Why Does Mike Tyson Bite His Gloves During a Fight? Details on the Boxer’s Odd Habit

Viewers who watched Mike Tyson take on Jake Paul in the Netflix live broadcast in November 2024 likely noticed Mike repeatedly biting his gloves throughout the match. The odd habit has led fans to wonder why Mike bites his glove during matches.

Why Does Mike Tyson Bite His Gloves While Fighting?

Mike gave a post-fight interview after losing to Jake and was asked why he was biting his glove.

“The broadcast team was debating what you were doing with your glove,” the reporter said. “Was it a mouthpiece issue or were you just biting on your glove?”

Mike explained that he has a “habit of biting his glove” when he fights.

“I have a biting fixation,” Mike added, seemingly joking about his 1997 fight against Evander Holyfield.

What Happened When Mike Tyson Fought Evander Holyfield in 1997?

In one of the wildest matches in boxing history, Mike bit a portion of Evander’s ear off mid-fight before spitting the piece on the ground. This was the men’s second fight after Mike lost in the first match.

During their face-off, Mike first chomped down on Evander’s ear but didn’t break the skin. While the officials decided to let the match continue, they did deduct two points from Mike’s score. However, Evander and Mike became locked up again and Mike bit down for a second time. A piece of Evander’s ear came with him. The referee didn’t notice right away, but as soon as they saw a chunk of Evander’s ear was missing, they ended the fight and disqualified Mike. He also lost his boxing license and was fined $3 million.

What Has Mike Tyson Said About Biting Evander Holyfield’s Ear?

While “bite night” has lived on in infamy, Mike has openly admitted that he regrets his decision to literally have a taste of Evander.

In 2009, Mike apologized to Evander on live television.

“This is a beautiful guy, me and this guy both come from basically the sewer. We watched each other grow to become established and esteemed fighters, you know what I mean?” Mike said as Evander sat next to him. “And I just want you to know it’s been a pleasure passing through life being acquainted with you.”

Evander accepted the apology and the two shook hands.

The Brooklyn native has discussed the incident several times over the years.

“[Holyfield] knew he intentionally head-butted me because I was intentionally head-butting him,” Mike told Zab Judah during a 2020 interview. “I was just mad and pissed off, and I was bleeding. I thought they would probably stop the fight because of my eye and I just lost it.”

He continued, “I just wanted to hurt him more than he hurt me because I was headbutting him too, and that wasn’t hurting him enough. He was headbutting me back, so I just started biting him again. I wish I didn’t do that, but I did.”

Now, the two men are even able to joke about the moment. In 2022, Evander joined Mike’s cannabis business, Tyson 2.0, as they sold gummies in the shape of Evander’s ear with the chunk missing from the side.