In 1986, he defeated former champion Greg Page and David Jacko. Page and Jacko were rated fighters, and a victory over them allowed Buster Douglas to qualify for the championship fight.
On May 30, 1987, he fought against Tony Tucker for the vacant IBF title. Douglas started well, in terms of physical and technical parameters he was not inferior to Tucker, but in terms of will and endurance it was the other way around. In the middle of the 10th round, Douglas suddenly stopped resisting, Tucker pressed him to the ropes and began methodically beating him, seeing that James was not responding, the referee stopped the fight, after which James wandered confusedly to his corner. Most experts felt that Douglas lacked the will to continue fighting and simply capitulated. After losing to Tucker, Douglas was firmly written off.
From July 1987 to June 1988, Douglas had 4 fights with little-known fighters and won all of them. To regain lost ground, Buster Douglas entered the fight on February 25, 1989 against former champion Trevor Berbick and defeated him on points. On July 21 of the same year, he entered the fight against the future champion Oliver McCall. Douglas dominated the entire fight and confidently won on points by unanimous decision.
With a track record of 29 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw, and a reputation as a boxer who can “break,” Buster entered the fight in 1990 for the title of absolute champion against Mike Tyson. Tyson underestimated his opponent and was poorly prepared for the fight. At the end of the 8th round, Tyson delivered a right uppercut to the jaw, and Douglas fell to the floor. He was on the floor for more than 10 seconds, the referee counted very slowly, stopped counting at seven, turned around twice and continued counting. At the count of 10, Douglas was still on the floor, the gong rang and the referee stopped counting. Douglas lay on the floor for some time. A normal count would be 16 seconds. 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 almost immediately got up, but the referee quickly counted to 8 and stopped the fight. At the time the fight was stopped, the judges' score was a draw: 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 Ring magazine. Controversy over the reasons for Tyson's defeat has not subsided to this day. Among which 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 far inferior to his 1986 self and was simply in a disgusting mental state. Buster Douglas went into battle with an unprecedented emotional mood and 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 with a serious His wife was hospitalized with 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 entered the ring with absolute calm and composure, I had just received a blow that was stronger than anything that Iron Mike could give me, and then perhaps another one, 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.”
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 pulled 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 and did not deserve to be a world champion. For this fight, Douglas received 24 million dollars, 18 times more than for the victory over Tyson. After the defeat due to health problems, Buster retired from boxing for 6 years.
In 1996, James Douglas returned to the ring, but it did not bring him any more fame or money. From 1996 to 1999, having had 9 fights against not the strongest opponents, he won 8 of them, but the only serious opponent was Lou Savarise, on June 25, 1998, in the 1st round, he sent Buster to the canvas 3 times, forcing him to lose by technical knockout in 1 -th round. Savarise was then knocked out in the same 1st round by Mike Tyson. 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 a frankly weak boxer Andre Crowder, who had a unique track record - 8 victories. 48 defeats, 4 draws, whom Buster knocked out in the 1st round and left the ring without even waiting for the official announcement of the result of the fight. After which he left boxing completely.
Notes
Categories:
- Personalities in alphabetical order
- Born on April 7
- Born in 1960
- Boxers in alphabetical order
- USA Boxers
- Boxers 1980s
- Boxers of the 1990s
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
The thirty-eighth fight of Mike Tyson's career took place on February 11, 1990 at the Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan. His opponent was 29-year-old James “Buster” Douglas from Columbus, Ohio. Before the fight, Douglas weighed 105 kg with a height of 195 cm. Before the fight with Tyson, he had 33 fights, won 29, 19 of which were premature, with one draw.
Mike Tyson showed 100 kg on the scales.
Judges: Larry Rosadilla, Ken Morita, Masakazu Ushida.
James Douglas, the son of professional boxer William Douglas, played basketball and American football in school. He came to professional boxing in the early eighties. His most notable early fights include victories over Randall Cob, former titleholder Greg Page and David Bey. In 1987, he had a chance to win the vacant IBF title against the undefeated Tony Tucker. Despite the fact that Douglas led the fight, he became noticeably tired in the later rounds and lost by technical knockout. After this defeat, James managed to win six fights in a row, including against Oliver McCall, Trevor Berbick and a knockout against Mike Williams on the undercard of the Tyson-Spinks fight.
Thus, he gets a second chance to become a champion in a fight against the undefeated Mike Tyson.
Almost everyone before the fight thought that it would end with another knockout of “Iron” Mike. In Las Vegas, only one bookmaker accepted bets. This fight was supposed to be just a warm-up for Tyson before a mega-fight against the undefeated champion in Kuruzery Evander Holyfield.
23 days before the battle, James Douglas's mother, who was a very close person to him, dies. After this loss, few believed that Douglas's morale would even allow him to enter the ring. However, the fight not only took place, but also went down in boxing history forever.
Boxers start the first round with a jab in the middle of the ring. Douglas moves well on his feet and manages to avoid Tyson's attacks. Mike pins his opponent against the ropes and lands two big defensive rights. Douglas immediately develops a counterattack, but without much success. Tyson gets close again with a jab, but James Douglas lands a deuce to the head and stops Mike. Referee Octavio Meiran admonishes both boxers for keeping their heads low. After the warning, Tyson manages to land a good right hand to his opponent's head. The boxers are clinching. The referee tries to separate them, but Douglas continues to throw punches despite the commands. Meyran issues another warning. Tyson works well with his jab, but unexpectedly runs into his opponent’s oncoming right. Once again the referee has to break the clinch. After the clinch, Tyson becomes more active and tries to carry out a series, but Douglas not only defends effectively, but also actively counterattacks. Landing a couple of good rights to the head, he emerges victorious from this episode. Taking a short break, Mike Tyson lands a good jab and adds a powerful left side to the head. Douglas is backed into a corner. After the clinch, James fires a powerful right hand to Tyson's head. Mike doesn't have time to completely dodge, but responds with a powerful side kick to the head. The gong sounds, but the boxers remain standing for some time, determined to continue.
In the second round, Mike Tyson literally runs out of his corner, but as soon as he manages to get close, he gets stuck in the arms of his opponent. One of these attempts, which began with a very sluggish jab, ends with James Douglas literally unleashing a series of eight punches on Tyson. Mike froze on his feet for a moment, but continuing to move forward he came across another powerful right straight to the head. After a few clinches, Mike again moves forward without punches and misses a straight right to the head. Tyson tried to respond, but not a single blow from his series reached the target. In the next episode, Mike manages to land a powerful left side to the head, but Douglas again extinguished the development of the attack with a clinch. After the clinch, Tyson starts working on the low level and lands a good right hook to the body. However, this blow did not confuse Douglas at all and he carried out ten unanswered blows to the head. This time Mike Tyson himself is forced to save himself in the clinch. He was clearly tired and very puzzled by the progress of the battle. After the next clinch, the gong sounds and the opponents go to the corners.
Mike Tyson starts the third round with a jab, after which he tries to land a straight right to the head. Douglas presses against the ropes and avoids punches in the clinch. After the clinch, James misses with a straight right to the head and Mike counterattacks with a left hook to the liver. However, he fails to develop initiative. Douglas fires back with a jab and again throws a straight right towards him. Mike responds in kind, but his blow is not so accurate. Meanwhile, James continues to throw more punches and land more. Tyson, on the contrary, is not accurate and gets bogged down in his opponent’s long arms. The referee makes a remark to Douglas about the hold, but he does not pay any attention to them and delivers an exact deuce to Tyson's head.
Mike Tyson takes a long time to measure up to his opponent until he finally manages to land a good right hand to the body. Long aiming follows again and Mike throws a powerful left hook to the head. Douglas responds with a straight right and a sliding right uppercut. Having missed another strong jab, Tyson delivers a straight right to his opponent’s head. After the gong, the opponents are again in no hurry to disperse to the corners and continue to remain in a standing position.
James Douglas starts the fourth round with some great jab work in the middle of the ring. Tyson misses, but continues to move forward. Mike manages to land a right cross to the head, but Douglas does not leave any of his blows unanswered. After a long and ineffective fuss, Douglas lands a powerful straight right straight to Tyson’s jaw. Mike freezes in place in the middle of the ring. Having come to his senses, Mike Tyson continues to attack, but again runs into a straight right to the head. The only way he could respond was with a right to the body in the clinch. Ten seconds before the end of the round, James Douglas delivers a powerful left hook to the jaw and literally a moment later Tyson responds in kind. Mike's blow is much heavier and James's legs noticeably buckle. However, he finds the strength to carry out a good series in Tyson’s head at the end of the round.
James Douglas begins the fifth round by literally shooting Tyson at a distance. Moreover, not only the jab is used, but also the right blows. Mike is confused. He moves forward by inertia, but practically does not strike. Single jabs occasionally reach the opponent's head, but this is clearly not enough to change the course of the fight. Douglas, on the contrary, in almost every episode turns out to be head and shoulders above his opponent. A powerful right straight to the head again makes Tyson freeze in place in bewilderment.
As soon as Mike starts to move forward, Douglas meets him with a two to the head and then ties him up in the clinch.
In the middle of the round, Mike Tyson misses a powerful right to the head and another series of accurate blows from his opponent. He doesn't respond to the blows and seems seriously shaken. After the clinch, Tyson tried to recover with a left side kick to the head, but the blow landed casually. Another left hook after the clinch and Mike stops again. He absolutely does not shoot combinations and stagnates in one place for a long time. A hematoma from missed blows begins to grow over Mike's left eye. For the first time in his entire career, viewers see him so helpless and broken. A couple of seconds before the end of the round, Douglas delivered another powerful blow to Tyson’s head and continued to attack after the bell.
The boxers begin the sixth round with a mutual jab in the middle of the ring, followed by a clinch. Tyson tries to escape and throws an elbow to his opponent's head. The referee does not react to this violation in any way.
After several attempts by Tyson to get into close range, he still manages to land a good uppercut to the head. A few seconds later, Mike repeats the same combination, but James Douglas doesn't look shocked.
In the middle of the round, Mike Tyson seemed to have taken aim and began to reach his opponent with a jab more often. But Douglas doesn’t even think about giving up ground, he also continues to use the jab and meets Mike with a powerful uppercut at the end of the second minute of the round. Tyson ends the round by firing a powerful left hook to the head, but misses and goes to his corner.
The seventh round Mike Tyson starts with a left to the body, but the blow gets stuck in the guard. After the clinch, Tyson throws a left to the head, this time more successfully, but again gets stuck in the clinch. Douglas responds with a straight right to the head, then adds a side left. Tyson continues to move forward, but again and again runs into oncoming blows. Only towards the end of the second minute of the round does he manage to land a good right hand to the body. Mike continues to attack the body and manages to land a powerful right hand, but Douglas immediately responds with a counter right straight to the head. Just a few seconds later, he carries out exactly the same blow towards him, but also connects his left hand to it. Tyson responds with a right to the body and a left, side to the head. These blows clearly seemed sensitive to Buster Douglas. In one of the ensuing clinches, Mike lands a low blow and is admonished by the referee. Douglas responds with a straight right to the head.
Ten seconds before the end of the round, Mike Tyson delivers a powerful blow to the body on the right and a left side to the head, but again the bell does not give him the opportunity to build on his success.
The boxers begin the eighth round with an exchange in the middle of the ring, after which Tyson manages to land a good left uppercut to the head. Apparently, James Douglas is starting to get tired and is striking less often. Tyson, on the contrary, stepped up and lands another good left to the head. After the clinch, Mike closes in again and lands a straight right to the head. Douglas was not at all embarrassed by this temporary success of Tyson, and he again began to actively throw the jab. Tyson desperately tries to land a decisive blow in close combat, but misses. Douglas, on the contrary, counterattacks and forces Mike to retreat to the ropes after several accurate blows to the head. James continues to attack and Tyson is forced to literally survive with his back against the ropes. But then something happens that the fans have been waiting for throughout the entire fight. Mike Tyson, barely able to stand on his feet, moves to the left after Douglas's blow and fires a powerful right uppercut right into his opponent's jaw. James "Buster" Douglas falls onto his back. The hall explodes with delight. Tyson showed that, despite the number of missed punches and incredible fatigue, he remains a dangerous puncher at any moment of the fight.
Douglas has difficulty getting up on the count of nine. Octavio Meyran gives permission to continue the fight. However, Tyson doesn't even have time to launch an attack. The gong sounds and the boxers go to the corners. The replay shows that the referee counted much slower than the timekeeper showed him. Their times differed by at least two seconds already on the count of “six”. After Douglas stood up, the referee did not ask him if he was ready to continue the fight, and also did not ask him to raise his gloves, as required by the rules. As it turned out later, this cost Mike Tyson victory in this fight.
Mike Tyson begins the tenth round with a desperate attempt to finish the fight by knockout. He throws powerful blows from both hands, but none of them reach the target. After a clinch, in which Douglas almost hit the referee with a right hook, Mike Tyson throws a left hook to the head and a moment later a left uppercut. Douglas not only did not lose his head, but immediately launched a counterattack. He delivers six unanswered blows to the head from both hands. Tyson responds with a powerful right cross to the head. Douglas felt a little unsteady again.
In the middle of the round, Mai lands another powerful left to Tyson's head. Douglas answers him in kind. Mike swayed on his feet and leaned on the ropes. James delivers four blows to the defense and again runs into Tyson’s right uppercut, after which he collapses onto his opponent with his entire body. Having come to his senses, he continues his series. Mike's head begins to rush from side to side from the blows and the referee closely monitors the development of events. Once again, Tyson manages to hit Douglas with a precise right uppercut, but he, apparently, does not pay attention to them and throws all his strength into finishing off his opponent. Both boxers had difficulty staying on their feet, leaning on the ropes. After the referee's command, Mike Tyson moves closer, but again runs into counter blows from his opponent, which force him to retreat to the ropes. Douglas ends the round with two side kicks to Tyson's head. Mike goes to the corner with an unsteady gait, his eye almost completely closed by a hematoma. It seems that he himself was knocked down in the eighth round.
Mike Tyson starts the tenth round with a powerful right straight to the head. Douglas responds with two right hooks to the head. Mike Tyson stops throwing punches and just walks forward, covering his head with his gloves. James "Buster" Douglas delivers a powerful uppercut straight to the jaw. Tyson freezes in place and immediately misses four unanswered blows to the head from both hands, after which he falls in the corner. The referee opens the scoring. Mike Tyson searches the floor for a mouth guard. He puts it in at the count of seven and tries to lean on the referee to get up. Like “Buster” Douglas two rounds earlier, he gets up at the count of nine, his hands are also down and he is just as wobbly. But in the case of Tyson, it is quite obvious that he cannot continue further, and there is still a minute and a half left until the end of the round. The referee stops the fight. The hall roared with delight. What seemed impossible just half an hour ago has happened. Mike Tyson lost by knockout to a boxer who was considered, according to bookmakers, an outsider with a score of 42 to 1. And at the beginning of accepting bets up to 49 to 1!
After the fight, Don King stated that there were actually two knockouts that night, but one canceled out the other. Since the referee was slow to count when James Douglas was on the floor, Mike Tyson should remain champion. The IBF and WBA were not convinced by this argument, and they recognized “Buster” Douglas as champion. The WBC resisted the longest. But after the main US boxing commissions announced that they would sever relations with this organization if it did not recognize Douglas as champion, the WBC management had no choice but to back down. James "Buster" Douglas is the absolute champion. The boxing world was in shock. Ring magazine called this fight "Disappointment of the Year." But to tell the truth, it was the biggest disappointment in the history of boxing.
This was Mike Tyson's first defeat in his entire professional career.
Samoylik
In contact with
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 division, 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 Olympic bronze medalist 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, Foreman 13 million, but for such a fight to come to that, 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 7:5 for the challenger to win, but after the weight became known in the end it was for Holyfield to win at 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 trying to achieve that goal. At the 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 the best shape, there is no question that I could lose,” the challenger said.
“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,” intervened Lou Duva, the challenger's charismatic trainer.
— When this fight was first announced, I bet on “Buster” Douglas on points in an even 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, the famous journalist analyzed Al Bernstein.
The organizers did not lose any money at all, despite the highest tender in history. Revenues from 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- physical training specialist, Lee Haney- one of the greatest bodybuilders in history, another muscle mass specialist 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 the 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 everything, 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 it’s not about the size of the muscles, only the size of the heart in a fight.” And that's why he won. Compared to them, I am a small fighter, but with a 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 had lost after a good fight, I would have immediately started 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 began his career like most famous boxers, beating several journeymen with ease. 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 some highlights in his career but 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 Jessa 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 a strong boxer like him could not withstand 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.
James Buster Douglas. I present to you a large detailed biography of the famous boxer.
Childhood and youth
James Douglas was born on April 7, 1960 in Columbus, Ohio. The boy grew up in " black area" - Linden. Typical hobbies of the local population were two popular sports: boxing and basketball. James's father is Billy Douglas, nicknamed " Dynamite", was a famous middle and light heavyweight boxer in the early 70s of the 20th century. Billy had a rich amateur career: he became the winner of the national tournament" Golden Gloves"in 1963. In the professional ring" Dynamite"Boxed against such famous fighters as: Willie Monroe, Matthew Saad Mohammed. Boxing was the main source of income for the Douglas family. To support his wife and children, Billy boxed until the age of 40, while simultaneously training amateur boxers and his own sons - the eldest James, Arthur, Robert and Billy Jr. The mother of a large family, Lula Pearl Douglas, was involved in housekeeping and raising children.
Boxing didn't interest James. He was tall and addicted to basketball: he played in youth tournaments, representing the high school team, and later the college team in Coffeyville, Kansas. At the age of 17, Douglas's height reached 183 centimeters. The young man received a special scholarship for his success in basketball.
After graduating from college, 19-year-old James returned to Columbus. The young man got a job as a security guard at a local club. It was difficult for black boys and girls to find well-paying jobs, even if they had " crusts"about graduating from college. Douglas gave his entire salary to his mother. There were no prospects for earning money from playing basketball. James returned to the boxing gym, where his father trained - " Dynamite"Billy.
The foundations of boxing laid by his father gave a good impetus to the start of his amateur career. James was a two-time national medalist in Ohio. The American public awarded him the nickname " Buster", which meant - " Unusual"There was no point in staying in the amateurs. Fights did not bring in income. Douglas, after consulting with his father, decided to start a professional career. Beginning a professional career and myths about weak character
James made his professional debut in 1981. Buster confidently won 4 fights, but was brutally knocked out by the debutant, future contender for the championship title, David Bey. " Cold shower"was perceived as an accident. Douglas returned to the winning path. Over two years, he had 14 fights: 13 wins and 1 scandalous draw in a fight where James was unreasonably deducted 2 points.
On May 12, 1982, James's younger brother Arthur tragically died. A fatal accident overtook a 17-year-old boy at a friend’s house: a loaded pistol fell from the refrigerator. A shot was fired. The bullet pierced the younger Douglas' neck. The tragedy greatly affected James's state of mind.
At the end of 1983, James entered the top 15 of the overall world heavyweight rankings. Fighting the average Mike White didn't seem like much of a problem. Douglas easily won 8 rounds, but missed a strong blow in 9. Mike rushed to finish and knocked out his opponent a few seconds before the end of the three-minute period. After the fight, the American media called this defeat: "With the stupidest loss in 1983"The vulnerable Douglas took his failure seriously. He was away from boxing for six months.
Douglas is back" into action" in late 1984. He entered the ring on three days' notice, replacing the injured Trevor Berbick. Randall Cobb, world No. 4 heavyweight, was the clear favorite. James defeated Cobb and broke into the elite of the royal weight division.
ESPN organized a tournament among talented heavyweight fighters. The winner received a valuable prize - 500 thousand dollars and high positions in the ranking. Douglas received an invitation to participate. He knocked out unbeaten prospect Dion Simpson in the quarterfinals and controversially lost to Jesse Ferguson in the semifinals. In the next fight, Douglas defeated former world champion Greg Page and further strengthened his position in the rating lists of the heavy division. Two subsequent victories gave him a chance to fight for the vacant IBF title. Belt holder Michael Spinks was stripped of the title due to his refusal to make a mandatory defense against IBF No. 1 Tony Tucker. The second and third lines of the ranking were vacant, and Buster was in fourth. The fight took place on the undercard of the main event of the evening: Mike Tyson vs. Pinklon Thomas.
In May 1987, James finally convinced the boxing public of the weakness of his character. He won the fight on the cards of two judges, but missed a strong blow in the 10th round and the referee stopped the fight: a repetition of the scenario three years ago - the fight against Mike White. Who would have thought then that a boxer with a weak character, 3 years later, would destroy the headliner of the evening and the main monster of the heavyweight division - Mike Tyson.
The defeat at the hands of Tony Tucker had a major impact on James' ranking. The IBF placed the losing fighter on the 15th line, and the WBC and WBA even sent him outside the top 15.
Negative events in the ring gave way to joy in his personal life. James married his beloved girlfriend, Bertha Page.
James won 6 wins in a row. His every appearance in the ring was greeted with boos. However, gradually, the public’s negativity gave way to surprise. Douglas won two extreme victories over top rivals: former world champion Trevor Berbick and future Oliver McCall.
Fight against Mike Tyson and the title of absolute world champion
By 1990, the hegemon and absolute heavyweight champion was the great and terrible Mike Tyson. He convinced everyone that there was no fighter in the world capable of providing him with any resistance. He destroyed all the best and even problems outside the ring could not convince the public otherwise. America adored Mike. made a huge fortune from his victories. A big fight was brewing against the former absolute heavyweight champion, Evander Holyfield. The great promoter decided to better promote the megafight, and at the same time conquer the Japanese boxing market. The Japanese, greedy for spectacle, were ready to pay any money in order to see the great and terrible Mike Tyson with their own eyes. Don had a good sense of the public's mood. The fight with Holyfield was supposed to take place in the USA, and for the fight in Japan a passable opponent was needed. King's choice fell on James Buster Douglas.
Douglas had a great training camp. James understood that the fight against Tyson was his last chance to make a name for himself. Before the most important fight in his career, fate dealt him three fatal blows that could have broken any person:
- On January 18, 1990, just 23 days before the championship fight in Tokyo, James's mother, Lula Pearl, died. A 47-year-old woman suffered a stroke.
- On January 23, 1990, doctors diagnosed Bertha Page, James's wife, with cancer. The woman was 6 months pregnant.
- On February 1, 1990, 10 days before the fight, Douglas was hospitalized with a severe bout of flu. The fighter's manager, John Johnson, received permission from the World Boxing Council to use antibiotics. Even 5 days before the fight against the strongest man on earth, Buster was lying in bed with a temperature of 39.5.
Don King tried to overturn the result of the fight, claiming that the referee gave Douglas too much time in the 8th round and the challenger was on the floor for more than 10 seconds. The IBF recognized Douglas as champion, but the WBC and WBA refused to recognize Buster's victory, pending a decision by the Athletic Commission. WBC President Jose Sulaiman said that his organization will hold a hearing on February 18, and WBA President Gilberto Mendoza said that the World Boxing Association will hold a council meeting within 10 days. Statements by the heads of the WBC and WBA caused widespread negativity in the boxing and world media. On February 13, two sanctioning organizations announced that they would recognize Douglas as champion.
Fame, money and defeat
The myth of James' cowardice in the ring was dispelled forever. But the soul of the new champion hid weaknesses about which the whole world soon learned. And it was not a myth. James Buster Douglas turned out to be too gentle and kind person. He participated in charity, made donations to churches and orphanages, gave money to everyone who asked, and traveled around his native Columbus like when he defeated the invincible.
Douglas retired from boxing. He spent a lot of time in restaurants, listening to the speeches of hangers-on, treating them and himself to wine and fatty foods. He gained 70 pounds ( about 32 kilograms) excess weight. The motivated, angry, driven, trained Buster Douglas who crushed the great Mike Tyson is a thing of the past. He was replaced by a vulnerable, cowardly man suffering from diabetes with the second stage of obesity.
In the meantime, the time has come to defend the titles of the absolute champion against the mandatory challenger - Evander Holyfield. Douglas' coaches and managers sounded the alarm. The champion was in terrible physical shape. The entire training camp was spent losing weight. Steve Wynn, a businessman, millionaire and friend of Buster, suggested that the boxer's team use the sauna. Steve was surprised when he learned that during the thermal session, lunch was ordered into the booth where the champion was - pizza and three hamburgers...
James didn't want to fight Evander. He managed to lose weight to 246 pounds ( 112 kilograms), which is 15 pounds ( 7 kilograms) exceeded his weight in the fight against Tyson.
Holyfield was in great shape and looked like a bodybuilder. His weight was 208 pounds ( 94 kilograms). Evander was the favorite: 7 to 5. After the weigh-in procedure, which was shown on central television, boxing fans " besieged"bookmakers. There are no doubts about Holyfield's victory. 95% of people bet money on the early completion of the fight in favor of the challenger. They were right.
An hour before the fight, Evander was a 9 to 5 favorite. The numbers didn't matter. That evening, October 25, 1990, Buster would have been beaten by any boxer in the top 10 heavyweight division. Holyfield did his job masterfully. A great counter right straight knocked James out in the 3rd round. Douglas earned $24 million and retired.
Health problems and return to the ring
In 1992, the former champion almost ended up in jail for tax evasion. Health problems added to financial troubles. James's weight reached 400 pounds (!) ( 182 kilograms). In early 1994, he ended up in the hospital and fell into a diabetic coma.
James was bedridden for 3 months. After a rehabilitation course, he returned to the gym to lose weight. He ran out of money. Debts grew.
In 1996, 6 years after the legendary fight against Mike Tyson, Douglas returned to the ring. Over 2.5 years, the former champion had 9 fights: he won 8 and lost with a brutal knockout in the first round to Lou Savarise.
James managed to earn $1.5 million and regain his health. He got rid of his debts, paid his taxes and left professional boxing forever. In 1998, negotiations were held to organize a fight between Douglas and the best pound for pound boxer, Roy Jones Jr. The sides of the fighters could not come to an agreement. The fight did not take place.
After boxing
James opened a boxing gym in his native Columbus. In 2007, he bought 4 acres of land on the outskirts of the city and founded a hotel for tourists. The former champion continues to develop a network of retail outlets and participate in charity.
James Buster Douglas forever entered the history of world boxing as the man who overthrew the great Mike Tyson from the throne of the royal division and created the loudest upset of the 20th century.