WATCH! BOXING’S GREATEST UPSET EVER?

On this day in 1990, Buster Douglas produced one of the greatest upsets in boxing history by knocking out the undefeated & undisputed champion Mike Tyson in Tokyo, Japan which shocked the entire world.

Douglas already had 4 losses on his record, his last coming against Tony Tucker having quit in the 10th round despite being up on the score cards. Experts said he lacked the heart, but Douglas said it was a learning experience and responded with 6 wins on the bounce and was in fantastic shape coming into the fight.

Despite being a 42-1 outsider, Douglas claimed he was fully prepared, deserving of his world title shot and felt confident of making a good account of himself walking into the ring. Despite his great preparation, Douglas’ mother died 3 weeks before the Tyson fight, which was the inspiration he needed to produce such an unbelieveable performance. His grief-stricken dad just told him to let his hands go and “see what happens”.

Tyson on the other hand wasn’t focussed, his highly publicised divorce with wife Robin Givens the year before, ongoing contractual issues with manager Bill Cayton and split with long term trainer Kevin Rooney all contirbuted to his poor preparation. Tyson told how he wasn’t allowed to leave the hotel, unless to train and admitted to hitting on all the maids in the days before the fight.

Not only did this fight produce and unforgettable result, the action was incredible full of twists and turns. Douglas took the fight to Tyson from the opening bell with a good stiff jab, clever movement & distance control and was landing with accuracy. Things were looking good for Buster, the initial belief of an early Tyson knockout had passed and Douglas’ confidence began to grow.

In the 8th round, Tyson came out with more intensity and Douglas volume of punches dropped considerably, a sneaky uppercut to the chin sent Douglas to the canvas and many thought this was the beginning of the end. Douglas calmly took the 8 count and rose to his feet before being saved from a second onslaught by the bell. Major controversy surrounded the knockdown with many people believing Douglas had received a ‘long count’. Looking again at the count, from the moment he hit the canvas to the point where he was back on two feet was around 14 seconds.

Douglas claimed he was off balance and didn’t really feel the punch itself. However the fight had now changed and Douglas new Tyson was going to come out with vengeance but was ready to suck it up and go toe to toe. He did exactly that, backing Tyson onto the ropes and unloading multiple left and right hand combinations.

At the end of the 9th the scorecards were even – 87-86 for Tyson, 86-86 and 88-83 for Douglas.

Going into the tenth, Douglas took control landing several unanswered jabs. Tyson tried to close the distance and was caught on the way in with a devastating uppercut, followed by a 3 punch combination which sent the champion to the canvas and he was unable to beat the count.

Douglas has achieved the impossible beating Mike Tyson and was so overwhelmed and emotional it appeared that he wasn’t celebrating and with his mother in mind he said, “I knew she was looking down, happy, saying, ‘I told you, my baby did it!’

Enjoy our edited highlights below…

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Watch Mike Tyson early knockouts!