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In the pantheon of sportsmen who bite, one man has long stood as the pinnacle towards which all others strive, aware that no matter what they do, they'll forever be in the shadow of the champ—Mike Tyson. The former heavyweight boxing champion infamously bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield's ear in 1997, and his bizarre action remains the gold standard in the world of competitive biting.
"I think it is just the heat of the moment, really hot blooded and really competitive," he told participants of a Reddit AMA when asked about Luis Suarez' repeated attempts to unseat him as the undisputed biting champion of the world. "The heat of the moment takes over us, we are really competitive and lose bad judgement in our thinking. Sometimes you can just become highly frustrated."
After the incident, Luis Suarez suggested his bite of Giorgio Chiellini of Italy was just one of those things that can happen out on a pitch—like an accidental handball or a hard tackle. It sounds as though Tyson's about on the same page. Which perhaps shouldn't be surprising since, for Tyson as Suarez, these really are the sorts of things that just happen. So. There you go, Luis. Iron Mike understands.
Shit happens. You get caught up in the moment. Sometimes you just get frustrated and bite a dude.
