Douglas, showing previously untapped resolve, reached down and delivered his best statistical round of the fight by landing 37 of 58 total punches (64 percent) to just 12 of 24 for Tyson, who seemed totally deflated as he slowly made his way back to the corner.
James buster douglas vs mike tyson series#
Tyson started the ninth as if he were a hunter stalking his prey, but instead of bulldozing Buster into oblivion, Tyson was met with a series of searing combinations that had him reeling. Douglas beat referee Octavio Meyran’s slowly rendered count, which was all he was required to do, but many felt that the round-ending bell would only delay Douglas’ ultimate destruction. They nearly got that ending in the final six seconds of round eight when Tyson landed a right uppercut that dropped Buster on his back.
The Japanese fans were waiting for this human Godzilla to mow his challenger down. The next drama was whether Douglas would be able to continue his incredible effort or whether he would melt under the pressure. Douglas was having his way due to the fact he was landing 13 of 26 jabs per round (50 percent) – landing as many punches per round as Tyson was throwing. Through six rounds, Douglas landed 23 of 45 punches per round (51 percent) to Tyson’s 9 of 22 (41 percent). Evander Holyfield, who was sitting next to me and was scheduled to challenge Tyson in June and who stood to make at least $12 million, was probably asking the same question. “Is this really happening?” I remembered asking myself. It was eerie: Douglas was on his way to scoring one of the biggest upsets in the history of sports was being greeted with a stony silence broken only by the sound of Douglas’ punches booming off Tyson’s swelling head. They do not react to the action while it’s happening rather, they wait until the round has concluded to politely applaud. Secondly, Japanese fight fans are a courteous bunch. First of all, the fight started at 12 noon in Japan and we were inside the arena as early as 8 a.m. The setting at The Tokyo Dome was surreal. Speaking of Douglas’ jab, we at ringside could hear that distinct sound ever so clearly, even though we were wearing headsets that allowed us to relay stats to the HBO production truck. The beat – and the beating – went on in rounds two and three as Douglas out-landed Tyson 51-20 and out-threw him 73-28, averaging 51 punches per round to just 24 for Tyson, who could not get past Douglas’ thudding jab.
To bring that figure into perspective, the typical heavyweight lands 6 of his 19 jabs each round. He landed 22 punches in round one, including 12 of 31 jabs. To the world’s shock, Douglas brought his “A-game” to the Land of the Rising Sun as he peppered Tyson from the opening bell. For Douglas, the question was whether he would apply those tools, or rather, would Tyson allow him to do so? He fought in the classic boxer-puncher style in that he worked behind the jab, had a better-than-average right hand and moved effectively around the ring.
James buster douglas vs mike tyson full#
At 6-3 ½ he towered over the 5-11 Tyson and his 83-inch reach was a full foot longer. “Until they get hit.”ĭouglas had the physical tools to trouble Tyson. When Tyson heard of Douglas’ promise, Tyson replied with a classic line. He vowed to bring the heavyweight title home to Columbus, Ohio. He was a man on a mission, for he dedicated his fight to his recently deceased mother. What few people knew was that a far different Douglas was making the trip to Japan. Fighting for the IBF title stripped from Michael Spinks, in a fight that was dead even on the judges’ cards through nine rounds, Douglas quit on his feet after getting stung by Tucker along the ropes in the 10th. “Douglas is sure to wilt under Tyson’s pressure a lot sooner than he did against Tony Tucker three years earlier.” “We’re flying all the way to Japan for what, two or three rounds?” we thought to ourselves. “Can’t anyone give this guy a competitive fight? There’s no way that Douglas is ‘the guy,’ and we can think of much better ways to spend a Saturday night than watching another Godzilla movie.”ĭouglas was considered a 42-to-1 underdog, at least according to the sportsbooks that were taking action on the fight – and most of them weren’t.
“Just another beatdown for ‘Iron Mike,’” we all said.
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