Twenty-five years after the “Battle of the Bites” that left Evander Holyfield without a piece of cartilage, Mike Tyson is selling edibles shaped like ears.
“Holy ears! Finally they are here! Go get your Mike Bites now,” Tyson’s cannabis brand, Tyson 2.0, announced on Twitter on Tuesday.
The gummies are shaped like an ear with the cutout where Tyson, 55, bit off a piece of Holyfield’s ear during the infamous 1997 fight that cost the undisputed heavyweight champion his boxing license and a fine of over $3 million.
It is not yet clear exactly when the edible will be available and how much it will cost. Tyson 2.0 products are sold in marijuana stores in Nevada, California, Massachusetts and Colorado.
“Holy ears! Finally they are here! Go get your Mike Bites now,” Tyson’s cannabis brand Tyson 2.0 announced on Twitter on Tuesday.
The piece is a reference to the infamous moment when Tyson bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a championship match.
The Brooklyn, New York native launched his cannabis company in November 2021. In addition to being a co-founder of the company, he is also a brand director.
“Cannabis has always played an important role in my life,” Tyson said.
“Cannabis has changed me for the better both mentally and physically, and I want to share this gift with others who are also looking for relief,” he added.
Tyson 2.0 has several strains ranging from low to high potency. Marijuana pre-rolls packaged with Tyson 2.0 strains typically sell for $11, while one-ounce pre-packed bags sell for $90.
The company also plans to launch its products in Michigan in the near future.
“Eventually, Tyson 2.0 plans to offer premium marijuana flower in over 200 outlets worldwide. [Michigan] and provide other products such as edibles,” the Michigan marijuana report says.
Tyson has grown a hemp garden atop his $44 million mansion near Desert Hot Springs, California.
His plans include turning his 420-acre resort into a luxury music festival venue, according to The Independent.
Referee Mills Lane examines boxer Evander Holyfield’s right ear with ring doctor Dr. Flip Homansky (far left) and Holyfield’s trainer Don Turner after he was bitten by opponent Mike Tyson during a fight at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, June 28 1997.
Former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield are honored ahead of Wilder’s WBC heavyweight title fight and Fury’s lineal heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder on February 22, 2020.
The champion’s latest marketing strategy has probably been in the making for years. In 2019, Tyson and Holyfield discussed the business venture in a video.
“Maybe you’re in because we’re about to do some holy ears,” Tyson said, according to World Boxing News. “Some edibles that have been bitten off.
“Well, I could do it,” Holyfield replied.
Time has calmed Tyson’s fury at the rink in 1997 and Holyfield’s refusal to dismiss the famous fight.
A few months after the fight, Holyfield’s lawyers sent a letter to Candy Factory demanding they stop selling Erwander-Tyson Bites, similar to Tyson’s Mike Bites concept.
Then-owner Frank Scheftel said he sold about 300 pairs of boxed chocolate ears and made a profit of $600, or $1,051 in 2022.
Holyfield’s lawyers accused Scheftel of using his likeness without his permission and demanded that the Candy Factory stop selling the chocolate and hand over the proceeds from the sale.
Sheftel complied and shortly thereafter stopped selling ear-shaped chocolate.
Time appears to have softened Tyson’s fury at the rink in 1997 and Holyfield’s refusal to dismiss the famous fight.
Tyson first fought Holyfield in 1996 when he was trying to defend his World Boxing Association heavyweight title.
Holyfield won the eleventh round, but Tyson complained about headbutting throughout the bout, and a rematch finally took place the following year.
Tyson went for revenge, and in their rematch, he bit Holyfield twice on the ear – leaving a piece of his ear on the canvas – before he was disqualified and fined $3 million of his $30 million by the Nevada state commission.
It was the first heavyweight fight in over 50 years to end in a disqualification.
After dominating the opening rounds, Holyfield was heard screaming in pain.
The former champion later revealed that he made far more from the fallout from the situation than the $3 million he was fined in the incident.
“That’s what makes me laugh. It’s not that I bit his ear, but the money I was fined I got back in folds just for photographing ear bites,” he said of the incident on his 2020 Hotboxin podcast.
During a break from the ring after his license was revoked, Tyson made a WWE guest appearance at a Wrestlemania event where he was paid over $3 million to be a “guest enforcer”.
Commenting on the incident, Tyson revealed that he was furious with Holyfield, saying that he headbutted him during the fight.
Tyson also told Fox News in 2020, “I bit him because I wanted to kill him. I was very angry because I got hit on the head and all that. I really passed out for the whole fight. It knocked me out of my fight plan and everything else.”
Asked if he would do it again, Tyson replied: “I say, ‘No, never again.’ But I could do it again. Well, if he does what he did to get bitten, I would bite him again. Yes.’
Tyson first fought Holyfield in 1996 when he was trying to defend his World Boxing Association heavyweight title. Holyfield won the eleventh round, but Tyson complained that he was headbutted throughout the fight, and the rematch finally took place the following year.
Tyson went for revenge and in their rematch, he bit Holyfield twice on the ear, leaving a piece of his ear on the canvas.
The two legends have since reconciled and even joked about the incident.
The two legends have since reconciled and even joked about the incident.
“My site realdealbbqsauce.com will make you want to bite someone’s ear off! Ask @MikeTyson – Love you bro!” Holyfield tweeted in 2012 while promoting his barbecue sauce.
The pair also appeared in a hilarious 2013 Foot Locker commercial in which Tyson returned a piece of an ear to Holyfield to help the shoe salesman promote their “Great Week.”
They have also been photographed together on the red carpet and laugh at the past.
“He turned out to be more than he [was] because everywhere I went, people were like, “Dude, that’s great,” Holyfield said of the fight on The Larry King Show in 2018.
“So it made you more famous than you could ever be?” King asked.
“Yes, I think so,” Holyfield replied.