James Douglas - Evander Holyfield: twenty-eight years have passed. Mike Tyson vs James "Buster" Douglas Mike Tyson vs
James "Buster" Douglas will forever be remembered by boxing fans for his spectacular upset when he was able to knock out the seemingly invulnerable Mike Tyson on February 11, 1990 in Tokyo.
Douglas' victory in the tenth round simply shocked the world, and this result was forever etched in boxing history. But Douglas, who retired in 1999 with a record of 38-6-1 (25), had many more interesting fights in his career, albeit not always victorious. James recalls his career in an interview with boxingnewsonline.net:
- If possible, I will touch on the fight with Tyson a little later. As such a talented and gifted guy, how could you lose to David Bay (TKO 2) and get a draw with Steffen Tangstead early in your career?
- Well, the fight with Bey was my first big fight. He was strong, well, this fight was a valuable experience for me. The fight with Tangstead was good. I hit him with what I thought was a good shot, but they said it came after the referee's command and took a point off me. This led to a draw. Either way, all these fights were a learning experience. They were, as I called them then, “childhood diseases.” I left amateur boxing at 15, went pro at 21, and had to learn a lot all over again.
— And in 1987 there was a fight with Tony Tucker for the IBF title. You won, but were stopped in the tenth round. What's happened? I know the critics gave you a hard time after this defeat.
— The fight with Tucker was quite difficult. While preparing for the fight at camp, I was not as mentally focused as I should have been. You know, before a big fight you have to do everything right, and I couldn’t. Again, as I said, these were “childhood diseases.” Tucker was good fighter and again, I learned a lot from it. I could learn something from every failure along the way.
- Even despite Tony’s defeat, did you still believe that one day you could become a world champion?
- Oh yeah! These lessons that I talked about, they made me determined. I knew I could compete with the best, the losses told me I still had something to offer boxing.
— Another fight that is often forgotten was your confrontation with Randall Cobb, when you defeated him on points. Was it a tough fight?
- Yes, and Randall was a good boxer. In fact, he was a great fighter, he reminded me of my father, former middleweight Billy “Dynamite” Douglas, who I sparred with as a teenager. The tension was just crazy, as soon as you hit him, he immediately responded. My jab was often underestimated. When I landed my signature jab, many fighters didn’t even understand whether it was a right hand or a jab. However, Cobb continued to press, but this could not break me. So, yes, even before Tyson, I met some good boxers and established myself.
— So much has already been written about the fight with Tyson; you’ve probably already been asked about everything you could. Still, I'll try. How shocked were you in the eighth round when he knocked you down?
“I wasn’t shocked at all, but rather lost my balance.” He hit me, I tried to resist, but it didn’t work. However, I was focused on the fight and understood everything. I saw Tyson’s eyes - he shook himself up and was ready to win. Therefore, I knew that he would need to answer.
“As far as I remember, you rose to the count of nine.” Ever thought about what would have happened if the referee had counted a little faster and given the go-ahead?
“I could have gotten up faster.” I just gave myself these eight seconds to assess my condition. I could get up any time. If he had counted faster, I would have gotten up from the canvas earlier.
— During the fight, did you think that you would knock out Tyson, or simply, using your skills, defeat him on points?
“All I knew was that I fought as hard as I could.” I was in great shape.
- Well, it’s not like it was 25 years ago...
- Yes, the anniversary is coming, it’s wonderful.
- After you knocked out Tyson in a fight that no one will forget, was it difficult psychologically and physically to prepare for the next fight, with Holyfield?
“I’ve been through a lot, a lot of crap.” We had to go to court because Tyson's promoter, Don King, wanted to appeal the result of the fight, claiming that the countout in the eighth round was too long. It was all exhausting, like all I was doing was fighting after already winning the title. By the time I started camp, I was already exhausted. It's completely my fault, I shouldn't have allowed all this to happen. There was so much pressure. What was my childhood dream turned into a nightmare. Even today I am angry about all this. However, I know that I have had a great career. I achieved what I set out to achieve, I became a world champion.
— People are still discussing what would have happened if you had met Tyson in a rematch. Have you thought about this?
- Certainly. In a rematch I would beat him even harder.
— James, are you a promoter now?
— No, I work with amateur boxers. I have a wonderful group of children from eight years old to twenty-one and above. We had our debut show last weekend and it went great.
— Another fighter you could have faced in 1990 or 1991 as champion was George Foreman. If you had faced him instead of Holyfield, what do you think would have changed?
- Hmm, well, my plan was to beat Holyfield and then defend the title against Foreman, and then give Tyson a rematch. Unfortunately, this didn't work. But I am still happy and satisfied with what I managed to achieve and today I have no regrets.
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, Ohio, USA
early years
Son of professional boxer Billy Douglas. The eldest of four sons in the family. James studied at high school Linden McKinley High School, from which he graduated in 1977. During his high school years, James played football and basketball well, and during his senior year he even helped lead his school's team to victory in the Class AAA state basketball championship in 1977. After graduating from high school, James continued his education at Coffeyville Community College, where he soon began playing for the college's men's basketball team in 1977-1978. In the summer of 1979, he transferred to Sinclair Community College, where he immediately became a member of the main basketball team. performed successfully from 1979 to 1980. In 1980, James continued his studies at Mercyhurst University on a basketball scholarship, but left his studies after the first semester and returned to his native Columbus in order to take up boxing professionally. First boxing gloves Douglas took up boxing at the age of 10; his first boxing lessons were taught to him by his father, who also became his children's trainer.
Professional career started in 1981 and almost immediately after the first fights gained a reputation as an ordinary fighter, with outstanding data, but with a lack of strong-willed qualities and the necessary cruelty in his character. During training, James did not give his best and did not favor general physical training, which is why he did not have the stamina to perform at a decent level. In addition, he had problems with overweight.
Professional career
First professional fight Douglas took place on May 31, 1981, Buster’s opponent was Dan Omolli, who already had 6 fights on his account, which he won all of, however, Douglas knocked him out in the 3rd round.
1981-1984
Having then won 2 more victories, Douglas entered the ring in October of the same year against the undefeated Abdul Mukhaimin. In this fight, James cut both eyes of his opponent and after the 5th round the doctor stopped the fight.
Fight with David Bay
A month later, Douglas fought with debutant David Bay. Bay unexpectedly knocked out Buster in the 2nd round. Douglas suffered the first defeat of his career.
Fight with Mel Daniels
On April 24, 1982, Douglas knocked out aspiring boxer Mel Daniels. 18 days later, on May 12, 1982, Douglas’s 17-year-old brother Arthur died. James took the death of his younger brother seriously and fell into depression. He will not enter the ring for 6 months.
Fight with Steffen Tangstad
In October 1982, Douglas faced the undefeated Steffen Tangstad. Douglas entered the fight with him with a clear advantage and with fat folds on his back. Douglas was penalized 2 points for the fight. In the 8 round fight, all three judges awarded a draw.
Fights with Jesse Clark
After this, Douglas’s managers considered it best to put him on the so-called “bag diet” for two whole years, that is, pitting frankly weak boxers against him. Among them stood out Jesse Clark, a boxer with a unique track record - having had 30 professional fights, he lost all 30 and 27 of them by knockout. Douglas fought against him three times in his career. In 1983, Douglas faced him twice in one month, knocking out his opponent in the first round both times.
Fight with Dave Johnson
In July 1983, Buster met with the unremarkable Dave Johnson, Johnson by that time already had 13 defeats to his name, and he had lost his last 10 fights in a row. Nevertheless, he forced a difficult oncoming battle on Douglas. The fight lasted all the allotted 10 rounds and Johnson was close to victory, but at the end of the fight, by decision of the majority of the judges, the victory was awarded to Douglas.
Fight with Mike White
In December 1983, Douglas met with the little-known Mike White. Douglas dominated the entire fight, but by the end of the fight he was noticeably tired, in the 9th, carried away by the attack, he ran into an oncoming hook and unexpectedly dropped his hands, which White took advantage of with lightning speed and knocked out Buster. After such an offensive defeat, Douglas fell into a slight depression; he did not enter the ring for more than six months.
1984-1987
In July 1984 against weak boxer David Starkey. The fight was a scandal. Already in the middle of the 1st round, Starkey went into deep defense and began to clinch; at the end of the 1st round, he grabbed Douglas and threw him to the canvas, not allowing him to get up, after which representatives of both boxers jumped into the ring and a brawl began between them . The fight was subsequently declared invalid.
Fight with Randall Cobb
In November 1984, Douglas met with Randall "Tex" Cobb, who was considered a pretty decent fighter and had a decent defeat against Larry Holmes, losing to him in 1982 on points. The Douglas-Cobb fight lasted all 10 rounds and ended in Douglas' victory. The victory over Cobb raised Buster quite high in the rankings.
ESPN Tournament
In 1985, Douglas took part in a tournament on the American sports television channel ESPN. On March 27, 1985, he entered the fight in the semifinals of the tournament against the unbeaten Dion Simpson. In the first round, Buster knocked out Simpson with one blow and a right cross. Simpson then “broke”; after losing to Buster, he would fight three more times and retire from boxing in November 1985. On May 9, 1985, the final of the tournament took place, in the final of which Buster met with future title challenger Jesse Fergusson. The fight was equal, but after 10 rounds Ferguson won by a majority vote.
Fight with Greg Page
In January 1986, he met with former world champion Greg Page. Douglas won by unanimous decision.
Fight with David Jacko
In April 1986 he met with David Jacko. Douglas dominated the entire fight; in the 5th round, Jaco was knocked down twice, but in the end managed to survive. Douglas won by unanimous decision.
Championship fight with Tony Tucker
On May 30, 1987, he entered the fight against Tony Tucker for the vacant IBF title. Douglas constantly moved forward, throwing a large number of punches, Tucker acted as number 2, throwing straight lines from afar and uppercuts close. Douglas had a slight advantage early in the fight. Just before the end of the 2nd round, he knocked Tucker down, but the bell rang and he was not counted. Douglas also managed to shake Tucker in rounds 3, 5, 6, but Tucker remained on his feet. In the 7th round, Tucker increased the pressure on his opponent and the situation changed: Douglas began to miss a lot and lose stamina. Tucker continued to do this in subsequent rounds and it brought him success. In the middle of the 10th round, Tucker shook Douglas, after which he pressed him to the ropes and began methodically beating him. The referee, seeing that James was not responding, stopped the fight, after which James wandered confusedly to his corner. After his loss to Tucker, Douglas was firmly written off.
1988-1990
Fight with Trevor Berbick
On February 25, 1989, he met with former world champion Trevor Berbick. Douglas dominated the entire fight and won with a crushing score.
Fight with Oliver McCall
On July 21, 1989, he met with the future champion Oliver McCall; Douglas dominated the entire fight and won comfortably on points via unanimous decision.
Winning the title of absolute world champion
With a track record of 29 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw and a reputation as a boxer who could “break,” Buster entered the fight in 1990 for the title of absolute champion against Mike Tyson. The odds were 40 to 1 in favor of Tyson. Tyson did not see his opponent as a threat at all and subsequently claimed that he hardly prepared for the fight. Douglas, on the other hand, was in excellent shape and with the best mental attitude of his career. The champion in this fight was slow, did not move his head much and dodged (his usual effective strategy), and instead of short and numerous steps there were large failures with attempts to penetrate Douglas with single blows. At the end of the 8th round, Tyson delivered a right uppercut to the jaw, knocking Douglas down. He was on the floor for more than 10 seconds, the referee did not immediately start counting, and at the count of 7 he stopped counting, turned around and continued again. At the count of 10, Douglas was still on the floor, but the referee allowed him to continue the fight. A normal count would be 16 seconds. In the 9th round, Mike's extreme fatigue became noticeable. In the middle of the 10th round, Douglas landed a right uppercut to the jaw, and then a combination - a left cross, a right cross and again a left cross. Tyson fell. His mouthguard flew out. Tyson stood up almost immediately, but the referee counted to nine and stopped the fight, seeing that Tyson was unsteady on his feet. At the time the fight was stopped, the judges' score was tied: Larry Rosadilla (82-88 Douglas), Ken Morita (87-86 Tyson), Masakazu Uchida (86-86). After the fight, Tyson's promoter Don King said that the referee took too long to count the knockdown on Douglas, and in fact there was a knockout. The fight received the status of “Upset of the Year” according to The Ring magazine and became the greatest sensation in boxing history. After the fight, Tyson underwent treatment for alcoholism. Among the reasons for such an unexpected result of Tyson's defeat are the circumstances of the lives of both boxers at that time: Tyson's unsuccessful marriage, the death of Cus D'Amato, Tyson's departure from his coach Kevin Rooney and from his team, etc. Tyson was noticeably inferior to his own example 1986 and was just disgusting mental state. Buster Douglas entered the fight with an unprecedented emotional spirit, and an unprecedented psychological motivation- 23 days before the fight, his mother, whom he idolized, died, at the most crucial moment of his life, Buster was left without the support of a loved one, in addition, a few days before the fight, his wife was hospitalized with a serious kidney disease and the doctors did not hide from Buster that in her case, everything could end in death, so as Douglas later recalled: “I felt that getting hit in the face by Tyson was not the worst thing that could happen in life, and I entered the ring with absolute calm and composure, I just got a blow that was stronger than anything that could have been thrown at me Iron Mike, and then maybe another blow, so in the ring I perceived him as an ordinary person, a guy from the crowd.” Before this fight, Tyson himself showed indiscipline in training, abused alcohol, and later he commented: “I didn’t train at all.”
Fight with Evander Holyfield
After the fight, for some time everything in Buster’s life fell into place. His wife recovered, he gained wild popularity and began to appear at various public events, he again had problems with excess weight, by the summer of 1990 his weight was already 130 kilograms.
He was supposed to fight his next fight against Evander Holyfield in the fall of 1990, and in early June one of his trainers, John Russell, sounded the alarm and forced James to lose weight, but as James would later recall, after the fight with Tyson “I felt like a deflated balloon.” “, so I had neither the strength nor any special motivation to keep myself in shape.
At the pre-match weigh-in, a swollen Douglas weighed as much as 111.5 kilograms; he was simply not ready for such a fight. On October 25, 1990, in the third round, Evander Holyfield knocked out Douglas with one blow, thereby taking away the title of absolute champion. After the fight, in an interview, Holyfield said that he broke it in the locker room and that Douglas was a coward who did not deserve to be a world champion. Douglas received $24 million for this fight, 18 times more than for his victory over Tyson. Following the loss, Buster retired from boxing for six years due to health problems.
1990-1996
After losing to Holyfield, Douglas began to lead an unhealthy lifestyle. Money and depression from the loss of title and fame forced the boxer to take the path of self-destruction. For 3 years, he abused alcohol and junk food, he developed problems with excess weight and with ill-wishers, and developed alcohol addiction. They mocked him about his weight and contemptuously called him a “one-time champion,” and repeatedly provoked him into a fight. In 1992, a similar confrontation almost ended in shooting when his bodyguard, William McCauley, began waving a pistol to protect the boxer. Eventually, his blood sugar levels became dangerously high, leading him into a diabetic coma from which he nearly died in 1994. After emerging from a coma, James, thanks to the support of his wife Bertha and friends, managed to end his unhealthy lifestyle, began to lose weight and in 1996 decided to return to boxing.
Return
In 1996, James Douglas returned to the ring, but it did not bring him any more fame or money.
Fight with Tony LaRosa
In June 1996, Douglas met with Tony LaRosa. This was the first since his return to the ring. After the 3rd round, La Rosa refused to continue the fight due to a cut.
Fight with Dickie Ryan
In February 1997 he met with Dickie Ryan. Douglas dominated the entire fight and won by unanimous decision.
Fight with Luis Monaco
In May 1997, Douglas met with Louis Monaco. In the first round, Monaco delivered a powerful cross after the bell, knocking Douglas out. Douglas was unable to recover even after five minutes of rest and was awarded the victory by disqualification from Monaco.
Possible fight with Roy Jones
In late 1998, Roy Jones decided to face former undisputed heavyweight champion James Douglas, but later pulled out of the fight after his father advised him not to fight heavyweights.
Fight with Lou Savarise
In June 1998 he met with Lou Savarise. Douglas entered the fight with a clear advantage. In the middle of the 1st round, Savariz sent his opponent to the ground with a right hook to the head. Douglas stood at the count of 4. Savarise was unable to immediately build on his success. A minute later, with a right hook, he knocked down his opponent again. Douglas rose to the count of 5. Savarise rushed to finish him off, landing several blows to the head. He fell again. Rising, Douglas knelt, but fell on his back. He did not have time to stand at the count of 10. The referee recorded a knockout.
After the fight with Savariz, Douglas had another fight with a more or less decent boxer Warren Williams, but the “crown” of Douglas’ career was a meeting with the frankly weak boxer Andre Crowder, who had a unique track record - 8 wins, 48 losses, 4 draws. Buster Douglas knocked him out in the first round and left the ring without even waiting for the official announcement of the result of the fight. After which he left boxing completely.
Douglas James (Buster) (born 1960). Douglas was born into the family of boxer Billy Douglas, known as Dynamite. Since 1981, James has been performing in the professional ring. Fate gave this boxer a chance to enter the ring in Tokyo against Iron Mike, and he used it 100%. The fight was supposed to take place on February 10, 1990.
23-year-old Mike Tyson, who had won all of his 37 fights by this time, 33 of which ended in knockout, did not take the claims of 29-year-old Douglas seriously. Absolutely everyone, except James Douglas himself, predicted his defeat in advance. To attract the audience, the organizers of the match even invited the famous group The Rolling Stones to perform.
Douglas was a head taller than Tyson, weighed more than a hundred kilograms and was distinguished by extraordinary mobility. He countered this advantage with the onslaught of Mike, who was not ready for a difficult fight. Through seven rounds, Douglas had a narrow lead. The tension in the hall grew, the audience openly expressed sympathy for the enemy. Mike did not change his usual technique, but Douglas stood firmly on his feet, also managing to inflict quite noticeable blows on his opponent, and in the fifth round he managed to hit the champion swipe on the left side of the face.
Mike's confidence was fading, but in the eighth round he still managed to land a brutal blow on Douglas, after which the unfortunate man collapsed on the floor. Referee Sanchez declared him a knockdown. Two seconds later the gong rang, and the challenger barely made it to his corner. For James Douglas, who essentially suffered a knockout, it would be more advisable to box extremely restrained in the ninth round in order to regain his strength. However, the incredible happened: he furiously rushed towards Tyson and began striking him. It was like a hysteria: Douglas, throwing away all his inhibitory instincts, took revenge on Mike for all his fears.
Tyson looked terrible: he looked like a cyclops with his closed eye, from which streams of blood flowed down his face. He rushed senselessly around the ring, having lost all directions, and James calmly finished off his victim. Mike managed to survive only one, the ninth, round. In the tenth after being struck by James. crushing blow Tyson became completely defenseless and could not even defend himself from the endless blows of his opponent. In the end, the infamous champion ended up on the floor. The audience was truly shocked. Screams and whistles were heard from everywhere. At this time, Mike sat in a semi-conscious state in his corner with a piece of ice near his injured eye.
Douglas was not at his best for long. Former world champion Larry Holmes called Go a man of one fight, who almost completely wasted both physical and nervous potential in the duel with Mike. Douglas himself admitted that “after February 10, he became like a burst balloon.” Having overthrown the fearsome idol, he fulfilled his main mission.
IN next fight, held in Las Vegas at the Mirage Arena, James Douglas had to fight Evander Holyfield. The challenger was superior to James in every part of the ring, in every component of boxing. This gave Evander confidence, while James, on the contrary, looked surprised and confused. Holyfield did his work toughly, competently and, as it were, incrementally. The purest and logical result of his conscientious and skillful work was a knockout in the fifth round,
Shocked by this defeat, James Douglas left boxing for almost six years. Only in 1996 did he enter the professional ring again.
Brief biographical dictionary
"Douglas James" and other articles from the section
It has already been twenty-eight years. October 25, 1990 Perhaps the biggest surprise in boxing history took place James "Buster" Douglas(30-4-1, 20 KO) - sensational winner Mike Tyson, in the first belt defense WBC/WBA/IBF in the royal category, he met with the first number in the rating of each federation, the former absolute world champion in the first heavyweight, Evander Holyfield (24-0, 20 KO).
Immediately after the sensation in Tokyo, there was considerable pressure for the “Beast” to rematch the new champion, but he chose a fight with the bronze medalist olympic games In Los Angeles. There was no need to give a rematch, since within a year Holyfield was the official challenger in each of the three federations. There was huge money on the table. Steve Wynn- the president Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, shelled out more than thirty million dollars ( $32.1 ) for organizing this fight. The company offered a little less in the tender Main Events, representing the interests of the challenger, offering $29,101,000 . This gave both boxers the biggest money. Douglas was guaranteed to $24,075,000 , while Holyfield $8,025,000 . But Evander and his people managed to provide for themselves and they signed a contract for the first defense of the belt in case of victory over George Foreman. Evander had to earn it $19 million, Forman 13 million, but in order for such a fight to come, the challenger had to first deal with Douglas. Don King claimed that if “Buster” surprised again, in the second defense he would give Tyson revenge for a lot of money. However, he did not specify his plans. “This is kind of another victory for me.” Don King offered me ten million for a rematch with Tyson immediately after my victory. Now I’ll get more than twenty-four,” “Buster” Douglas rubbed his hands.
Having become the absolute champion, “Buster” gained a lot of kilograms. Then he quickly tried to throw them off. Wynn even offered the champion his own sauna at the hotel, to which only he had access. One day he got angry when James ordered room service for about a hundred dollars and withdrew his offer. During the weigh-in ceremony, the champion demonstrated 111.5 kilograms, that is, 6.6 kilograms more than when he defeated Mike Tyson. The applicant weighed only 94.3 kg. After this ceremony, bookmakers began to offer new bets. In more than ninety percent of the players, after what the champion showed at the weigh-ins, they bet on the challenger. The course initially fluctuated at a ratio of 7:5 for the victory of the challenger, but after the weight became known in the end the victory for Holyfield in the ratio 12:5 .
“I’m ready for this fight, just like I was ready for the fight against Tyson.” There is a lot of confusion around me, but I can deal with it. It's part of this business. It makes no difference to me that I fight Douglas or Tyson. My goal is the heavyweight title and I'm just striving to achieve that goal. On this moment the best is James and I will deal with him. Turned out to be good enough to beat Tyson. However, if I am in in better shape“There is no question that I could lose,” said the challenger.
“I worked very hard for this success and I’m not going to give up my spoils so easily.” I was almost always doomed to fail, so it doesn't bother me that some people don't believe in me. I'm not afraid of Evander or anyone else. “I will defeat him even faster than I defeated Tyson,” the unexpected champion reassured his fans.
— Evander trains with various specialists. We also try to mix up the styles of our sparring partners during preparation so that we can get something from everyone. Evander strives for the goal he has set for himself. He won't fight Douglas, he'll just fight for the title. Evander is just right for this,” interrupted Lou Duva, the challenger's charismatic trainer.
— When this fight was first announced, I bet on “Buster” Douglas on points with equal fight. Next, I think that this will be a difficult fight, but now I’m betting on Holyfield. My type is Evander on points or by technical knockout in the very end. Initially, James will probably dominate with the power of the blow, but from about the fifth round, Holyfield should begin to reach the point of readiness to give his all - analyzed famous journalist Al Bernstein.
The organizers did not lose any money at all, despite the highest tender in history. Ticket sales alone generated more than six and a half million in profit ( $6,546,441 ). Over a million sold connections PPV by price $34.95 returned huge investments. In addition, the TV channel Showtime paid $2.1 million for the possibility of rebroadcasting the fight.
Holyfield - unlike his opponent, he did everything he could to prepare as best as possible. A whole staff of people helped him. Not only the three head coaches, that is George Benton, Ronnie Shields and Lou Duva, but also: Tim Hellmark- specialist in physical training, Lee Haney- one of the greatest bodybuilders in history, another specialist in muscle mass Chase Jordan And Marya Kennett, with whom Evander coached... ballet and dance. All this in order to develop comprehensively and on every plane. Holyfield's sparring partners - by the way Philip Brown And Eddie Richardson, after knockouts in training room were sent home. The challenger was in vital shape.
The fight was let down, but in principle it was not the fight itself, but the attitude of the former champion. Gave away the first two rounds. In the third, he wanted to hit him with a right to the chin, but the opponent, after deflecting, retreated and threw a short right, sending him to the platform. Douglas was defeated. After all, a wave of criticism fell on him. From different sides.
“I don’t know, maybe I would have given him advice to get up, but I know for sure that I didn’t even try.” I looked him in the eye and didn't look hard knocked out - said Mills Lane, the main referee for this fight, who counted James to ten.
- I told you that in the end we're talking about not about muscle size, just about heart size in a fight. And that's why he won. Compared to them, I am a small fighter, but with big heart. And for this I work very hard in training. I boxed in accordance with the tactics we had previously chosen. I started the action with a left jab and knew something would come of it sooner or later. Focused only on myself. However, during preparation we prepared a counterattack to his right to the chin. I counterattacked with my right, didn’t hit with my left yet, but the first blow was enough,” the new champion from Atlanta said after finishing work. Defeated, Douglas quickly went to the locker room without speaking to reporters. His career ended at that moment. Some were expecting a rematch between “Buster” and Tyson, but Don King, with whom Douglas fought in court, ruled out such a possibility.
- Out of the question. If James lost after a good fight, I would immediately start organizing such a rematch. Nevertheless, he showed his fatal side. Now who will pay money to watch it in action again? Tyson knew that Douglas did not have the heart to fight and simply did not prepare for him. He ignored him. I gave the worst fight of my life. Now Holyfield has to face Foreman and I will tell you that I see a good chance for Foreman to win. “He hits really hard and if he hits him in the jaw, he’ll send Holyfield into dreamland,” King said.
Douglas returned at an alarming rate and when he approached 190 kilograms, he was hospitalized. His life was under serious threat. Then he pulled himself together, returned to training and, after almost six years, returned to the ring. However, he was no longer the same fighter who knocked out "Iron" Mike in February 1990. He chalked up six wins in a row, but in June 1998, Lou Savarese knocked him out in the first round. “Buster” quickly won two more fights against weak opponents and hung up his gloves forever in 1999. Holyfield lost and gained championship belts, becoming the only four-time world champion in history. In the first defense, as was established earlier, I met with Foreman. We wrote about this fight in more detail.
James “Buster” Douglas - a hero for one great fight On this day, fifty-six years ago (04/07/1960), James Douglas was born in Columbus, who was destined to go down in history as the first fighter to defeat the great and terrible Mike Tyson. It may seem strange that we are talking about a man who won the title of world loser, but the fact is that Buster's entire biography is dedicated to his one great fight. And the fact that the battle was great is beyond doubt. What is unclear is where is the rest of his career? How could a man show such amazing talent for just one night and be a failure in most other fights? When you look at Buster's career, it's hard not to be surprised. Buster started his career like most famous boxers, winning easily against several journeymen. However, he then met David Bey, a tough boxer who subsequently fought many high-level fights. It was Bey's professional debut and he knocked out Douglas in the second round. Douglas fell back to lower positions, and won the next 14 fights against more than average opponents. He was then defeated by Mike White, a tall boxer who had a career bright moments, but who lost every time he faced a strong opponent. He stopped Buster in the 9th round of a very boring fight. Buster won his next 14 fights against relatively well-known opponents, such as Oliver McCall, Greg Page and Trevor, on points. However, during this same period he lost to Tony Tucker and Jesse Ferguson. He also fought journeymen David Jacquot, Dee Collier and Jerry Halstead. He won against everyone, but didn't look very convincing. Most of Buster's victories were on points and did not look like a boxer with serious knockout power. We saw fights with McCall, Tucker, Rage and Berbick and while we thought Buster looked good in those fights, we didn't think he was capable of becoming champion. And when we found out that he would fight Tyson, we said: “Well, another lamb for Tyson to eat.” How wrong we were! This fight has been written about so many times that there is no point in repeating it. We all know that Tyson neglected his training, he had problems at home, and he underestimated his opponent. But we cannot diminish Buster’s merits in this fight. It was a great fight. Those who watched this fight live remember when Buster took off his robe and began to warm up, there was something in his eyes and in every movement that made you think. He looked concentrated, fearless, and next to Tyson he seemed simply huge, although in fact it was only an appearance created by his attitude. It was amazing, and no wonder Tyson and his team were shocked. However, Tyson is Tyson - he came to his senses and began to actively resist. He caught Buster with crazy punches, but Buster barely reacted and again took the initiative with an amazing technique. He was far ahead on points when, in the 8th round, Tyson hit him with a powerful uppercut and sent him to the canvas. The judge counted for a long time, and Tyson’s further actions were interrupted by the gong. But Douglas's gaze was conscious, and when the 9th round began, Douglas continued to attack Tyson with powerful jabs and right hands. Soon it was all over. The greatest shock in boxing history. Tyson had nothing to oppose to a series of accurate blows, and even such strong boxer Like him, he couldn’t stand this for long. Buster became the world heavyweight champion - deservedly so. It seemed that a new era had begun. It was one of the best boxing matches that left us with our mouths open in admiration. It seemed that Douglas had found himself and would continue to win for a long time. But we were wrong again. Whatever spirit had possessed Buster that evening vanished as quickly as it appeared. In his first title defense against the fearless Evander Holyfield, he looked pathetic. Body movements can tell a lot: when Buster entered the ring, he already looked like a loser. He seemed lethargic, unfocused, nervous, his face seemed to say, “I don’t want to stay here.” Holyfield won effortlessly. So what happened? Does Buster himself know the answer? Whatever the reasons, Douglas lost his peace of mind. He did nothing for the next 6 years and gained weight up to 180 kg. He returned to boxing, but had difficulty winning against journeymen Dickie Ryan, Louis Monaco and Rocky Pepeli. During the fight with Monaco, he could barely stand on his feet, and barely resisted a right hand in the first round. Monaco then hit him after the bell and was disqualified. But this blow nearly knocked Douglas unconscious; he couldn’t get out of his chair for about 5 minutes, and it was hard to believe that this man could withstand Tyson’s blows. The end of his career came in 1998 when he was knocked out in the first round by Louis Savarese, a decent but limited young boxer. Buster won a couple more victories over weak opponents and left the sport. This is one of the main mysteries in boxing history. How could an average boxer, Buster Douglas, show such a performance in a fight with Tyson - such strength, power and technique, endurance and will? If he could have maintained this form, his story would have been very different. Obviously, he had it all, but for some unknown reason, he showed it only once.
