Mike Tyson regrets going "over the edge" and biting off part of Evander Holyfield's ear but hopes boxing chiefs will give him "another chance".

Tyson was fined £2 million and lost his Nevada boxing licence last June after being disqualified for biting Holyfield's ears.

But Tyson blames the way he was brought up on the streets of Brooklyn for his shameful behaviour in the ring as he battled in vain to take Holyfield's WBA title.

"As long as I live I will regret what happened that night," Tyson said "but I cannot change anything. I can only start again and hope that I get another chance.

"I tasted blood that night when I bit the ears of Evander Holyfield. Yes, I went over the edge. I snapped. I felt I had been pushed back into the streets."

Attempting to explain what was going through his mind as he turned from fighter to biter, Tyson said: "You have to understand I grew up in the streets. I didn't have any protection, a lot of my friends died or went to prison.

"Our role models were drug dealers and pimps. That's no excuse, but I have to explain there were no rules. You just had to survive, hurt someone who wanted to hurt you.

"I felt in this fight the rules were not being observed. I was fighting for my life, my children, and I got so frustrated.

"I felt Holyfield was using his head illegally. I told the referee. I wasn't getting any help so I went back to the streets. I cannot defend it but it happened. It was bizarre. It was a freak."

Tyson has his heart setting on making a comeback and is determined to be in good shape if, and when, he is given the green light to resume his tarnished career.

"I'm going back to training, not because I'm expecting to get my licence back - I don't take anything for granted now - but because I need to be in good shape for things I will be doing in the next few months and I do have to be prepared, mentally and physically, if I do get my licence back.

"I said many times I was the baddest man on the planet and I earned the right to say that. I fought everybody and I beat them all and I want to prove that again. But to do that I have to fight Evander Holyfield again."

Don King is convinced he can make Tyson over £30 million from a third Tyson-Holyfield meeting if his man gets his licence back.

"Tyson-Holyfield III would be the biggest fight in history, and it wouldn't even matter if Lennox Lewis came along and beat Holyfield," claimed King.

"This fight isn't about titles. It's about blood, something that would have the people going crazy if it happened in the Roman Colosseum."