“That fight is my best,” Mike Tyson shockingly reveals the humiliating loss against Buster Douglas as his greatest fight ever
Legendary boxer Mike Tyson cues in on what is his most famous fight ever.
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Mike Tyson (Source: Twitter)
On Feb. 11, 1990, one of the biggest boxing events and sporting history upsets took place. Boxing legend Buster Douglas, an underdog at the time, provided a prominent loss to Mike Tyson. With the label and billing as “Tyson is Back!,” the event took place at the Tokyo Dome. Tyson was already holding the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles at the time.
In the late years, Tyson himself has reflected back on the incidence of the matchup being the best, ever. The retired pro boxer has 44 career knockouts and is easily considered one of the best in the sport. Mike Tyson was also the youngest heavyweight champion. He was coming off a 93-second knockout against Carl “The Truth” Williams, often considered best in the world. In an interview, speaking on his best fight, he said:
It's weird; it has to be my loss to Buster Douglas. Absolutely, because getting humiliated in front of millions of people, and over coming that - propelled me into being a better fighter. That fight is my best...
Tyson was 37-0 at the time, with 33 of those victories coming with a knockout. In the eighth round of the fight, Tyson knocked Douglas down via a right uppercut. Douglas recovered back to his feet at the count of nine, and the round came to a halt shortly thereafter.
In the 10th round, he knocked Tyson down with a swarm of punches, and “Iron Mike” was unable to get back up before the 10-count ended the fight.
A 42-1 underdog, Douglas earned $1.3 million from the fight while Tyson earned $6 million. Tyson’s camp, led by Don King, immediately protested the result, claiming referee Octavio Meyran gave Douglas a long count. The IBF immediately accepted that the result was valid, but the WBA and WBC initially agreed and suspended the recognition of Douglas as champion. Later, Tyson too commended the opponent.
Mike Tyson marks 36th year of victory, resulting in youngest heavyweight tenure
22 Nov. 1986 – 36 years ago – Tyson began a four-year reign of destructive knockouts and intimidation at the top of the sport’s tent. Mike Tyson beat Trevor Berbick to become heavyweight champion; the youngest in sporting history correspondingly. After years of dominating the ring, 20-year-old undefeated sensation Tyson had just failed in his attempt to make it to the Olympics.
Only to lose twice to future Olympic gold medalist Henry Tillman at the 1984 US Olympic Trials. Then at the US Olympic boxing trials, he saw an exit from the Los Angeles team-up.
“Iron Mike” then made the transition to pro boxing. He soon rose up to be a fan favorite. In that year alone, Tyson went 27-0 with 25 knockouts and a 12-0 record. Tyson went into overdrive in his title fight.
Progressively battering Berbick and nearly wobbling him. At the end of the round, he delivered an unmatched four-punch combo that staggered the champion. The same dominance happened in the next round. Mills Lane stopped the bout at the 2:35 mark of the following one.
At such a young age, Tyson thus marked a crowning highlight in his pro-boxing career. The victory is well celebrated, even decades after the win.
In case you missed it:
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- “It haunts me,” Mike Tyson once unmasked deepest insecurity revealing how he battles post-performance freak-outs on TV
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Ajinkya Aswale
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