Did buster douglas beat mike tyson7/27/2023 “I had my biggest fight ever and there were these storms going on in my life. "You know, she came over to my house a few days before she passed, just to check up on me, to see how I was doing, because I was going through a lot of things at that time.” Douglas would later say in an interview with The Scotsman. Most devastating of all, just 23 days before facing off with Tyson, who at that point possessed a 37-0 record, came the unexpected death of his mother. Then, weeks into 1990, Buster's marriage was all but over and the mother of his 11-year-old son, Doris Jefferson, was lying seriously ill in hospital. Instead Douglas became the first boxer to beat ‘The Baddest Man On The Planet’ in a professional bout, on Februat the Tokyo Dome in Japan’s capital, with Iron Mike floored in the 10th round after a flurry of punches in a largely dominant display by the unfancied boxer from Columbus, Ohio.ĭouglas, as one commentator noted, “had every reason to come into bout depressed and downtrodden” amid circumstances which would have affected the most mentally tuned of pugilists.Įight years earlier in 1982, Douglas’ 17-year-old brother, Arthur, died when a gun fell from the top of a refrigerator at a friend's house and shot him in the head. Those are the odds that bookmakers at the Mirage Casino in Las Vegas had given James ‘Buster’ Douglas to win the fight against the undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, the holder of the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles: Mike Tyson. Students say he's kind, tough, generous and “very genuine.” It's all enhanced by what he accomplished in 1990.What do you do when you’re given a 42/1 ‘not-a-chance-in-hell’ price for victory? He staged a six-fight comeback before retiring from boxing in 1999, then launched into his work with the city of Columbus. It was either get back into life or cash it on in,” he said. Again, life presented him a mountain to overcome. In 1996, he woke up in a hospital on death's door. He said he gave up on his life and health for a period after the fight. Inside a training ring at Columbus' Thompson Community Center, Douglas towers over most of his students, chanting, “Left, right, left, right, left, left” as they punch away at the pads on he wears on his hands in place of gloves. He said working with kids is one of his favorite things to do. ![]() In one of the more spectacular upsets in sports history, Douglas defeated Mike Tyson, the reigning world heavyweight champion on Feb. 4, 2020 photo, James "Buster" Douglas, the former world heavyweight champion, works with a student at the Thompson Community Center in Columbus, Ohio, where he teaches youth boxing. Douglas' victory was ultimately upheld, but not before months of drama and expensive litigation. Tyson and fight promoter Don King challenged Douglas' victory, claiming Douglas had gone down first in the fight but been given more time than allowed to get up. But what followed was anything but a celebration. ![]() Only one Las Vegas bookie - whether brave or stupid - would set odds on the fight: 42 to 1.ĭouglas won, stunning the sports world. Tyson was the reigning undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, and a frightening opponent to boot, when he entered the ring against James “Buster” Douglas on Feb. "It might have just been luck, but I can tell you that Coach worked hard for it even if it was luck.” It's crazy that Coach, like, just beat him," he said. “Really, Mike Tyson was the second-most greatest boxer in the world still to this day. “I mean, I really look up to Mike Tyson, but I don't look up to him as much as Coach," said 11-year-old Colton Matson, who has worked with Douglas since he was 6.
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