During Mike Tyson’s initial appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, he expressed a bit of remorse over an incident with fellow fighter Evander Holyfield during their 1997 heavyweight title fight, where Mike bit Evander twice, once in each ear. The incident went down as one of the most talked-about moments in boxing history and the two have never officially discussed what happened. Evander contacted Oprah and asked if the two could reunite face to face on her show. O obliged and brought Mike back within a week of his interview for a historic interview between the two former foes.

Evander is still missing a small part of his ear but says he has moved past his anger:

“It was just shocking. It wasn’t really as bad as they made it out to be. The most important thing is that things happen for a reason, but it’s how you handle it,” he says. “At that moment, I was very angry. But eventually, when it’s all over, you realize that you gain more than you lost. … The most important thing for me was to forgive, and I forgave him and I was ready to move on.”

Check out their historic reunion below: (more…)

Boxing rivals Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield (photographed above during the 2009 ESPY Awards) are to scheduled to reunite in an upcoming episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Harpo Productions announced Wednesday that the two fighters will appear on Friday’s live episode for a historic appearance together.  If you recall, Holyfield was forever changed by Tyson after their June 28, 1997 bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas where Tyson was disqualified after biting off part of Holyfield’s right ear during their WBA heavyweight title fight.

Tyson expressed a bit of remorse about the ear-biting incident during his one on one with Oprah this week, where he admitted that his initial apology to Holyfield was insincere.  Oprah will now play referee as she gives Tyson a chance to man-up to his actions in front of her live audience. In the upcoming episode, Harpo Productions says Tyson will also take questions from the audience.

The Tyson/Holyfield episode airs Friday, October 16th. Check local listings for times.

(Source)

In case you missed it:

Video ~ Iron Mike Tyson Breaks Down on Oprah (FULL)
One More Chance? Holyfield Plans to Fight Again

I can’t take this today.  I know it’s a recession and all, but y’all got Evander Holyfield about to fight again!!! The 46 year old former champion says he ain’t retiring without one more shot at the title and has planned his final bout against 7-foot Russian, Nikolai Valuev.  The WBA heavyweight title fight is being planned for Dec. 20 in Zurich, Switzerland and the contracts are expected to be finalized by the end of the week. 

“I knew I would get one more shot, I just had to be patient,” said Holyfield, who turned 46 last month. “But I realized my time is running out and I’ve got to get this thing pretty soon. My whole thing, how old do you want to be when you pursue this?”

Holyfield, countering pleas from fans, media and the boxing community, has been putting off retirement until he reclaims the championship. He has not held a share of the title since losing the WBA belt to John Ruiz in March of 2001. Holyfield now says he plans to retire before the end of the next year, although he’s quick to add, “I’m not in control of my life. If the Lord says, ‘I made you heavyweight champion again and I want you to keep fighting,’ I’ll stay as long as He wants me to stay.” (Source)

Holyfield, who has faced severe financial issues with outstanding loans and child support obligations, strongly denies that he is fighting for the money. “People are always asking me, ‘Why are you keeping this going? Are you doing this for the money?’ It’s kind of odd. I had this as a goal even before I had any money problems and situations. You get tired of explaining to somebody that you’re not doing this for the money. It may look like it now, but it’s not the case.”

This dude is willing to fight a 7 FOOT RUSSIAN??? WTF? Did he not see what Drago did to Apollo Creed in Rocky IV???? I say…keep him in your prayers.