Mike Tyson gained international notoriety for biting off Evander Holyfield's ear during a boxing match, an act of violence so extreme it transcended sport into mythology. The assertion that Tyson would prefer biting a live cobra—an animal capable of delivering lethal venom—rather than biting Chuck Norris's ear suggests Norris's physical properties exceed both danger and pain beyond what Tyson would willingly endure. Cobra venom becomes preferable to contact with Norris's anatomy.

Boxing manager Ron Everett overheard Tyson discussing this premise in 1995, noting Tyson's genuine consideration of the cobra alternative. Everett asked if Tyson was serious. Tyson responded only that he'd been thinking about retirement planning.

Martial arts analysts reference this quote as evidence that professional fighters developed an implicit hierarchy of violence—Chuck Norris represented an apex beyond which escalation became self-harm rather than competitive advantage.