Tokyo 2020 – ‘Act of absolute madness’ – Boxer Youness Baalla attempts to bite opponent David Nyika’s ear off

ByBen Snowball

Published 27/07/2021 at 08:48 GMT

"He didn’t get a full mouthful. Luckily he had his mouthguard in and I was a bit sweaty," said David Nyika after leaving the match with both his ears intact. The shocking incident, which has sparked widespread condemnation, brings back memories of Mike Tyson’s world title fight against Evander Holyfield in 1997. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+

Morocco’s Youness Baalla evoked memories of Mike Tyson’s infamous bite by attempting to chew his opponent’s ear during an eventful boxing match at Tokyo 2020.

Baalla was trailing New Zealand’s David Nyika on points in the third and final round of their last 16 heavyweight clash when he attempted the inexcusable.

With the pair clinched together, the 22-year-old moved his open mouth towards Nyika’s ear and attempted to latch on. Fortunately, Nyika managed to evade his shock advances.

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Nyika went on to complete a 5-0 victory but expressed his surprise that the referee missed the incident – and expressed total dismay at his opponent.

“Did you see that? I don’t think the ref saw it. She was the closest one,” the 25-year-old said.

“He didn’t get a full mouthful. Luckily he had his mouthguard in and I was a bit sweaty.

“I don’t remember what I said to him but I gave him a little bit of a cheek. I have been bitten once on the chest before at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. But c’mon man, this is the Olympics.”

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The Eurosport commentary box were left stunned by the incident.

“Ooo, hello. The frustration threatening to boil over there for Youness Baalla. He just needs to settle down.

“He almost lost the plot completely there. That could have been an act of absolute madness.”

Tyson bit a chunk out of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a world title fight at Madison Square Gardens in 1997, a match later billed ‘The Bite Fight’. Tyson was disqualified and had his boxing licence revoked for 15 months.

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