COULD DOUGLAS HAVE GOT UP WITHIN 10 SECONDS?

IT was Tyson’s misfortune that the knockdown of Douglas did not happen earlier in the round. As soon as Buster regained his feet the bell rang, depriving Mike of the chance to follow up his advantage when Douglas was most vulnerable.

The question no one wanted to ask is whether Douglas could have gotten up in time had Meyran’s 10-count lasted just 10 seconds? Perhaps that’s because Douglas’ story was so compelling that no wanted to tarnish it in any way. Certainly, there is no intention to do so here, but in my opinion he would not have. In part, admittedly, that’s an assumption based on Douglas’ reputation throughout his career as a front runner who tended to shut down once the going got tough. In the only other two world title fights in his career, Douglas effectively quit against Evander Holyfield, making no attempt to get up before the count reached 10. Before that, in 1987, Douglas had been doing well against Tony Tucker, then suddenly stopped fighting after getting stunned with a right forcing referee Mills Lane to intervene.

Unlike Tunney who was badly hurt and needed every second of the count, Douglas appeared largely unhurt when on the canvas. He was stunned by the sudden turn of events. Buster did not need to wait until the last possible moment to get up, cutting it so close that the referee could have pulled him out claiming he had reached the count of 10. Douglas stalling for so long to get to his feet reminds me of Tyson’s classic line that everyone has a plan until they get hit. Without the additional time it is not unreasonable to think that Douglas, wrestling with his own desire and ambition, would not have beaten the count.