On the historic date of February 11, 1990, Buster Douglas etched his name into sports history by orchestrating one of the most remarkable upsets ever witnessed. In a World Heavyweight Championship bout in Tokyo, Douglas, entering as a significant underdog, delivered a knockout blow to the undefeated Mike Tyson in the 10th round. This monumental victory unfolded against the backdrop of Tyson’s impeccable record of 37-0, with 33 of those wins secured by knockout.
Moreover, the fact that Tyson had never before been knocked down in his illustrious career makes this feat even more historic. Douglas’ relentless assault in the 10th round sent Tyson to the canvas, marking the first instance of the boxing legend being unable to rise before the 10-count, ultimately concluding the fight in dramatic fashion. The results shocked the entire world, but this bout also delayed the marquee bout between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield significantly. Holyfield, however, seems unfazed by this setback.
Evander Holyfield talks about how he didn’t care about the Mike Tyson vs. Douglas fight
Mike Tyson was one of the fiercest boxers during the 1990s era. Thus, fighting Buster Douglas was just a way to get to the marquee contest with Evander Holyfield. At that time, Tyson didn’t take Douglas seriously at all. He was even spotted partying in Japan ahead of his fight. Tyson was confronted by the VLAD TV over this, and he agreed to it himself.
So, when Holyfield was asked about his thoughts on this fight, he said, “[Buster Douglas] was a good fighter, you know. When you’re a good amateur fighter that mean that this is how you learn how to fight from amateur and so you know he- good jab, good right hand and he’s a big guy. He’s not a little guy, he a big guy.”
Later, he stated that he had heard about Tyson hanging out in Japan, but he chose to say nothing. Holyfield explained, “With me, I didn’t say anything because the fact of the matter, I ain’t want nobody to think that I was on nobody’s side. Because whoever wins I got to fight, I could care less.” Although the first loss of Mike Tyson left him devastated, but now in hindsight, he called it the best fight of his career.
Tyson thinks fighting Buster Douglas is the best fight of his career
In one of the recent episodes of Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson, Francis Ngannou appeared as a guest on the show. He talked about how he also faced a massive career in the UFC, but he had gone complacent as he was winning all of his fights back-to-back. This was until he faced a big fight against Stipe Miocic and faced the second loss of his career.
He stated, “I didn’t have no experience but was knocking people out, you know, at some point you kind of like, Um, not put yourself right into it, not push yourself, you know, until I get the Stipe fight….” Then Tyson intervened and talked about how he understands the sentiments of Ngannou. Tyson added, “That’s how I feel about the Buster Douglas fight, yeah, and the best fight in my career.”
So, Mike Tyson always believed that it was an important turning event in his life that changed his perspective about fighting and made him better at his job. What are your thoughts about this? Tell us in the comments section.
