Today is the 20th anniversary of James “Buster” Douglas victory over “Iron” Mike Tyson. This was one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport. At the time, Tyson was viewed as an unstoppable force that mauled most of his opponents with dynamic power and fierce determination. Douglas, on the other hand, was seen as an extremely talented pugilist that was too lazy to get his sh*t together. So many things changed leading up to the fight in Tokyo on February 11, 1990.
On Douglas’ side, he finally found the motivation he needed when his mother past away weeks before the fight. He used the tragedy to get in the best shape of his career (and the best shape he’d ever be in). Douglas had all the physical tools and the right punches to beat Tyson. He was much taller and had a greater reach than his foe, which he used to establish a rocking jab. Tyson was also susceptible to uppercuts, which Douglas used to nail Tyson. None of that would have happened if Douglas hadn’t gotten into shape. It all culminated in a beautiful moment in sports television when Douglas broke down crying, overcome with emotion from winning the championship for his late mother.
On Tyson’s side, arrogance played a part in his defeat. He started believing his own hype and barely trained for the fight. He forgot all those lessons taught to him by the great trainers Cus D’Amato and Teddy Atlas (and the not quite great Kevin Rooney). It was even amateur hour in Tyson’s corner; his “cutman” used what looked like a condom filled with ice water to control Tyson’s facial swelling. Any cutman worth a damn uses an enswell. Perhaps Tyson completely dismissed the notion of his face getting busted up by Douglas. Perhaps his cornermen were lackeys pretending to be professional boxing trainers. It was probably both.
Legendary promoter Don King added some controversy after the fight…or should I say bullsh*t controversy. King claimed that the fight should be a no-contest because the referee took too long to count to ten when Douglas was knocked down. It’s true that the count was slow, but if you’ve seen the fight then you know that Douglas wasn’t in any danger of being knocked out. He was complete aware and followed the referee’s instructions (like a fighter is supposed to). Seconds after he hit the canvas, he even pounded his fist to the ground, angry at the mistake he just made. King tried to hold up the title change and had the fighters’ money frozen in a lame attempt to keep the title around Tyson.
I was in high school when the fight happened and it was on pretty late. I remember running up to my parents’ room to tell them that Mike Tyson lost. I’m pretty sure they were mildly annoyed that I woke them up. I even remember the local television guide listing the fight as (I’m paraphrasing), “The latest Mike Tyson slaughter will be like all the rest, only this one will take place in Tokyo.” It was truly one of the most memorable sporting events I’ve ever seen and certainly the biggest boxing upset of my lifetime. It’s just fun to reminisce. It’s also crazy that it was 20 years ago. Whoa (like Joey from Blossom).
Do you remember the Douglas/Tyson fight? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
on Tueday. It was full of ultra-violence, disturbing imagery, cool animation, and vagina-shaped thingies. As a standalone animated film, it was okay. As an animated film that promotes a game, it totally succeeded in making me want to play 
. Here are some assorted thoughts (not a review!) on the movie.
