The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Douglas crashes boxing’s party
Buster Douglas, a relatively unknown and lightly regarded boxer, knocked out Mike Tyson in the 10th round to claim the heavyweight title 25 years ago.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — An uppercut and three follow-up punches made James “Buster” Douglas a household name. And 25 years later, the brief heavyweight champion is still pleased his knockout of Mike Tyson ranks among the biggest upsets in sports.
“Being crowned champion was a dream for me,” Douglas said of his Feb. 11, 1990 upset. “To achieve that was the ultimate. It was awesome.”
A promising if enigmatic fighter, Douglas was given almost no chance of hanging around long with the undefeated heavyweight champion in their title fight in Tokyo. The bout was considered a tuneup for Tyson before an anticipated match with rising star Evander Holyfield of Atlanta.
In fact, the day before Tyson fought Douglas, promoter Don King called a news conference to discuss the dates and terms of that showdown. Douglas took note.
Douglas was a terrific athlete — he played small-college basketball — but was considered less than committed to boxing despite a 29-4-1 record as a professional. He had shown glimpses of promise but had also displayed a lack of heart and discipline.
But roughly three weeks before the fight, the person who believed in Douglas the most, his mother, Lula Pearl, died. Reminded this week that no one thought he had a chance, Douglas hesitated before saying: “Yeah, but she did.”
Tyson was boxing’s hope and its bane, a street-tough kid whose temperament was erratic, at best. In the ring, he was a force of nature, always striding closer, al- ways hurling punches.
He was 37-0 with 33 knockouts heading into the fight. Oddsmakers made him a 42-1 favorite.
They weren’t alone. Ed Schuyler, a boxing writer for The Associated Press, was stopped at customs on his way into Japan. The customs officer asked Schuyler how long he would be working in Japan. “About 90 seconds,” Schuyler deadpanned.
Douglas came out inspired. He held his own in the early rounds, holding off Tyson’s charge with his left jab.
Late in the eighth round, Douglas went down. But he dominated the ninth round. Then in the 10th, he rocked the world.
“I finished him up with a combination,” Douglas said. “I hit him with four terrific shots. He wasn’t able to get up.”
King, seeing a gigantic payday floating away, appealed the outcome but, days later, all of the major organizations recognized Douglas as the champion.
“This makes Cinderella look like a sad story, what Buster Douglas has done here tonight,” HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant said after the fight.
The two boxers have met each other only once since.
“We only crossed paths once, and that was a few years back down in Cincinnati,” Douglas said. “There wasn’t much conversation. It’s not like we sat down and talked about it and (became) friends, anything like that. He was still kind of short (with me). So I didn’t push it any further.”