Tyson vs Douglas 1987

Good question. Tyson was hungry in 1987. He hadn't yet moved over to the dark side (to join with Don King). Douglas was talented and capable of competing with the best heavies but he lacked the inner fire to be a true champion. He needed something dramatic like his mother's death to propel him to the heights. I don't see anyone defeating Mike that year.

 

Douglas was winning the Tucker fight till he basically quit, I think a Tyson fight would be competitive but I can’t see Douglas keeping his head screwed on for 12 rounds

 

I can see a motivated Douglas lasting the distance but the fight would still be in Mike's favor

 

Tyson knocks him out in 1987. Douglas's performance in early 1990 was a perfect confluence of Douglas being highly motivated and getting into the best shape of his life along with Tyson being highly overconfident, undermotivated, improperly trained, and unfocused. All of his sparring partners said THEY were beating him up in training. But Douglas was so disrespected generally that the feeling was that even Tyson at less than his best still would stop him relatively early. Tyson averaged 16 punches less per round against Douglas than any other championship contest before that. (39 usual per round average vs. 23 for Douglas). He was lethargic, and Douglas was not, and the combo platter made Douglas seem much better than he really was.

 

Tyson KO inside of 3 it would be about as competitive as his other fights at the time

 

Tyson

 

I think that the personal adversity that James Buster Douglas was going thru in the weeks leading to his huge upset title win over Mike Tyson on Feb 11 1990 played a big part in his victory over Tyson. It's like going into a big challenge with nothing to lose, the fear factor is absent.

 

It wouldn't be entirely unlike Mike's fight against Pinklon imo. Buster would display very nice skills but gets wiped out in the end. It won't make 7 imo.

 

It could be a totally different fight from Tokyo.
Tyson more focused, rooney in his corner, Buster not having the same life experience s at that time.
I see Tyson always been a step ahead and grinding out a decision.
Now would that mean that Buster gets another shot in 1990?

 

Buster Douglas does not get another shot at the title. Evander Holyfield instead fights Mike Tyson for the title on Feb 11 1990 in Tokyo, Japan. Holyfield takes out an uninspired Tyson in round 10, Mike who has reverted to the dark side with Don King continues into a downward spiral goes to prison because of charges brought against him by Desiree Washington. After being released by corrections in 1996, Tyson continues towards a historical path, beats Bruce Seldon for the WBA Title, then gets stopped by Lennox Lewis.

 

That' sounds plausible, Richard. Do you think tho that Tyson would go in to a fight with the real Deal unmotivated?

Understandable against Buster, he was seen as a stepping stone to the bigger fight with Holyfield.

 

I think that Mike Tyson being without the corner that brought him to the big dance, would find him unmotivated and lost against Holyfield on Feb 11 1990, because by then Tyson did not have Kevin Rooney in his corner.

 

Big shame that the Tyson v Holyfield fight didn't take place in the early 90 s, Richard.
Quite a few people think that Tyson would have beaten him back then.

 

I think that when Tyson left Rooney because of his ex Robyn Givens, Mike's desire began to decline because of the numerous distractions. You saw in the Douglas fight, Tyson's corner had no answer to Douglas, Rooney would have had an immediate answer, he was a trainer.