Was Tyson justified in biting Holyfield's ear?

[HitmanTommy]

[Spray_resistant]

No, but Holyfield was being dirty maybe some crafty Hopkins like tactics would have been in order.

[Science]

Holyfield head butted him multiple times, and he even threw a few hooks and followed up with elbow

[PulpFriction]

Same as poster above, Holyfield headbutted him multiple times, i’da bit his fkn ear off too.

[786]

Holyfield was being dirty and Mike could've either played to the ref to get Holyfield some warnings and a point deduction which isn't really his style or fight dirty back but not by biting his ear. He should've kept his cool and used his elbows/forearms at the blindside of the ref like he used to do anyway. Or a Hatton-esque eye for an eye scenario: low blow me and I'll low blow you, headbutt me and I'll headbutt you.

He probably would've still lost but he was putting it on Holyfield just before the ear biting incident. It's a shame though because it was shaping up to being a great fight.

[HitmanTommy]

It's a shame though because it was shaping up to being a great fight.

Vintage Tyson showed up in round 3 with those crisp combos and Holyfield didn't seem to have an answer.

Shame indeed.

[2Shotz]

Holyfield always was a dirty fighter but no, Mike overreacted by biting off his ear. It wasn’t a dang street fight! Butt him back. Low blow. Something slightly more within the rules. Ref had no choice but to dq him at that point. I think Tyson entirely lost his cool but I don’t think he was looking for a way out of the fight b/c he couldn’t win. Those two fights, minus Holyfield’s headbutts, were closer than a lot of fans think.

[Tatabanya]

Vintage Tyson showed up in round 3 with those crisp combos and Holyfield didn't seem to have an answer.

Shame indeed.

Actually we saw vintage Tyson from the beginning in the second fight.

Holyfield hit Tyson with his best punch in the first round, and that caught a lot of people's attention, to the point that nowadays they only remember that punch and the bites. All which Tyson did before snapping was excellent - combinations, in-fighting, etc. But that's always conveniently forgotten, in favor of the "he was getting his ass kicked again" theory...

It would have been a great fight whatever the outcome.

[Tatabanya]

Those two fights, minus Holyfield’s headbutts, were closer than a lot of fans think.

They were still close, notwithstanding the headbutts.Tyson fought hard in both occasions.

[famicommander]

No, but this site is full of people who make excuses for all the horrible things Tyson has done. He's a full blown serial rapist, serial woman beater, etc and nobody cares so why should this be different?