Moroccan heavyweight Youness Baalla attempted to bite the ear of opponent David Nyika during their Olympic Games last-16 fight on Tuesday.
With just over 90 seconds remaining in the third round, the 22-year-old Baalla tried to chomp down on Nyika. The moment was missed by the referee.
New Zealander Nyika won the fight by unanimous decision.
"Did you see that? I don't think the ref saw it," said Nyika.
"She was the closest one.
"He didn't get a full mouthful. Luckily he had his mouthguard in and I was a bit sweaty. I don't remember what I said to him but I gave him a little bit of a cheek.
"I have been bitten once on the chest before at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. But c'mon man this is the Olympics."
Youness Baalla attempts to bite David Nyika in Olympic fight
Rock solid example of someone whose goal at #Tokyo2020 wasn’t to win gold, but go viral on social media.
Youness Baalla of Morocco 🇲🇦 - achievement unlocked ✅pic.twitter.com/8VxzUGEoXi
— Andrew Gourdie (@AndrewGourdie) July 27, 2021
On Instagram, Nyika appealed for people to not abuse his opponent.
"Please read: The heat of battle can bring the best AND the worst out of people," he wrote.
"This is part of sport. I have nothing but respect for my opponent and can appreciate the frustration he must have felt. *Please don’t reach out to him if you have nothing nice to say.*"
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