Just like what retired American boxer Mike Tyson did 12 years ago, a jealous wife bit off a part of her husband's ear during a fight in the central Philippine city of Bacolod, a local newspaper reported on Saturday.

The wife, whose name was withheld, hit back at her husband after he boxed her during an altercation at 10 p.m. Tuesday, said a report of the Visayan Daily Star.

The incident was reminiscent of a bout between Tyson and Evander Holyfield in 1987, when Tyson bit off a piece from each of Holyfield's ears.

Initial police reports showed the 27-year-old wife summoned her husband in front of a variety store at Lacson Street. She confronted him about rumors that he was flirting with their neighbor.

When he boxed her instead, she bit his ear and mutilated it, then went to the city police's Women and Children’s Protection Center to lodge a complaint.

Bystanders recovered and disposed of the bitten-off part of the husband's ear.

The husband was detained at a police jail after going to a hospital for treatment. He was released later as the wife failed to file a formal complaint against him, said the report.

The husband was told a local radio station he did not intend to hurt her and was only "forced" to box her when she bit his ear.