Is this even serious?! Tyson being KO'd by Buster Douglas was one of the biggest upsets in not only boxing but sport in general.
When Tarver sparked Jones it was an upset but not an unthinkable upset. Conventional thinking at the time was Jones had slipped a bit, dug deep to pull out a victory and would be able to win a clear decision. There was also the element that Tarver was the best opponent out there for Jones. Whilst Jones was a favourite Tarver was well regarded.
not even close, the media went wild with Tyson in a way that was beyond RJJ fame, so somehow the experts were all predicting Tarver to be a very tough opponent for Jones, not that it was fair as Buster was a talented boxer but the masses and the many so called experts didn't think highly of Buster prior to Tokyo. So the answer is, Tyson by a long shot because so many including experts (whatever we call them) got wrapped up in Tysons mystic. In real ways RJJ was seen by enough to be a super talented dude that didn't really like to challenge himself against the best and took a long time to fight the dudes that the fans wanted whereas Tyson was seen as wanting to fight only the best in his short reign from what I recall of those times. on a side note, RJJ was so good I clearly recall thinking that he was a damn fool not to have the BEST jab in the history of boxing, how can you hit a guy with a lead left hook as well as RJJ used to if you don't have the fastest hands going? If you have the fastest hands going why not commit to the JAB to take full advantage of your fast hands? RJJ was such a talented boxer, he was so talented he could get away with doing things that he would of been better off not doing OR better off in doing in a slightly more effective way. If he could take his mind from today and place it on his 20 year old self its scary to think of what he could of done.
Personally it was Jones/Tarver...I remember thinking on a previous HBO broadcast though I thought Jones looked like **** (hard weight cut)...but I was still shocked. Tyson at the time was the boogeyman...everyone trained hard going to fight him...when Buster lost his Mom previous to the fight...I thought Tyson might see a tiger in there with him (but I didn't call the upset, I thought Tyson would win)
it's not even close Tarver was seen as a fighter that was the closes thing to a challenge that roy had in forever Douglas had no hope no chance no nothing going into the Tyson fight
If Tarver had won fight 1 like he did fight 2 it might be close Tarver 2 was less shocking because of how close and interesting fight 1 was and how vincible he made jones look
Tarver proved in the first fight that he at least belonged with Jones. Still a shocking upset no doubt though. Surreal. But Tyson-Douglas was still for me on another level. I giggled when I hear Douglas had been selected as an opponent. S****ing the bottom of the barrel, I thought. I could not watch the fight live. Sanctions against my country prevented that. I relied on the papers for the news...to read 'TYSON LOSES!' in print...blew my mind. Nothing will ever come close to that.
Buster Douglas is the answer to this one. He was a known quitter whose mother had just died, didn't seem to have the temperament to draw motivation from such a tragedy, and three career stoppage defeats did not suggest he could survive Tyson. That last defeat was in ten rounds for the vacant IBF Title against Tony Tucker, so he hadn't distinguished himself in championship competition either. This is somebody who had drawn with Tangstad and lost to Tyson victim Jesse Ferguson. Maybe with the dedication and determination of a Marciano, he could have been an ATG, as he had the necessary raw physical equipment, but regarded as an underachiever who had no fire in the belly. I still believe Bonecrusher Smith should have been the first to knock out Tyson, but he pulled the same stunt over 12 with Mike that he did over nine against Frank Bruno. Unfortunately, Tyson did not have a Bruno type chin, and Smith waited until the last moments of the closing round to finally unload. Douglas was not seen as the guy who could pull this off. Foreman was the contender most anticipated, because George had immense physical strength and a granite chin to match his increased bulk and adaptations to maturity, including much better pacing. Mike wasn't going to win over a longer distance retreating against a much bigger and more experienced challenger as Foreman had evolved into, still a masterfully efficient ring cutter with rooted base and restored accurate jab from his Olympic days. Tyson's peek-a-boo was about the worst stance to use against George's constant casual shove. He'd have never been able to plant himself as necessary to unload with power, unless he was too far back to hit Foreman with his 5'10" height and 71" reach. The big old guy was as consistent and irresistible as the tide, and immovable as the cliffs, also a former champion used to the public scrutiny and attention Tyson was crumbling under. Douglas was a choker like Bonecrusher. Everybody knew Tyson was in a bad place, and then he got decked by Greg Page in the days leading up to Douglas-Tyson. However, Buster was not the guy to benefit from Mike's difficulties. Roy Jones Jeritol was seen as likely to lose his first bout to Tarver after stupidly draining himself of 25 muscular pounds just six weeks following Ruiz, so the knockout in their return was considered by many as the outcome which ought to have resulted in their first match. RJJ's chin was exposed, but it hadn't really been tested that much either.