Mike Tyson tried to bite my nipple off as Muhammad Ali watched, but I made him quit boxing minutes later
11/08/2024 07:58 PM
Years after he bit Evander Holyfield’s ear, Mike Tyson tried the same trick on his final ever professional opponent.
‘Iron Mike’ was launching one last effort at a boxing comeback in 2005 when he faced little-known Irish heavyweight Kevin McBride in Washington, DC. The Monaghan native was considered a massive underdog going into the bout, but managed to hold his own for the six rounds.
Despite Tyson trying to break his arm and opening up a cut above his eye, the Irishman stayed the course. And when the sixth round ended, Tyson quit on the stool, before calling an end to his iconic career for almost 20 years until a showdown with Jake Paul this month materialised.
- Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson: How to watch, live stream, start time, full card and rules
Mike Tyson bit Kevin McBride’s nipple in final boxing fight
On June 11 of 2005, Kevin McBride’s very own ‘Cinderella story’ came true as he became the man to send Mike Tyson into retirement. And despite his victory being widely critiqued after the fact, he had to go about it the hard way.
Tyson used a number of his dirtiest tactics in an intense final performance, including evoking the spirit of his infamous Evander Holyfield disqualification by biting McBride. Luckily, he joked, the mouthpiece saved the Irishman from losing it altogether, and minutes later he had scored the stoppage win.
“He tried to bite my nipple off honest to God,” McBride told Bloody Elbow in an exclusive chat. “You’d have to watch in slow motion but he went in and I remember vividly he pulled away from me and my nipple was slipping out of his mouth.
“I can’t remember what round it was in, but I’m glad he had his mouthpiece in because if he had spat out his mouthpiece it might have been a different story! He definitely did bite me and he bit Evander Holyfield’s ear and spit it out.
“He could have spit my nipple up, and thank God he didn’t. Listen, he wanted to win at all costs, he was trying to break my arm and I always said the bigger stronger man tends to beat the smaller strong man and he did hit me so hard that I was seeing Leprechauns playing drums in my head, that ain’t no joke!”
Muhammad Ali gave Kevin McBride unique compliment after Mike Tyson win
Perhaps the standout moment on the night for McBride, however, came after the fact when he was introduced to boxing royalty in Muhammad Ali. The legendary former champion was watching from ringside, and later paid an interesting compliment to the victor.
“After the fight I got to meet Muhammad Ali and shake his hand,” he added. “I got to hug him and say ‘this is the greatest night of my life’. I’m after meeting and beating a legend and now I’m meeting the greatest of all time.
“Muhammad Ali then threw a few punches at me and said ‘I’m the greatest, you’re the latest’. At the end of the day, the whole thing was surreal.”
Kevin McBride warns Jake Paul of Mike Tyson’s ferocious power
While McBride understands that Paul is showing serious bottle to get in with an icon of the ring like Tyson, he is also acutely aware of the perils. He’s the last man to feel a full throttle punch from the legend in a professional bout, and reckons the social media star may not have what it takes to survive.
“He has unbelievable power and you’d have to feel it to understand it, you know?” McBride warned Paul. “I sparred fighters like Riddick Bowe and had different fights all over the world, a lot of people hit hard but Tyson, if you’d say all those others were a 5 or 6, he was a 10 out of 10.
“I still feel the punch today and it’s 19 years later… What I would say to Jake and his coaches is to try and ride the storm. It’s two minute rounds so he’ll have to do a bit of holding on and I don’t know if he has the strength to hold on to Tyson.
“He is an animal, a legend and he is a trained professional fighter with more experience than a lot of people and it’s very dangerous for Jake. I actually met Jake myself, I was at one of his fights and he’s a nice guy.
“Fair dues to him, he had a dream and he’s a YouTuber fighter but now he’s mixing in with the pros. Time will tell, I guess, but it’s going to be exciting on Netflix. I’ve got Netflix so I’ll be watching it myself.”
