Mike Tyson is famous for his 1997 biting incident, but that wasn’t the only time he was accused of the act during his career.
Tyson was called out by a previous opponent for trying to bite his nipple off before getting knocked out. Before that, Tyson stood accused of biting the leg of Lennox Lewis.
In 2005, Tyson suffered the last knockout of his career against Kevin McBride. The Irishman says Tyson engaged in fouls as he knew he was losing their fight.
“I’m sure him [and] his company thought, ‘This is a walk in the park. He wasn’t as fast,” McBride told ESPN regarding his stint as the underdog. “Ten years before that, I might not have lasted that long.
“I leaned my weight on him. I was the bigger, stronger man. But I was getting stronger and stronger. I could feel the energy sapping out of him.
“He hit me so hard in the sixth round. I grabbed him and said, ‘Is that all you got?’ And that’s when he tried to break my arm, and he tried to bite my nipple off. Thank God he had his mouthpiece in.
“People don’t understand the pain and suffering. You can just imagine him with a mouthpiece on, biting on it, pulling, and you’re like, ‘aargh,’ and it just slipped off in time. It’s like this man’s nuts, crazy. I know he wants to win at all costs.
“I know in my heart when you’re in that kind of a zone, you want to win; you don’t want to lose,” he added. “This is your dream, your life. He just wanted to get to the next fight and make some more money [to] pay his bills.”
On Tyson’s aura of invincibility during that time, McBride stated, “He puts the fear of God in anybody. But that’s the good thing about me, I have no fear because I love the sport. I would’ve fought Mike Tyson for nothing. Just to get in the ring, mix with him, and hit him.
“He’s the most intimidating fighter ever. This is the most feared man in the world. But I was just focused on the win and whatever way I could win.”
That moniker has long passed as Tyson is now 58 and most recently lost against a YouTuber, denting his legacy forever.
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Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.