I had a roommate in university that was into (watching) boxing and he got me into it a bit. The thing we saw, and he would often comment on it, was that Mills Lane was often the guy in the ring during the really big ticket fights... and especially with the heavyweights. Everyone in the (very corrupt) boxing world trusted Mills Lane as the definitive ref.

Having to disqualify Tyson at such a big fight was exactly what he had to do and it wouldn't have been easy. I remember the analysts saying after the first bite that Tyson should have been disqualified and but when Mills Lane took four points from Tyson they back tracked and agreed will Mills that this was the right thing to do. (They in fact praised his response and in doing so confirmed that he was the right guy for this fight.) After the second bite (which is the one most people think about and have seen the clip for) he disqualified him. The analysts heaped praise on Mills for how well he handled the situation, and let's face it, it was a gong show but in the end, and forever more, he was the guy who disqualified Tyson for biting.