LibraryNowPlayMechanicsMCP

Kinds

Campaign392Product122Food & drink30App & software59Film82Series91Music69Game138Book56Creator moment63Meme & format120Trend & aesthetic44Activity61Moment127
PricingPrivacyTermsRefundsPress
Library/Moment/Tyson bites Holyfield’s ear
Grade B20 sourcesHIS-01440

Tyson bites Holyfield’s ear

Moment · 1997 · Notable

43Editable slideCertificate

A boxing foul led to disqualification, a $3 million fine and decades of ear jokes.

Original · Mike Tyson / Evander Holyfield; broadcast by Showtime
Clip · FOX Sports on YouTube
Official Holyfield vs. Tyson II fight poster, MGM Grand, 28 June 1997
Wikipedia (non-free, fair use)
Holyfield holds his ear as Mills Lane waves Tyson off, from Showtime's broadcast
ALL THE SMOKE FIGHT on YouTube
Tyson 2.0's ear-shaped Mike Bites edibles, from its Holy Ears collection
TYSON 2.0
Referee Mills Lane separates Tyson and Holyfield in the clinch
ABC News
Mills Lane between Tyson and Holyfield in the ring
LiveNOW from FOX
Tyson and Holyfield in a clinch moments before the bite
Sports Illustrated
Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield talk about the bite years later, for FOX Sports
FOX Sports on YouTube

Spread Score

How it works
ReachNo data yetContagion35Breadth50VelocityNo data yetLongevityNo data yet43

Numbers

Seed to milestone
11 days
Jun 28 ’97 to Jul 9 ’97
Platforms
5
Started on TV
Origin
Mixed
Sports

Mechanics

  • TransgressionPrimary
  • Real-world spectacle
  • Controversy
  • Platform jump

How it spread

Trace the origin

Tyson’s televised bites ended the rematch by disqualification. News replays, Usenet and late-night television carried it beyond boxing. Chocolate ears, a Foot Locker ad and a joint cannabis product later reused the incident.

Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.

Jun ’96Jul ’97SepFeb ’01Jun ’05Oct ’09May ’12Apr ’14Apr ’17Dec ’20Oct ’23May ’25TVPressOpen webXRetail
TVPressOpen webXRetail

12 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (15)

  1. June 1997

    Broadcasting & Cable precursor · Jun 23 ’97

    Broadcasting & Cable reported Showtime’s planned rematch promotion budget of over $25 million.[1]

    Open the first post ↗

  2. Mike Tyson / Evander Holyfield seed · Jun 28 ’97

    Tyson bit both of Holyfield’s ears during their televised rematch and lost by disqualification.[2][3]

  3. Mike Tyson owner response · Jun 30 ’97

    Tyson publicly apologized for biting Holyfield.[4]

  1. platform jump · Jul 2 ’97

  2. afterlife · Jul 5 ’97

Join free to see the other 12 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

or continue with Google

Why it worked

Do this

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

Pro opens the playbook, all 8 sourced numbers and 20 sources. Start with a free account.

Join freeGo Pro
Origin
Mixed
Sector
Sports
Region
US
Reported figure
—
Evidence
Grade B

Spread the same way

Moment · TV · 202448

Gojira's Olympics opening ceremony performance

Gojira, Marina Viotti and Victor Le Masne

Gojira’s Olympic song reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart.

Peaked at #1

1 / 8

  • Gojira's Olympics opening ceremony performance
  • 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup final
  • WWE Raw on Netflix
  • Naomi Osaka’s Australian Open jellyfish outfit
  • Burger King Whopper Neutrality
  • Billie's Scratch-and-Sniff Armpits
  • Fiat Operation No Grey
  • AVAVAV Fake It Till You Break It

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.