Mike Tyson hugs ref Mills Lane in touching throwback snap years after disqualifying him for biting Holyfield’s ear off
MIKE TYSON was snapped hugging the ref who disqualified him for biting a chunk out of Evander Holyfield’s ear.
The photo of Iron Mike sharing an embrace with official Mills Lane has been doing the rounds online, nine years after it was originally taken.
Holyfield shocked the world in 1996 after stopping Tyson in the eighth round of their first bout.
But it was the rematch a year later that went down in boxing folklore.
Tyson was dramatically disqualified by Lane after BITING a chunk out of Holyfield’s ear.
Holyfield previously explained how the episode still plagues him to this day.
Holyfield told Sky Sports: “When people look at me, I know they are looking at my ear.
“People think I got the whole ear bit off!
“People don’t understand the relationship I have with Tyson.
“Tyson and I were both on the losing squad trying to make the Olympic team in 1984, that tells you how tough amateur boxing was in my day.
“When Tyson became heavyweight champion of the world, it made me realise that I could do it.
“Tyson and I had sparred and he was a tough guy even back then, when he was 17 and I was 21.”
For his part, Tyson revealed how the incident transformed him into the “most hated man in the world”.
He opened up on the ‘Bite Fight’ on ‘Mike Tyson Undisputed Truth’, and said: “I’m really very grateful that Evander forgave me for this.
“What was I thinking about? He lost a piece of his ear, I lost a piece of money. A lot of money and I lost my licence.
“All I could say is that I snapped. I went through pure hell. I went from the tenth most-hated man on the planet, which I can handle, to numero uno.”
Unfortunately Lane, who made that all-important call 23 years ago, suffered a devastating stroke in 2002.
Just four years after he retired from officiating in the ring, Lane suffered heartbreaking damage after the incident.
Moving is a struggle for him and he is unable to speak due to his deteriorating condition.
