Why doesn’t Buster Douglas get a pass for the Holyfield loss?

Tyson was awesome in his prime, he lost focus and couldn`t deal with Buster`s height and reach, he was far more skilled than Douglas while being trained by Rooney.

 

in his Prime? how old was he when Buster spanked him, an ancient 24?

 

Douglas doesn't get a pass vs Holyfield because
he was plainly underprepared for the fight which
was obvious.
He let his lack of self discipline overshadow
his skill level, which was substantial .
In my opnion he's worse than most
fighters because he was too lazy and
did not
take full advantage of his great ability,
and once in a life time opportunities.....

 

Because he never won a significant fight ever again and did nothing of note beyond that. I think had he stayed in the mix, not retired for half a decade, came back, won another belt had some wars with some top 5 guys it probably wouldn't be looked at as harshly

 

I don`t think you saw Tyson in the 80`s, how old are you? He lost focus and was being trained by the same team.

 

I think we have been down that river before...

Not that I totally agree but certainly an argument can be made that Tyson peaked very early and quickly and afterwards, for whatever reasons, he went into decline even if on chronological terms he was still supposed to be in his prime when he fought Douglas.

Why he went into decline? Lots of possible reasons can be mentioned: D'Amato and Ronney gone, Don King's nefarious influence, wild lifestyle, etc.

Again, not that I buy that argumentative line 100% but there are some elements to consider regarding Tyson's prime.

 

But Mark, was all the opposition that Mike vanquished fully prepared, confident and focused? Obviously, No.

Yet those very victories built themselves fully into the reputation that Mike ultimately enjoyed at best - without any of the caveats that were later afforded to Mike when he wasn’t enjoying the successes that he did previously.

Personally, I don’t think Mike was as understated in Tokyo as many believe, certainly the play was taken right away from him in the “formative” rounds - that’s not to disrespect or argue against opposing opinions at this moment - just how I see it overall.

The Page KD could’ve happened during any sparring - it wasn’t that solid a KD, Mike being a bit off balance also, imo.

At any rate, less often cited is the fact that Buster’s performances in sparring, for Tokyo, were apparently (as reported) none too impressive also.

 

The thing is tho, how old was Buster when holyfield spanked him

 

The irony is overwhelming.

 

Douglas simply reverted back to being the Douglas that he was his entire career. The myth of Tokyo Douglas was compounded by Tyson’s lack of conditioning and the total unprofessionalism running through his team.

 

Buster was long considered a highly talented under achiever with dog in him who for once was highly motivated and performed up to his ability in the fight against Tyson ... it was hoped the title winning massive victory would propel him to maintain his level of performance ... starting with the Holyfield weigh in where he came in abut 14 pounds heavier than Tokyo to the way he was blown out against Holyfield to staying down from a legit shot that seemed less severe than the bomb uppercut he absorbed vs Tyson made most feel he simply quit and that the Tyson victory was truly a run off and all the adulation bestowed on him was a waste and that many had simply been tricked ... this was magnified by Holyfield who was an absolute warrior at the time who gave his all every time out ... Duran freaked people out but it was a one off while Buster reverting back to prior disappointments and never returning sealed a different legacy ..

 

Give any fighter Duran`s career after the loss to Leonard and then give them Buster`s career after losing to Holy, Leonard went on to beat Hearns was one of the most dangerous fightes of that era, Duran was the smaller man and spent the rest of his career fighting bigger guys, where`s the Hagler on Buster`s record after he lost to Holy?

 

I've been a life long Duran fan, I've never given him a pass . After he became rich you never knew who would show up. If he was motivated he took people apart. If not he'd quit against Leonard and lose to Kirkland Laing.

 

Right,,If Buster had really resumed his career and had some more good wins and maybe regained a belt you might say he had a bad night because he wasn't prepared. But he actually WAS a lazy and undisciplined fighter