Olympic boxer Youness Baalla bit his opponent's ear but luckily 'didn't get a full mouthful'

• Youness Baalla bit his boxing opponent David Nyika's ear during a heavyweight match Tuesday.
• Nyika fumed at the foul, but had done enough to claim a 5-0 win in the Olympic Games bout.
• He said he never expected such a thing to happen in Tokyo.

Olympic boxer Youness Baalla of Morocco bit New Zealand athlete David Nyika's ear during a heavyweight boxing match Tuesday, but luckily "didn't get a full mouthful."

That's according to Nyika, who stormed to a comfortable win despite the apparent foul, and then asked how such a thing could happen during the ongoing 2020 Games in Tokyo.

It bore similarity to the infamous "Bite Fight" in 1997, in which Mike Tyson kept trying to eat Evander Holyfield's ear until he managed to chew a substantial amount of flesh off, causing the referee to eject him from the bout.

Fuming at the Tyson-esque ear bite, Nyika said: "C'mon man, this is the Olympics," according to The Guardian.

Nyika, who made his Olympic debut in the round of 16 match, used accurate jabbing to beat Baalla inside the Kokugikan Arena by a 5-0 score, and advanced to Friday's quarter-final against Uladzislau Smiahlikau.

It all almost unravelled in the third round, though, when Baalla could be seen trying to bite down on Nyika's ear.

"Did you see that? I don't think the ref saw it. She was the closest one," the 25-year-old said, adding that his opponent probably tasted a lot of sweat.

"Luckily he had his mouthguard in and I was a bit sweaty," Nyika said.

"I don't remember what I said to him but I gave him a little bit of a cheek."

Nyika finished by remarking that he had been bitten before during the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games - an amateur tournament.

However, he expressed surprise at such a thing happening at the Olympic Games.

Watch the foul right here: