The sports world recoiled in shock 27 years ago today when Mike Tyson bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield's ear during their heavyweight title fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Doctors sewed up Holyfield's ear without the missing piece, and Tyson was disqualified as the highly anticipated rematch was stopped in the third round.
After the ring cleared that night from the chaos, an MGM employee named Mitchell Libonati picked up the ear piece, still left in the ring.
Libonati said the remnant looked like "a piece of sausage." He wrapped it in a latex glove and brought it to the dressing room. Holyfield's conditioning coach Tim Hallmark confirmed the glove, with the ear piece, was then handed to the paramedics on the way to the hospital.
But when doctors unraveled the latex, the piece was no longer there.
If the piece surfaced today, would it have been a legitimate collectible? We asked several experts — in both the boxing and auction world — what they think.
Dan Rafael: Boxing reporter and collector:
While I don't personally know any one of my collector friends who would buy something like that, I have zero doubt it would sell — if it is even still in existence.
People have bought strands of hair from the famous, so I'm sure someone would buy the ear piece from one of the most memorable and infamous moments in sports history.
David Kohler, SCP Auctions:
A lot of it would depend on how it looked. Is it not well-preserved, and is it shriveled up and moldy? Or is it in formaldehyde in a jar that you can look at?
There are definitely buyers here, and it's not only about the item itself. It's about the publicity associated with the item. Marc Ekho paid $752,000 for Barry Bonds' 756th home run. He got a lot more than that in publicity for his clothing company.
Dylan Kosinski, Gotta Have Rock And Roll:
If this came to market, we wouldn't be scared to sell it. All press is good press.
There are a couple of issues. Determining authenticity would be a challenge. It would need to come with a good story from the consignor, and you'd have to be able to verify his or her place at the scene. If we could have that chain of custody, we would start this at $5,000 to $10,000, even though it would be hard to come up with a true comp. But I believe it could bring in some good money.
Bobby Livingston, RR Auction:
We believe there would be some ownership disputes. Who owns it? Holyfield? Tyson? The last thing we need is another ownership dispute.
John Reznikoff, University Archives:
Most people would think it's too off color, but there would be a select group of buyers who would be interested. I think it's a $10,000 to $20,000 piece right now.
And if you find it, let me know, because I'm one of those buyers!
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.