Tyson disqualified after ripping piece of Holyfield's ear

      Boxing is a bizarre sport, but this ending had to be the most bizarre of all for a heavyweight championship fight.
      Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting not once but twice Saturday night.
      Evander Holyfield retained his World Boxing Association heavyweight championship by disqualification over Tyson at the end of the third round at the MGM Grand Garden.
      Tyson, 218, bit Holyfield twice in the third round, the first time on the right ear and then on the left ear.
      The first bite, and a subsequent shove, cost Tyson a two-point penalty from referee Mills Lane. The second earned him a disqualification.
      Dr. Elias Ghanem, chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said Tyson had been temporarily suspended by the commission and that his $30 million purse was being held pending a disciplinary hearing.
      The commission, which was scheduled to meet Tuesday, will decide at that time whether to go ahead with a complaint against Tyson.
      If the commission does go ahead with a complaint, it would be at least 30 days before a disciplinary hearing is held, unless Tyson wants the hearing soon.
      Under Nevada rules, according to Ghanem, the most Tyson can be fined was 10 percent of the purse or $3 million.
      Holyfield's purse was $33 million "plus other considerations," according to contracts filed by Don King Productions with the NAC.
      Lane had replaced Mitch Halpern as the referee on Friday morning after Halpern pulled out of the fight on Thursday night. The Tyson camp had filed an official protest against Halpern.
      Holyfield was infuriated, jumping up and down, each time Tyson bit him.
      "He spit out his mouthpiece and bit me in the ear," he said.
      Tyson's first bite drew blood and time was called for four minutes while ringside physician Dr. Flip Homansky went into the ring and checked Holyfield's right ear.
      During the timeout, Holyfield said his corner told him to keep "cool."
      When the fight was resumed, Tyson spit out his mouthpiece and bit Holyfield in the left ear.
      "He bit my ear again on purpose," he said. "The whole thing is my ear is bleeding."
      Holyfield was taken to Valley Hospital for treatment on his bitten ears.
      Holyfield had won the first two rounds on all three judges' scorecards, and that may have played a part in frustrating Tyson into biting.
      Tyson didn't have a direct response to why he resorted to biting Holyfield.
      "He butted me in the first round and in the second round again," Tyson said. "He kept going down and coming up on me. This is my career. I have children to raise. I have to retaliate. He butted me."
      "I'm thankful we had a referee like Mills Lane," Holyfield said.
      Ironically, Tyson had came out for the third round without his mouthpiece and had to be told by Holyfield. Tyson had returned to his corner and his trainer Richie Giachetti put the mouthpiece in.
      The fight was a rematch of Holyfield's 11th-round technical knockout of Tyson on Nov. 9 at the MGM.
      Before then, Tyson had not come even close to being tested in his four bouts since being released from prison on March 25, 1995.
      Tyson's first fight back was his much-hyped comeback fight Aug. 19, 1995, at the MGM against the sacrificial Peter McNeeley in which McNeeley was disqualified in the first round when his manager-trainer Vinny Vecchione got in the ring during the round.
      Tyson next stopped Buster Mathis Jr. in the third round. The fight was scheduled for Nov. 4 at the MGM but was postponed to Dec. 16 because Tyson suffered a broken right thumb and moved to Philadelphia after being denied a home in Atlantic City, N.J., by New Jersey gaming authorities because of the involvement of promoter King.
      Tyson won back the first piece of the heavyweight championship when he stopped Frank Bruno of England in the third round March 16, 1996, at the MGM for the World Boxing Council title.
      Tyson wound up relinquishing the WBC share of the title rather than defend against Lennox Lewis as was dictated by a New Jersey court.
      Tyson's fourth post-prison fight was the first-round "knockout" over Bruce Seldon for the World Boxing Association share of the title Sept. 7, 1996, at the MGM.
      The fight was postponed for two months because Tyson was suffering from bronchitis.