
2. Biting Holyfield’s Ear
To sum up, this is Tyson’s most shocking moment inside the ring. Outgunned against Evander Holyfield, he bit his opponent’s ear in the third round. Then the referee deducted two points but allowed the fight to resume. However, Tyson responded by immediately biting off a chunk of Holyfield’s other ear.

Referee Lane Mills immediately stopped the fight. The state of Nevada stripped him of his boxing license and hit him with a $3 million fine. It was appalling but also somehow played into Tyson’s cult of personality. In the end, Tyson and Holyfield became good friends.