Went to Prison

Bruce with Mike Tyson

While attending the Miss Black America contest, Tyson met 18-year-old Desiree Washington. On July 19, 1991, Tyson took her back to his hotel room and allegedly raped the young pageant contestant. He was tried and convicted of rape and, in March of 1992, Tyson was sentenced to six years in prison. He spent three years of his six-year sentence in jail. Word leaked out that Tyson was a different man after spending time behind bars. He was said to be reading communist literature and Malcolm X, and had even converted to Islam.
The 28-year-old Tyson was released from prison on March 25, 1995. He emerged from prison with tattoos of tennis star Arthur Ashe and communist leader Mao Zedong on his arms. He went to a nearby mosque and met with boxing great Muhammad Ali immediately after he left the prison grounds. Though many boxing promoters and managers had courted the fighter in prison, it was Don King who negotiated a deal with Showtime on his fighter's first day out of prison.

Tyson's first post-prison opponent was Boston journeyman Peter McNeely, with a record of 36-1. On paper he seemed good enough, but his opponents'combined records were 148-436. McNeely maintained a brave face throughout the pre-fight pomp and circumstance, though everyone suspected the fight would go to Tyson. Tyson knocked down McNeely twice and then McNeely's manager threw in the towel after 89 seconds of the first round.
Over the next year Tyson beat up on lesser fighters and stirred controversy. King tried to schedule Tyson's next fight on the same night and in the same city (Las Vegas) as a pay-per-view fight between Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield, causing an uproar among boxing circles. The fight was rescheduled when Tyson broke his thumb, and Tyson knocked out Buster Mathis in the third round of their eventual fight on December 16th in Philadelphia.

Easy victories followed. On March 16, 1996, Tyson fought the tough talking but weak-chinned Englishman Frank Bruno. Clearly frightened in the ring, Bruno was repeatedly warned for clinching in the first two rounds of the fight. Tyson battered Bruno in the third, sending him sliding incoherently down the ropes 50 seconds into the round. On September 7, 1996, Tyson knocked out Bruce Seldon in 109 seconds. Many spectators and fans watching the pay-per-view event thought the fight was fixed because few saw Tyson punch Seldon, but Seldon's trainer said that his man was so scared that he may have had a nervous breakdown. This string of fights earned Tyson some $65 million dollars.
The victory over Seldon gave Tyson the WBA championship and a legitimate claim to fighting Evander Holyfield, who he had been waiting to fight since 1991. Holyfield was seen as a washed-up fighter, in danger even of being killed in the ring by Tyson. Holyfield was a 25-1 underdog, but he would make $11 million to Tyson's $30 million. Despite the long odds, Holyfield was the first man whom Tyson faced since he was released from prison who would fight back. In the sixth round, Holyfield opened a cut over Tyson's left eye with a head butt and then dropped Tyson with a left hook. It was only the second time Tyson was knocked down in his whole career. At that point Holyfield said that he knew he had beaten Tyson and for the rest of the fight, he jabbed Tyson and stayed out of his rival's reach. Tyson lost, but the fight grossed $100 million and a rematch was assured.

Infamy in the Desert

Whitney Houston and Mike Tyson

Anticipation for the Tyson-Holyfield rematch was so great that the MGM sold out its 16,000 tickets on the first day. The spectators and the millions viewing on pay-per-view expected to be part of another unforgettable moment in Tyson's career. They were not disappointed. The first round seemed to pick up where the first match left off. Holyfield was the aggressor, sometimes leading with his head. In the second, Holyfield head-butted Tyson and cut him above his right eye. The fight became more brutal, with both fighters seeming to abandon the rules.
Then, in the third round, Tyson and Holyfield clinched in the middle of the ring. Tyson seemed to search for his opponent's ear, find it, and then purposely chomped down on it. Holyfield propelled himself into the air and Tyson spit out his mouthpiece and a piece of Holyfield's ear. Tyson then followed Holyfield back to his corner and pushed him with both hands. There was a two-minute delay, after which it was decided the fight could continue. The two clinched in the center of the ring and Tyson reached over and bit Holyfield's other ear. The ring immediately filled with people and chaos ensued. As Tyson left the arena with empty beer cups raining down on him, it seemed that the youngest and most-feared heavyweight champion might be drummed out of boxing forever.

The Nevada State Commission withheld Tyson's paycheck and suspended his license. Tyson appeared before the press on the Monday after the fight and apologized for his behavior, but the public was outraged--perhaps more so than when he was convicted for rape. "He realized he couldn't whup me, and he got frustrated," Holyfield explained to Time magazine's Richard Lacayo. Reaction poured in from all over the world and Tyson quickly became a punch line on the late night comedy shows. At the Hollywood Wax Museum his likeness was moved from the sports section to the Chamber of Horrors next to Hannibal Lector, the cannibal from the movie Silence of the Lambs. In the end Tyson was banned from boxing for one year and fined $3 million.