Chew on this: Former boxing greats Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield were heated opponents in the ’90s, but now they are collaborators on a truly “ear-ie” cannabis product.
Earlier this year, Tyson introduced Mike Bites, a line of pot gummies that are shaped like ears with a bite out of them, a nod to the 1997 WBA Heavyweight Championship, when Tyson infamously bit Holyfield’s ear.
But time has apparently healed all wounds because on Black Friday, Tyson’s cannabis company, Tyson 2.0, will introduce Holy Ears, a line of THC- and Delta-8 THC-infused edibles.
The duo plans to release Holyfield’s own cannabis line in 2023.
Tyson has become an evangelist for cannabis and psychedelics in recent years, and he told HuffPost, “If I was on cannabis, I wouldn’t have bit [Holyfield’s] ear!”
Although Tyson smoked weed as a kid, he gave it up for decades after he lost a spot on the 1984 Olympic boxing team.
“I’d get raving drunk, and people would say it was better than getting high,” Tyson said, adding that he came back to cannabis because he didn’t like the effect of other painkillers, such as opiates.
“You can’t shit. You can’t do nothing,” Tyson said.
Considering Tyson’s ear-shaped cannabis gummies are based on a violent act toward Holyfield, it would be understandable if he didn’t approve of the product at first.
And you’d be right. Sort of.
“I didn’t think it was funny at first, but then I realized Mike hadn’t been in more trouble for a while,” Holyfield told HuffPost, adding that he appreciated how Tyson was helping people with his products.
Holyfield admitted he hadn’t tried cannabis until he got his first Holy Ears sample.
“I wanted to make sure I got home and didn’t do anything to anyone,” he said.
“I ate it and laid down. I woke up the next morning and was like, ‘Whoa.’”
Although cannabis is still stigmatized in some parts of the country ― “like the Bible Belt,” Tyson said ― Tyson’s 2.0 partner Chad Bronstein said the boxer’s pot proselytizing has helped change hearts, minds and even ears.
“He’s a destigmatizing voice to cannabis and psychedelics,” Bronstein said. “He’s a ganja god.”