Victuals; the New York Bite.(boxer Mike Tyson)(The Talk of the Town)

It has been four and a half years since Mike Tyson took a bite out of Evander Holyfield. The incident occurred during a world-title fight in Las Vegas, and, even now, mystery hangs over Tyson's motives for what soon became known as the first televised instance of pay-per-chew. Maybe he tired of the traditional fist technique employed by more sedate combatants and decided, instead, to put his mouth where the money was. If so, he gambled wrong, because that single crunch resulted in a fine of three million dollars: perhaps the most expensive between-meals snack in the history of comestibles.

Last Tuesday, January 22nd, Tyson -- vehemently and without prior notice -- reasserted his claim to be Heavyweight Chomper of the World. At the Millennium Broadway Hotel, on West Forty-fourth Street, a press conference was held to promote the forthcoming bout between Tyson and Lennox Lewis, the British boxer who currently holds the W.B.C. title. That, at any rate, was the plan, and the organizers had taken the precaution of staging the conference in the hotel's Hudson Theatre, rather than in the more tempting environment of its restaurant. In the event, Tyson reverted to form: spurning the need for cutlery, he made it instantly clear that he would be skipping the Q & A session and heading straight into lunch.

One of Lewis's bodyguards (Why can't boxers defend themselves? Isn't that what boxing is for?) apparently sought to fend off a fast-approaching Tyson, who promptly threw a left. Lewis returned the compliment, whereupon the whole scene turned into early Mack Sennett. During the dustup, it appears that Tyson sank his gnashers -- themselves a formidable sight, even in the course of an everyday grin -- into a large helping of his opponent. Precisely which cut of raw Englishman he favored is open to debate; reports referred variously to the leg, the left leg, the leg through the pants, and the foot. One of Tyson's trainers, Stacy McKinley, ...