An odd scene ensued in front of a southside Chicago supermarket on Saturday as former heavy weight boxing champs Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield and the infamous Mike "The Baddest Man on the Planet" Tyson sported smiles and sold some hot sauce.
Boxing fans will never forget the June 1997 fight when the two met in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for what was billed as the Holyfield-Tyson II: The Sound and the Fury. That rematch would forever bind the two fighters as Tyson did the unthinkable and bit Holyfield twice. One of the bites was so severe that Holyfield lost a piece of his ear.
But the two showed no signs of animosity at the Jewel-Osco supermarket as Tyson took a break from his one man stage production, "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth", which was touring in the area, to help Holyfied draw some press attention to his Real Deal barbecue sauce.
"I just wanted to see Evander, man," Tyson told the Huffington Post. "I love Evander. I'm forever linked with him for the rest of my life."
The two boxing legends exchanged hugs and posed with the bottled hot sauce in hand for the picture hungry media. Some fans also got an opportunity to meet the fighters and get some autographs.
"We're both at a stage in our lives where we can work together and make really a good thing happen. He's a beautiful person. I've known Evander since I was 15," Tyson said.
Twelve years after the controversial fight, Tyson and Holyfield patched things up on the Oprah Winfrey show.in October of 2009. While Tyson did not apologize for the ear bite he did express his admiration for Holyfield.
"I just want you to know it's just been a pleasure ... being acquainted with you," Tyson said on the show.
When Oprah asked Holyfield if he was still missing the part of his ear Tyson bit off, Holyfield replied, "Just a little bit."
A clip of the fight can be seen below.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
