When Mike Tyson signed to fight James ‘Buster’ Douglas on February 11, 1990 in Tokyo, Japan, most thought it would be another easy night for the reigning champ.
No one in Vegas or Atlantic City wanted the fight, and the odds favoring Tyson were 42-1, with only a handful of casinos in Vegas actually taking bets.
I was never a Mike Tyson fan by any means, and vividly recall taking a VHS tape over my sister’s house to watch the fight on HBO. I figured I’d tape the thing, because in boxing, you never know!
‘Buster’ Douglas had been an underachiever who basically quit against Tony Tubbs in 1987 in his shot at the vacant IBF title. He had a history of underachieving, and despite his potential, had never lived up to it.
HBO played up the fact that Douglas’ mother had just died, and he used it as fuel to motivate him. I still figured it would be a long shot as round one began.
Tyson looked in shape, but disinterested as the bout began. Douglas used a sharp jab and quick right hands, and looked anything but afraid. After 2 or 3 rounds of the same impressive tactics, I started to believe a bit.
Douglas continued to impress and Tyson looked bewildered. At the close of round 8, Mike landed a huge right uppercut off the ropes, putting Buster on the seat of his pants. He rose at 9 however, just as the round came to a close.
In the ninth, Douglas came out strong and I knew then he would win the fight. He backed Tyson on the ropes, and hurt him. My sister had joined me to watch the fight in about the fifth round, and we were whooping and hollering at Tyson getting hammered.
An unbelievable four punch combination by Buster knocked Tyson out in the 10th, and it was absolutely in my mind, the greatest upset in boxing history. No one in their right mind could have predicted that after 3 and a half years, the reign of ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson was over.
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