Mike Tyson's former trainer believes he knows the 'real reason' the boxing icon bit his gloves during his comeback fight.
'Iron Mike' returned to the professional ranks after a twenty-year retirement to fight Jake Paul, who is 31 years his junior, on November 15 at AT&T Stadium in Texas.
The 58-year-old impressed many by completing the full eight-round distance before finally collapsing in a unanimous defeat to 'El Gallo'.
Mike Tyson's return to the ring drew 60 million viewers to Netflix, and many of them noticed the former undisputed heavyweight champion doing something strange with his glove in the middle of a fight.
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for Netflix © 2024
Teddy Atlas explains Mike Tyson's glove biting
The Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson commentators speculated about a possible problem with Tyson's mouthguard as they watched him repeatedly bite his gloves.
In his post-fight interview, he was asked, “Was it a mouthpiece problem, or did you just bite your glove?”
Tyson replied: “I have a habit of biting my glove… I have a biting fixation.”
The previously feared knockout artist famously took a chunk out of Evander Holyfield's ear during their 1997 rematch.
Paul played on concerns that Tyson might do the same to him by wearing a $200,000 diamond earmuff during one of their press conferences.
Teddy Atlas, who was part of Tyson's training team during his teenage years, believes the bizarre behavior during fights had nothing to do with a biting fixation.
The boxing coach and commentator insisted it was all an act so fans believed Tyson was still a scary fighter capable of doing crazy things in the ring.
“There are a lot of questions about thumb biting,” Atlas said.
“Mike Tyson bites his thumb through the glove. First of all, that's something he did in his amateur days, in his professional days, and now of course he did it again.
“For people who follow Mike Tyson, his career, they've seen it before. People said, 'Tyson is smart, he's witty. He knows what to say and how important it is to have that image.”
'That's why he got all the money. It wasn't about what he had left at age 58. It was about what he might still have and the image. The scary guy. The man who is going to eat your children, the man who is the meanest man on earth.
“When people asked Tyson about the biting, he knew what to say. Again, keep that image, keep that myth. In areas like this it's important that they believe he's still the bogeyman.
“Why did you bite, Mike?” “I have a biting feeling.” In other words, so I didn't bite his ear. That's just a brilliant promotion for his brand so that people stick with that image. “Oh my God, he bit his thumb so he wouldn't bite his ear off.”
“But it isn't. He's done it before. It looks more like a pacifier. Look, everyone gets nervous, doubtful, scared. Even Mike Tyson. It was more like a pacifier when a child is insecure. You bite on something. Why? To suppress those feelings, you must suppress the doubt, nervousness, discomfort, and insecurities. That's it.”
Will Mike Tyson ever fight again?
Mike Tyson immediately called out Logan Paul after losing to his little brother.
After taking some time to cool down, the aging fighter released a statement on social media reflecting on the medical issues he was dealing with before his comeback fight.
Tyson also hinted that Jake Paul will be his final boxing opponent.
“This is one of those situations where you lost but still won,” he wrote on X. “I'm grateful for last night.
“I don't regret being in the ring one last time. I almost died in June. Had 8 blood transfusions.
“I lost half my blood and 25 pounds in the hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight, so I won. For my kids to see me stand toe-to-toe and finish eight rounds with a talented fighter half my age, in front of a packed Dallas Cowboy Stadium, is an experience no one has the right to ask for. Thank you.”
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