 
career record of 72 and 4 with 67 KOs, while Moorer's stats were 
35 and 0 with 30 KOs.  George did come in weighing a trim, for 
him, 250 lb, while Moorer weighed in at a heavier than normal 
222 lb.  THe betting odds were 2 to 1 for the champion - down 
from 4 to 1 the week before. 

As the fight started it became quickly apparent that both fighters 
were very slow.  George showed absolutely no motion the whole 
fight and Mike displayed not much more.  Morrison beat Foreman 
by landing a few quick punches and then quickly stepping back 
where Foreman was too slow to pursue.  Moorer's plan was apparently 
to out-slug George with quicker hand speed and by landing more 
punches.  He ended up landing 120 more punches - a heck of a lot. 
The southpaw fighting champion was much more effective in landing 
his right jab than Foreman was in landing his left.  

In this fight, George's jab, once the best in all boxing, was 
only rarely a solid punch.  He did throw a number of leading right 
hands with some showing the power of his more youthful days, but 
many lacked any real snap - at least it appeared that way.  But 
maybe this is not altogether bad.  If a person hits you a number 
of times and it doesn't hurt, you would tend not to worry about 
getting hit.  Anyway ... 

Round 1:  Action very slow with Moorer landing 25 punches and 
Foreman only 11. Both fighters showing little movement, staying 
in the center of the ring, and not tying each other up.  It stayed 
this way for the whole fight.  A very easy match for the referee.  
After this round, Teddy Atlas, Moorer's handler, said to Mike that 
Foreman wasn't as good as Mike's sparring partners. 

Round 2:  More action in this round.  Foreman landed more hard 
punches than in round 1.  Near round's end Foreman landed a hard 
straight right to the champion's head.  Moorer returned the favor 
as the round ended.  There were very few body shots in this round 
as in the whole match.  Mike landed 25 punches to George's 22.  
A good round for the challenger. 

Round 3:  Moorer took control of this round.  He not only landed 
twice as many punches, but also landed several solid rights to 
George's head that sent Big George in retreat.  Moorer finished 
very strong, while Foreman did not hurt the champion. A mouse 
appeared under George's left eye. 

Rounds 4 & 5:  Moorer continued to land many more punches than 
Foreman and also landed what appeared to be the harder punches.  
George often just tried to counter Mike's leading right jabs.  
It is hard for a slow puncher to counter.  The punches-landed 
totals through round five were 172 to 101. 

Round 6:  Foreman increased his activities in this round and 
clearly had the best of it the first two minutes.  His punches 
were much sharper than in previous rounds.  He hurt Moorer with 
a couple of rights, but got hurt in return from a Moorer right.  
Moorer took control of the last minute of the round and landed 
two very hard rights to Foreman's head.  While overall it was a 
good round for Foreman, he did not finish strong and his left 
eye was closing. 

Round 7:  Action here was much slower.  No really hard blows 
landed -Moorer connected 39 times and Foreman only 18. 

Round 8:  Foreman stepped up the action in this round.  He 
landed a very hard right to the champion's head and followed 
it up with a second solid punch.  Moorer quickly landed a good 
one of his own that temporarily showed George down, but as in 
round 6, Foreman carried the fight for the first two minutes.  
Again Moorer rallied back and easily took control over the 
last minute of the round.  Overall this was probably an even 
round, but George walked very slowly back to his corner at 
round's end. 

Round 9:  Foreman fought a very slow round and landed only 15 
punches to 43 from Moorer.  Between rounds, Atlas told Moorer 
to speed things up in these last three rounds.  Atlas also said 
that when Foreman pawed with his left he is trying to set up his 
right hand so Mike was to either land a right jab or move out of 
range. 

Round 10:  Twenty seconds into this round Foreman took control.  
He started landing a majority of the punches. But more significant, 
and to many, more surprising, his right was connecting solidly.  
George even landed several very hard left hooks.  Moorer was 
returning punches, but Foreman was pressing the attack.  Foreman 
landed a solid, but not spectacularly looking, right hand to the 
forehead of the champion.  Mike took two short steps backwards.  
Foreman landed a soft left then landed a right to the jaw that 
sent Mike to the canvas like a sack of flour.  He lay flat on his 
back with arms fully extended to the sides.  At the count of 
six he attempted to get up but couldn't and was counted out at 
two minutes and three seconds in round ten of the scheduled 12 
rounder.  

A major, major, major upset in most people's mind. At age 45, 
Foreman became the oldest fighter to win a championship.  The 
previous oldest heavyweight was Joe Walcott at a youthful 37.  
Immediately after Moorer was counted out, George knelt down in 
his corner and prayed . Review of the knockout and previous 
right hand punch in slow motion is very interesting.  Both right 
hand punches were preceded by slow left hand leads.  After the 
lefts landed they carried over to Moorer's left hand and pried 
Mikes hand away from his face exposing it to the following right 
by Foreman.  Whether this was by design or not, it was very 
effective.  The KO punch did not look particularly hard.  It 
wasn't a long punch, but it did connect to the chin. 

Las Vegas, November 4, 1995.  Riddick Bowe fought Evander 
Holyfield for the third time.  No real major world championship 
was at stake.  However, the winner would be considered, along 
with Tyson who was now out of jail, as the best heavyweight 
around. Bowe was 28 years old, 6'5" tall, 240 lbs, with a reach 
of 81" and a record of 37-1 with 31 KOs.  Holyfield was 33 years 
old, 6'2" tall, 213 lbs, a reach of 77 1/2 ", and a record of 
31-2 with 22 KOs.  Bowe was favored, and looked to be in better 
shape than in their last fight. 

Round 1:   In this round Holyfield stayed at long range, out 
jabbed Bowe and won the round.  Evander showed good footwork - 
something he seldom does.  He landed 19 jabs to Bowe's 13. 
Evander also landed the harder of the jabs.  Bowe connected with 
a few lard jabs of his own and one very good right to Evander's 
head. 

Round 2:   In this round Holyfield changed his tactics, and chose 
to fight in close.  Most people thought this was a mistake, and I 
agree.  Bowe is bigger, stronger, and has more of a variety of 
inside punches than Evander.  But mistake or not, that is the way 
Evander fought for the remainder of the fight.  In this round, 
Riddick took charge and landed a good number of right uppercuts, 
right crosses, left hooks, and several obvious low blows.  Right 
before the bell, Holyfield stepped up the action and landed a 
good right to Bowe's jaw at the bell.  Bowe then countered with 
a two punch combination and fighting continued at a furious pace 
for about eight seconds until the fighters were separated by the 
referee.  A good round for Bowe.

Round 3:    Round three was pretty much a continuation from round 
two with Bowe landing many more punches.  He landed 45 to Evander's 
17.  Bowe continued to land low blows, and was warned by the 
referee.  

Round 4:    Shortly after this round started, Holyfield pressed 
the attack.  He landed two hard left hooks to Bowe's head.  
Riddick then landed a stiff right uppercut and Evander countered 
with two more hard left hooks to the head.  These were Evenders 
best punches.  But Bowe landed a very hard right to Evander's head.  
Then the action slowed down - very much so.  Holyfield looked very, 
very tired.  George Foreman, who was one of the commentators, said 
that Evander was experiencing breathing problems. The fighters 
continued fighting inside with Bowe getting the better of it in 
the later portions of the round.  He landed two right uppercuts 
and a counter right, while Holyfield connected with a right, left 
combination.  A good round for Bowe.  He landed 33 punches to 17 
by Holyfield.  Bowe ended the round much the fresher fighter. 

Round 5:   The fight continued to be fought on the inside.  After 
a brief flurry by both fighters, with no hard blows landing, 
the action slowed.  Several times Evander would walk away with 
his arms at his sides as if trying to catch his second wind.        
Again in this round, Riddick landed the majority of the punches, 
including a number of low blows.  Finally after a right, left 
combination from Bowe of which both punches were low, the referee 
stopped the fight.  He deducted one point from Bowe and allowed 
Holyfield to recover. After about 25 seconds, the fight continued.  
Except for the penalty, it was a good round for Riddick.

Round 6:   Holyfield started this round on his toes appearing to 
be in good shape.  He then quickly launched an attack.  He landed 
two hard left jabs to the head, a left, right, left combination 
of which the first left caught Riddick right on the button.        
Evander then landed a right and then a left hook squarely to the 
jaw and down went Riddick.  It was a very slow backwards fall to 
the canvass for Bowe.  If Evander would have been quick enough to 
land another punch as Bowe was falling, the fight might have been 
over.  Holyfield tried, but was just too slow.  This was similar 
to the Douglas knockdown of Tyson, when Douglas was quick enough 
to land two punches as Tyson was going down.  Riddick, having been 
knocked down for the first time in his professional career, got 
up at the count of seven.  He was very wobbly on his feet.  
Holyfield pressed the attack and landed a good right to the head 
sending Bowe into a corner.  Evander came in and landed a left 
hook to the head.  At that point, with 1:45 remaining in the round,  
it looked really bad for Bowe.

However, just when victory was at hand, Evander had punched 
himself out.  He just couldn't throw many more punches.  Most of 
the ones he did throw missed and had little power behind them.  
Cautiously Bowe fought back, and near the end of the round was 
the aggressor.  Right before the bell Holyfield rallied with a 
couple of combinations, but too little, too late.  He missed a 
hard right at the bell.  A very good round for Evander, but a 
golden opportunity lost. 

Round 7:  Both fighters started very slowly in this round.  This 
lasted for almost one minute, then Holyfield stepped up the action.  
He landed a good right uppercut.  Bowe followed with a right cross 
then a right uppercut.  Evander landed a series of blows with 
Riddick countering.  The sting was gone from both fighters punches.  
In the round Bowe landed 30 punches, Holyfield 17.  I would say 
Holyfield landed the harder punches and won the round.

Round 8:   Holyfield looked very tired as he walked toward the 
center of the ring with his hands down to start round eight.  
But he quickly assumed the offense and he landed a good left jab.  
He followed this with a solid right to the head, then connected 
with a hard left hook to the head followed by a good right.  Bowe 
was fighting back, but not landing any effective punches.  Just 
as it looked like Evander was taking over the fight, he got caught 
with a right to his head as he was coming in on Riddick.  
Holyfield pitched forward, Bowe stepped out of his way, and Evander 
fell to the canvass face first.   He just made it up at the count 
of nine.  He was clearly in no condition to continue.  The referee 
asked him how he felt.  Holyfield didn't answer.  The referee then 
told Evander twice to bring his hands up.  Holyfield didn't.  The 
referee nodded his head and let the fight continue. 

Bowe then threw two rights toward Evander's head.  They were both 
blocked by Holyfield's left glove, but the force of the second blow 
sent Evander collapsing into the ropes and down to his knees.  The 
fight was then stopped - TKO in 58 seconds of round eight.   
Fatigue and Riddick's punches finally had caught up to Evander. 

The total punches landed count for the fight was 252 for Bowe, 154 
for Holyfield.  This is a huge difference.  Bowe was just the better 
boxer, with quicker hand speed, and landed a greater variety of 
punches.  Holyfield had the better left jab in the fight and his 
left hook was the equal of Bowe's, but Riddick had a much better 
right hand - especially the uppercut.  Bowe was much the busier 
fighter.   All three judges had Evander leading 66 to 65 going 
into the eighth round.  They saw a different fight than I did.

Las Vegas, November 9, 1996:  The 30 year old, 222 lb Mike Tyson 
defended the WBA championship against the 34 year old, 215 lb 
Evander Holyfield.  Tyson had a record of 45 and 1 with 39 KOs 
while Holyfield was 32 and 3 with 23 KOs.  The betting odds opened 
at 25 to 1 for Tyson, but dropped to 6 to 1 by fight time.  
Both fighters looked to be in great shape, however many people 
thought Evander was over matched, past his prime, and risking his 
health in this bout. 

Round 1:  This fast paced round started with Tyson landing a hard 
right lead to the head that knocked Holyfield off balance and into 
the ropes.  He didn't appear hurt.  Tyson pressing the attack 
continually came at Holyfield with a number of right leads with 
Holyfield not giving ground.  Evander countered a number of times 
with mostly left hooks to Tyson's head.  Mike did throw a number 
of left hooks and a couple of right uppercuts.  Both fighters 
landed some hard shots with Tyson leading the first part of the 
round and Holyfield having the advantage in the later stages.  
Tyson would come at Holyfield and Evander would try to counter 
and if that wasn't successful then there would be a number of in 
close attempts at landing mostly hooks with a lot of holding by 
both fighters, most often Holyfield.  Tyson landed a right left 
combination after the bell and Evander answered with a hard left 
hook.  Holyfield, surprisingly, appeared as strong as Tyson.  
Each judge saw the round differently: one for Holyfield, one for 
Tyson, and one even. 

Round 2:  Holyfield started the round by missing a right lead.  
Tyson landed a hard left hook and Holyfield came back with an 
equally hard right.  Most all punches were to the head.  Evander 
handed a right that was low.  Tyson then connected with two very 
hard left hooks.  Holyfield missed a wild right then landed a 
right to the body pushing Tyson into the ropes.  Evander continued 
with a very hard left hook to Tyson's jaw.  Tyson held on.  After 
that the fighters returned to the center of the ring where no 
hard punches were landed during the last part of the round.  
Another fast action, high energy round.  A very good round for 
Holyfield.  All three judges had Evander winning the round. 

Round 3:  Holyfield again started by missing a right lead.  
Evander landed a left to the body and held Tyson more in this 
round.  Tyson landed a right and Holyfield countered with a harder 
right to the head.  A very stiff punch.  The referee warned both 
fighters to quit holding and break when told to.  Evander landed 
a low blow and Tyson connected with a left uppercut and a left 
right combination.  Evander landed a hard right and pushed Tyson 
back.  Mike landed a left right combination before the bell.  
Action was much slower in this round compared to the first two 
rounds.  One judge for Tyson, one for Holyfield, and one had it 
even. 

Round 4:  Holyfield landed a left jab and a right that was low.  
Tyson scored a left jab.  Holyfield held much more in this round. 
Evander landed a left jab.  Both fighters were missing many more 
punches than in the first three rounds.  Tyson connected with a 
left jab, and Evander countered with a hard right to Tyson's jaw.  
Tyson then came on and scored with a left right combination.  
Mike then landed two very hard left hooks to Holyfield's jaw, but 
missed a wild left hook.  Evander then connected with a right left 
combination, and Tyson landed a left hook to the body and a right 
to the head.  The first good round for Tyson.  Two judges had him 
winning the round, with the third called it even. 

Round 5:  Holyfield landed a left, Tyson a right, and Evander a 
left right combination to the body.  Holyfield landed a left but 
received a hard left right combination to the body.  Tyson 
connected with a right uppercut followed by a hard left to the 
body and a very hard uppercut to the jaw of Evander.  Tyson 
gaining momentum scored a hard right to the body.  Holyfield 
seemed to be holding up well, but these punches had to hurt.  
Mike then landed a left uppercut and a right to the body.  Tyson 
then connected with two very hard punches: a left hook and a 
right to the head.  Evander came back with a number of left jabs 
and Tyson then landed a left jab, a right left combination, and 
a right uppercut.  A very good round for Tyson.  Two judges had 
Tyson winning the round, and the third had it even.  It was hard 
to see how anyone could call it even. 

Round 6:  Tyson missed a wild right which was followed by a right 
that missed by Holyfield.  Tyson scored a right and Evander 
connected with a right uppercut to the body.  Mike then landed a 
right to the body followed by a hard left hook to the head of 
Holyfield.  The referee then stopped the fight for about 10 
seconds because Tyson received a cut above his left eye from a 
head butt. Both fighters then missed a series of punches.  Tyson 
then landed a hard right followed by a stiff left hook to the 
body.  Evander landed a left to the body and received a right 
uppercut in return.  Holyfield landed a left that was low followed 
by two rights.  Then as Tyson came in missing a left hook, he was 
caught with a hard left hook to the chest, and went down.  Not 
hurt, but having gone down from losing his balance, he was up 
quickly.  With about 35 seconds left in the round Evander landed 
two light left jabs followed by two harder left hooks to the head 
of Tyson.  As the bell rang both fighters were throwing heavy 
punches but none were landing and fighting continued after the 
bell. All three judges gave the round to Holyfield by two points 
for the knockdown.  This, even though no damage was done. 

Round 7:  Tyson missed a right.  Holyfield held and was warned by 
the referee to break when told to.  Holyfield scored a right and 
a left uppercut to the body.  Tyson missed two left hooks and a 
right, but connected with a hard left hook to the body.  Evander 
then landed a left and Tyson missed again with a right and a left.  
Holyfield landed a stiff left jab as Tyson was moving in.  Evander 
held a lot in this round and action was slow.  Evander then landed 
a left that was low.  Tyson came back with a right and landed a 
left that was low.  As Tyson leaped toward Holyfield their heads 
collided and Tyson winced in pain.  The referee stopped the fight 
as blood was coming from a cut above Mike's left eye.  The fight 
continued with 15 seconds to go after the ring doctor examined 
the eye and the referee warned both fighters against butting.  
Holyfield missed a wild right at the bell.  All three judges give 
the round to Holyfield.  

Tyson's eye was worked on in his corner between rounds.  It didn't 
look serious. 

Round 8:  Tyson missed two rights.  Holyfield landed a right and 
received a left jab.  Holyfield connected with a stiff left jab 
as Tyson was closing.  Tyson landed two lefts and Holyfield still 
was using the tactic of holding Tyson when he attempted to fight 
inside.  Holyfield then landed a left followed by a right to the 
body.  Mike scored a left right combination, but received a harder 
one in return.  Tyson countered with a right after receiving a 
left.  Then Evander landed a right which was followed by many misses 
from both fighters.  As the round ended Evander landed three light 
lefts and a right counter. Two judges give the round to Holyfield, 
the other to Tyson.  Holyfield, whose stamina was in question, 
looked at least as fresh at this point as Tyson. 

Round 9:  Evander connected with a left to the head and a right 
to the body.  Mike landed a left uppercut to the body.  Evander 
missed a left hook and landed a straight left.  He continued with 
two left hooks and a right uppercut.  Tyson landed a hard right 
followed by another right.  Then he missed with a right and a left.  
Evander landed a left jab and a right and received a left uppercut 
to the body.  Holyfield then connected with a left hook and 
received a right.  Holyfield then landed a really hard right and 
then a left.  Both fighters followed with a short flurry of hard 
punches that never landed.  Tyson scored with a left hook and 
missed with a wild right.  Evander landed a left hook. Two judges 
for Holyfield, one for Tyson. 

Round 10:  For most of this round there was little action.  Each 
fighter only landed one hard punch.  Both were rights.  There were 
other punches that landed, but none were hard.  It appeared that 
both fighters were tired.  But things changed quickly.  With 21 
seconds to go Holyfield staggered Tyson with a terrific right to 
the head that showered the ring with Tyson's head sweat.  Evander 
followed with a left hook, two rights, and a left uppercut.  With 
11 seconds remaining in the round, Evander again staggered Tyson 
with another haymaker right knocking the stumbling Tyson back into 
the ropes.  Mike was out on his feet and returned no punches.  
Evander continued with five very hard punches: a left right 
combination, a right, and another left right combination as the 
bell rang.  Tyson was able to wander mindlessly back to his corner. 

Round 11:  Tyson looked like he was ready to fight at the beginning 
of the round.  He missed a right lead.  Holyfield scored with a 
left to the body and a left jab.  Evander landed two left hooks 
and a left right combination.  Tyson was ready to go!  Holyfield 
landed another left right combination sending Tyson toward the 
ropes.  As Tyson was stumbling back, Evander landed a hard right, 
and the referee stopped the fight after 37 seconds of the 11th 
round. 

Evander Holyfield was now the new WBA champion.  The results of 
the fight were shocking to most people.  He showed amazing strength, 
endurance, and the ability to take a Tyson punch.  For most of the 
fight he was able to prevent Tyson from connecting on more than one 
hard punch at a time.  A remarkable fight from Evander Holyfield. 

June 28, 1997 Las Vegas:  The 34 year old Evander Holyfield defends 
title against the 30 year old Mike Tyson.  Holyfield with a record 
of 33 and 3 with 24 KOs weighed 218 lbs.  Tyson with a record of 45 
and 2 with 39 KOs also weighed 218 lbs.  Tyson was favored to win.
Holyfield looked amazingly strong.  Probably more muscular than Tyson.  
Both fighters looked to be in top shape.

Round 1:  Tyson leads with a right to the head that is partially 
blocked.  Evander lands a left jab and quickly connects with two 
more.  Tyson scores with a left hook and when Holyfield misses 
Tyson counters with a left jab.  Then there was a series of 
clinches with both fighters holding.  Evander seems to be the 
stronger fighter on the inside and most of the time can push Tyson 
backwards. Tyson misses with a wild right and follows by missing 
with a left right combination.  Tyson misses again with a wild 
right.  Holyfield lands a good left jab to Tyson's face.  They 
now hold for some time until broken by the referee.  Holyfield 
lands a good right left combination.  Then he throws an extremely 
hard right hand that glances off the forehead of Tyson as he was 
backing away. Tyson comes back and lands a good left jab to 
Evander's jaw and more clinching takes place.  

This looks very much like their first fight.  Holyfield then lands 
two hard lefts to Tyson's face followed by a very solid right to 
the head that knocks Tyson back several feet.  The action picks 
up with both fighters throwing bombs although most were blocked. 
A good round of action and a good round for Holyfield.

Round 2:  Tyson starts round 2 by landing two left jabs.  Tyson 
misses a hard right.  With 2:21 seconds remaining in the round 
and both fighters moving in close their heads collide.  Holyfield's 
forehead hits Tyson's head near his right eye.  A bad cut opens 
up near Tyson's eye and starts bleeding badly.  The referee stops 
the fight for twelve seconds.When fighting resumes Holyfield misses 
with a right and lands a left to the body.  Tyson scores with a 
left hook.  Both miss with left hooks.  Evander lands a left hook 
to the body and misses a left right combination.  Holyfield connects 
with a left hook.  Tyson then grabs Evander's left arm and wrenches 
it toward him with his right arm.  Evander pushes Tyson into the 
ropes and lands a right to the head as Tyson was still holding 
Evander's left arm.

Both fighters are warned by the referee to stop the rough stuff.  
Tyson lands a left jab and Tyson misses a right.
Another good round for Holyfield.  In the corner between rounds 
Tyson yells in pain as his cut is attended to.  He is told the 
cut is OK. 

Round 3:  Tyson comes out for the round without his mouth piece.  
Action is stopped until one is placed in his mouth.  Tyson steps 
up the action.  He lands a hard right to the head followed up by 
a good left hook.  He then misses a very hard right and left.  
They clinch with both pushing very hard.  Tyson then throws a wild 
right.  More clinching follows.  Evander then misses a left hook 
followed shortly by a wild right that also misses.  Tyson then 
scores with a left hook.  In a clinch Tyson twice pushes Holyfield 
to the face with his elbow.  Mike lands a right while Evander 
scores with two lefts.  Tyson then follows with two hard left 
hooks to the head and a left right combination. 

With 38 seconds left in the round, Evander comes out of a clinch 
by jumping up and down several times and pointing to his right ear.  
The referee stops the fight and with his back to Tyson, Holyfield 
is pushed into the ropes by Tyson.  The announcer said that Tyson 
had bitten Evander on his right ear.  His ear was bleeding quite 
badly and after water was applied you could see it had a piece 
missing.  Slow motion replay showed that Tyson did indeed bite 
Evander's right ear.  After the referee saw the ear he said the 
fight was over and Tyson was disqualified.  

The fight doctor then entered the ring to examine Holyfield.  As 
he was doing so, the boxing commissioner got up on the ring apron 
and talked to the referee.  The referee told him he was stopping 
the fight because Tyson had bitten the ear and he had seen the 
bite marks. The commissioner said something to the referee, and 
the referee asked the doctor if Evander could continue.  The end 
result was that the fight would continue with a two point 
deduction for Tyson in that round.  

So after about a two minute delay the fight continued.  With 20 
seconds left in the round, Evander again came out of a clinch by 
jumping up and back and indicating that he was bitten again.  
Both fighters continued fighting until the bell. This time, after 
the referee verified that there was another bit, Tyson was 
disqualified and the match was over.

Unbelievable!!  The nearest thing to this that I have seen was 
the low blow hitting of the Polish fighter Golota against Riddick 
Bowe.  The only thing that makes since to me is that in each case 
the fighter became so angry, and wanted to hurt his opponent so 
much, that he would do anything.

It should be noted that veteran referee Mills Lane was a last-
minute replacement for the originally appointed referee Halpern. 
Halpern, who was the referee for the first Holyfield Tyson fight, 
took himself out of the fight after the athletic commission 
turned down a Tyson camp protest of his selection. After Tyson's 
disqualification was announced, he tried to get at Holyfield or 
the referee, and was hitting anyone who got in his way.  Finally 
after about five minutes he was lead from the ring.

So, Evander Hollyfield was still the heavyweight champion.  A few 
years ago few people would have given him a chance to beat Tyson.  
Tyson was considered too strong and powerful.  But Evander, who 
had built himself up physically to the equal of Tyson, has beaten 
him twice.  I believe this is one of the most remarkable 
turnarounds in heavyweight boxing history. 

On July 9th the Nevada State Athletic Commission revoked Tyson's 
license to box for one year and fined him three million dollars.  
He can ask for his license back in one year.  It should be noted 
he has made 140 million dollars the last two years and he hadn't 
fought for seven months prior to this fight.  So if he can fight 
in Nevada in a year, it really isn't much of a penalty.  In fact 
his license to fight is only revoked in the state of Nevada, and 
he very well may fight in the mean time in another state or 
another country.  It is possible.