Legendary American boxing referee Mills Lane, who notably officiated during the match during which Mike Tyson tore a piece of the ear of his rival Evander Holyfield, died at the age of 85, announced Tuesday Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.
“The Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame mourns the passing of Grand Referee Mills Lane,” the institution said on its website. The former referee, who suffered a stroke in 2002, died in Reno, Nevada, along with his wife and two sons, one of the latter told local media.
Lane, a former U.S. Marine and boxer himself, was known for his pre-fight line “Let’s get it on!” (“Let’s go!”) and for his direct attitude in the ring.
A respected referee, he rose to stardom as the third man in the ring in the 1997 Tyson-Holyfield rematch, which ended in Tyson’s disqualification for biting off his opponent’s left ear.
Lane also refereed Tyson’s 89-second match against Peter McNeeley in Las Vegas in 1995, in which McNeeley was disqualified for bursting his frame into the ring.
A law graduate, Mills Lane was also a district attorney in Reno, then a judge in the Washoe County Court, in his state of Nevada. The Reno courthouse bears his name. He was also the protagonist of a reality series, “Judge Mills Lane”, which ran for four seasons until 2001.