Buster Douglas Knocks Out Tyson on February 10, 1990

On February 10, 1990, the sports world witnessed one of the greatest upsets in history. It was on this night that World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mike Tyson looked to continue his immortality as a fighter by beating the 42-1 underdog in James "Buster" Douglas at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.

Tyson earned his invincibility as a fighter by winning 33 of his first 37 pro fights by KO. He had never been knocked down to the canvas in any fight, so the odds that Douglas had any shot on this night looked slim at best. It should be noted that Tyson fired long-time trainer Kevin Rooney and replaced him with the inexperienced Aaron Snowell. This was Tyson's first fight under the training of Snowell.

Douglas, who had a 29-4-1 record, was more or less a journeyman fighter going in as he occasionally had chances to fight for a title. He lost to Tony Tucker by quitting in the 10th Round three years before for the vacated IBF Title, but did happen to beat Oliver McCall prior to his encounter with Tyson with a 10th Round TKO. Douglas lost 3 of those 4 career losses by KO, so to think Douglas had any shot at Tyson was impossible to comprehend from anyone.

Douglas did have a lot to fight for besides the heavyweight title because his mother died three weeks before the contest. Reportedly, Tyson backed off training for this fight, so it seemed he was not worried about "Buster' Douglas.

However, what most observers forgot to notice was the huge reach advantage that the 6'4" Douglas had over the 5'9" Tyson. This proved to be very beneficial in this fight because Douglas used his 13-inch reach advantage to keep Tyson from getting inside on him with his massive punching power.

In the early going, Tyson was frustrated by Douglas, who kept landing jab after jab. Tyson never could get inside to attack and wear down the body of Douglas. Douglas controlled the pace of the fight by using that jab, and it stunned fans watching at home. Tyson was able to have his occasional spurts by fighting back, but it did little to stop Douglas from pounding him in this fight while dictating tempo. Douglas did make one critical mistake in this fight, and it nearly costed him though.

While Douglas backed Tyson in the ropes in the 8th Round, Iron Mike hit him with a very strong short right uppercut that sent Douglas to the canvas. Douglas, who had quit in the Tucker fight just three years before, was not about to give up on this night. Douglas was able to get up at the count of 9, and continue the fight. Tyson became more agressive, but was unable to capitalize on the knockdown. Douglas recovered to land those long jabs to get back on track in the 9th Round.

Tyson's left eye was swollen at this point in the fight, and that alone surprised the fans and media because he rarely had anyone cause that kind of damage. Tyson didn't have an endswell to use in this fight because of not feeling the need for it, so his trainers had to use ice water to reduce swelling on his eye.

In the 10th Round, Douglas finally wore Tyson down with those jabs by landing a five punch combination that ended with a left hook to the face of Tyson. Tyson was knocked down for the first time in his career, and the stunned audience as well television viewers could not believe it. The sight of Tyson circling on the canvas to find his mouthpiece while also trying to recover from the combination punches was something I can still vision to this day and has gone on to be one of the most famous sports moments ever. Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson to become the new Heavyweight Champion of the World in what is in most people's minds as the biggest upset in boxing history.

There was controversy in this fight as Don King was furious that Douglas was not counted out in the 8th Round after believing he was down for 10 seconds. The WBC and WBA appeared to agree with him and neither were going to sanction Douglas as champion. However, the media and IBF would not stand for it, and the WBA eventually concluded that Douglas was in fact the undisputed champion. So the decision stood, and Douglas was the new champion.

Tyson was never the same fighter after this bout, and his life took a serious and dramatic turn for the worse later. Two years later, he was convicted of rape and sentenced to prison. He would have a successful return after his stint behind bars, but not being able to beat the top tier talent in Holyfield or Lennox Lewis hurt his credibility in the ring against tougher competition.

An out-of-shape Douglas lost to Evander Holyfield later that year in October by KO. Douglas retired from boxing after losing the title, and would comeback to mostly an uneventful return to the ring six years later. Douglas reportedly made over $24 million in his fight with Holyfield which is what he lived off of until health issues began to catch up with him. At one point, Douglas weighed over 400 pounds, but he would improve his health to return to the ring. Douglas finished his career with a 38-6-1 record with 25 wins coming by knockout.

This ended up being a defining moment not only in the careers of both fighters, but the sport itself. No longer was there an invincible fighter like Tyson, and it also goes to show you how motivation and preparedness(or lack thereof) can go along way in determining the outcome of a bout. This turned out to not only be the defining moment in Tyson's boxing career, but his life outside the ring as well. Tyson was exposed for the first time in this fight, and alot of historians were ready to label him as one of the two best fighters of all-time prior to this contest. However, Tyson's inability to control this fight caused him to get careless with in the ring. Also, he was too predictable in wanting to establish his power by working on the body before landing a huge head shot. Furthermore, the ones who beat Tyson in his career were very polished and fundamentally sound in the ring as well as not intimidated by his powerful presence either.

For all intensive purposes, Douglas was a second rate boxer who became an overnight sensation by having the best fight of his life by beating an unprepared and unpolished fighter in Mike Tyson. This fight alone made many observers retract their comment by saying Tyson was the second best heavyweight of all-time behind Ali. In the latest Ring Magazine rankings, Tyson ranks as the 14th best boxer in history. According to one source close to that magazine, Tyson's lack of quality wins in the heavyweight division coupled by losses to guys ranked ahead of him(Holyfield and Lennox Lewis) is why he's not in the top 10 nor rated anywhere near the best ever.

You could make the argument that this was the greatest upset in sports history considering the invincibilty of the champion in this fight over the challenger. This is why you just never know what can happen in any sport at any time. Douglas shocked the boxing world on this night, and he'll forever be remembered for doing what none of us thought was possible.

Thanks for viewing and I hope your enjoyed this history flashback!

Posted in: boxing, Douglas, James Buster Douglas, Mike Tyson, Tokyo, Tyson

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