Boxer admits he tried biting rival’s ear and “was about to do a Mike Tyson”

A boxer has admitted that he tried to bite his opponents ear and "was bout to do a Mike Tyson" during their fight.

Edgar Berlanga made the confession after his unanimous decision victory over Alexis Alvarez at Madison Square Garden's Hulu Theatre on Saturday night. Berlanga had appeared to try and bite Angulo's ear during the seventh round but did not connect with his attempted bite, with his teeth instead colliding with his shoulder.

After the bout, Berlanga admitted to trying to bite Alvarez and claimed that his opponent had been throwing elbows throughout the contest, causing him to retaliate.

Speaking to ESPN, he explained: "He was throwing elbows. I was about to do a Mike Tyson on him. He kept throwing his elbows and pushing it out. I didn't want to get cut."

Former heavyweight champion Tyson infamously bit Evander Holyfield's ear in the third round of their June 1997 rematch for the WBA heavyweight title, causing him to be disqualified.

However, Berlanga avoided a disqualification in New York City on Saturday and successfully defended his WBO NABO super middleweight title as he moved to a 20-0 professional record.

Should Edgar Berlanga be punished for his attempted bite? Let us know in the comments section below.

That has not stopped him from receiving criticism for his antics, though, with promoter Lou DiBella tweeting: "If you bite your opponent like you’re a rabid dog you should be disqualified."

Meanwhile, other boxing personalities criticised the general quality of the fight instead, with trainer Teddy Atlas commenting: "Berlanga’s record is more impressive than his fighting. I’m going back to UFC fights."

Former super middleweight world champion Caleb Traux added: "I scored it 76-74 Berlanga… Both lost 20 points for being awful. Berlanga sucked just a little bit less than Angulo…"

Berlanga is not the first fighter to attempt to replicate the antics of Tyson, though, with Argentine fighter Nicolas Pablo Demario doing the same back in March.

Demario avoided disqualification after sinking his teeth into the shoulder of opponent Josue Vargas during their super lightweight bout in Las Vegas.

Unlike Berlanga, Demario lost the eight-round fight via a unanimous decision after escaping punishment for his reckless bite on Vargas.

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