Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” today in what was reportedly a love-fest between the biter and the bitten. Tyson didn’t apologize for taking a chunk of Evander’s ear in their 1997 rematch, and Holyfield told of biting his brothers as a kid.
Things went well which is better than a meeting Tyson and Holyfield had in July at an ESPN the Magazine ESPY event. Both showed up at the Standard Hotel within minutes of each other to pick up some swag but didn’t know the other was there. The word quickly spread around the floor and a photographer brought the two fighters together for a picture and a handshake.
There weren’t many words exchanged and seemed like the two fighters were cool. But a few minutes after Holyfield left the hallway Tyson looked agitated, and he and his crew left the building. The initial story being told was that Mike was weirded out by running into Evander Holyfield and the media attention was more than he could handle that day.
Ten minutes later a guy from Tyson’s team came back to the event and explained that Mike simply had somewhere else to be and that he was glad to have seen Holyfield.. He then proceeded to collect gifts on Tyson’s behalf.
I’m glad to see Tyson and Holyfield sit with Oprah and act like everything’s all good. And from Holyfield’s standpoint it probably is. He’s in shape, doing commercials, and he beat Mike twice. Tyson on the other hand has to deal with the shame of biting Holyfield, the losses, major weight gain, and personal tragedy. He can play nice on a made for TV special with Oprah and Evander, but deep down Tyson’s demons still haunt him.
Fighters praise each other on ‘Oprah’ [ESPN]
