The recent exhibition bout between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson grabbed headlines, and while Jake Paul’s victory was a talking point, eagle-eyed viewers noticed something else peculiar about Tyson: his tendency to bite his gloves. This wasn’t a one-off incident. So, Why Does Mike Tyson Bite His Gloves during fights? It’s a question that has resurfaced, prompting fans and commentators to ponder the reasons behind this unusual ringside habit. Let’s delve into the possible explanations for this behavior.
Mike Tyson’s glove-biting isn’t a new quirk that emerged in his later career. Flashback to his exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020, and the pattern repeats itself. Footage from that fight clearly shows Tyson, once again, engaging in the act of biting his left-hand glove. This recurring behavior suggests it’s more than just a spontaneous action in the heat of the moment.
Alt text: Mike Tyson in a boxing match, biting his black boxing glove with white trim, focused on the glove with a determined facial expression.
So, why does Mike Tyson bite his gloves? After the Jake Paul fight, Ariel Helwani posed this very question to Tyson. Tyson’s response was laced with his characteristic dark humor, joking that it was related to his infamous 1997 ear-biting incident with Evander Holyfield. He quipped that he just has a tendency to bite things, especially fleshy, ear-like objects – a statement met with laughter, albeit perhaps uneasy chuckles from those remembering the Holyfield fight.
However, beyond the joke, there might be a grain of truth in Tyson’s words. He mentioned that fighters sometimes act instinctively in the heat of combat, not always thinking rationally. Could Tyson’s glove-biting be a subconscious tick, a nervous habit that surfaces under pressure? It’s plausible that this repetitive action is simply a manifestation of pre-fight jitters or a way to manage stress in the ring. Whether it’s to adjust his mouthguard or simply a quirky habit, the glove-biting has become a recognizable, if somewhat bizarre, element of Mike Tyson’s boxing persona.
Alt text: Action shot of Mike Tyson boxing, throwing a powerful left hook during a fight, focused on his punching motion and opponent in the background.
While the glove-biting captured attention, the Netflix broadcast of the Tyson vs. Paul fight also faced its own set of challenges. Viewers experienced buffering issues and stream interruptions, particularly during the undercard fight between Neeraj Goyat and Whindersson Nunes. These technical difficulties sparked frustration among viewers, with reports of outages flooding platforms like Down Detector. Netflix has yet to officially address these streaming problems.
Despite the streaming hiccups, the financial figures surrounding the Tyson vs. Paul event are staggering. The fight purse is estimated to be around $80 million. Jake Paul is projected to pocket roughly half of that amount, while Mike Tyson is expected to earn approximately $20 million for his participation. These numbers highlight the immense commercial appeal of the event, even with the age disparity between the fighters and the technical difficulties encountered during the broadcast.
In conclusion, why does Mike Tyson bite his gloves? It appears to be a mix of possible factors ranging from a nervous tick to a darkly humorous callback to his past controversies. While the exact reason remains somewhat ambiguous, it’s become an undeniable and intriguing part of the Mike Tyson spectacle, adding another layer to the legend of “Iron Mike.”
