Why was Mike Tyson banned from professional boxing?

Mike Tyson was briefly banned from professional boxing after an infamous incident in 1997. 'Iron Mike' bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear in the pair's second fight.

Today in 1997, Mike Tyson just bites off part of Evander Holyfield’s goddamn ear. 23 years later, we all pretty much love Mike, including Evander. Life is weird, man. https://t.co/Xh7FMqB50q

In addition to the ban, Mike Tyson was also fined 10 percent of his purse for the fight.

Later, in an interview with broadcaster Jim Gray, Tyson admitted that the reason behind his actions was a combination of two things. As well as Holyfield getting the better of him in the fight, he said the referee hadn't listened to his appeal about getting headbutted by 'The Real Deal'.

"I bit him because I wanted to kill him. I was really mad about my head being bumped and everything. I really lost consciousness of the whole fight. It took me out of my fight plan and everything," said Mike Tyson.

Rumors have been flying about a trilogy match between Tyson and Holyfield for some time now. 'The Real Deal' said in an interview with FightHype.com that he's open to a third fight if Tyson wants it.

Triller wants to move away from exhibition fights featuring older competitors like Mike Tyson

Speaking to Yahoo Sports, Triller CEO Thorston Meier recently stated that the promotion wants to move away from celebrity events that involve older fighters. Instead, Triller wants to put on more professional bouts.

“At the end of the day, what we want to do at Triller Fight Club is to put on professional fights. We are stepping away from exhibition stuff only. Yeah, [Mike] Tyson was great and whatever... But the focus is on full-blown professional fights and the focus is most certainly on full-blown good professional fights. There are more and more to come.”

Triller recently put on an event called 'Legends 2'. It was headlined by a boxing bout between 58-year-old Evander Holyfield and 44-year-old Vitor Belfort. The promotion received a lot of flak for the event.

Many have criticized Triller for putting on events featuring aged men who could suffer serious damage in the fights.

Vitor Belfort just destroyed Evander Holyfield

We just witnessed elderly abuse on live TV #HolyfieldBelfort #TrillerFightClub https://t.co/2jxTzUF4iq