Why is Buster Douglas' win over Mike Tyson considered the greatest. . .

Lloyd Honeygan’s win over Don Curry springs to mind.

 

Yeah, every boxing fan knows Tyson. Can't say the same about Weaver.
And the actual betting odds for Tyson-Douglas were insane. What were they for Weaver-Tate?

The fight happened 30 years ago. Yet is still brought up every time a big upset happens. Everyone knows about it. Hence the "biggest upset in boxing".

 

Tate was only a 2-1 favourite.

 

Because the boxing world had never seen anyone quite like Tyson before who sprang onto the scene as fast and early as he did, fought the way he did, who had the skills, explosiveness, and power he did with the head and upper body movement and footwork that allowed him to get inside on his opponents, and who absolutely dominated world champs/world class fighters as badly as Tyson did. Tyson looked unbeatabke and was then beaten by a guy with at least 3 losses.

 

All well and fine to say that in hindsight but if you weren't around for Tyson's rise and peak you need to have a seat.

 

Tyson may have been (somewhat) unanimously overrated in his pomp but in the years since the pendulum has swung all the way to its opposite extreme and he is now massively underrated.

 

And as for the whole styles make fights thing -- think ever fight Buster lost up to Tyson I was by KO, so on one hand you have a fighter percieved as somewhat chinny going up against a monstrous wrecking crew with electrifying speed, movement, and warhead type power. Douglas had an AWESOME jab and was 6'3 or around there but the way Tyson fought it made those into weaknesses against most fighters.

 

wish i could go back in time like "biff" from "back to the future 2" and bet on douglas. odds were 45-1!

 

I knew Douglas had big time skills after I watched him win many rds against against a very good and powerful Tony Tucker before Tucker knocked Buster out.

Busters jab was amazing, for the first half of the fight he was great so I knew he could give Tyson (potentially LoL) some early trouble. What was shocking was watching him get off the canvas after Tyson finally clocked him. And how he fought AFTER he got up. ‘‘Twas shocking. To this day I consider it one of the best displays of guts I have seen in the ring. Just beautiful.

 

For that short period of time there was a real aura of menace around Mike Tyson. Everyone knew of him, not just boxing fans, EVERYONE. It wasn't even Mike Tyson, it was just one word, 'Tyson'.

In retrospect you can look at some of the guys he rolled over and ask questions, but at the time he just seemed to be a stone rolling down the hill, gathering force, knocking down everything in its path. Opponents looked beat before the bell started because they weren't just fighting a man, they were up against a legend in the making.

Then came Buster...

 

Fax...

 

Agree...people either don't care or don't understand the physical phenomenon he was.

 

42-1

If there's one that beats 42-1, especially on that kind of stage, let me know. Not being sarcastic, genuinely curious.

 

because of how Douglas looked in the past. And he quit in the Tucker fight. A prime Tyson would have probably stopped the 1990 Douglas in 2 or 3 rounds. I should say the Feb. 1990 Douglas, since the October 1990 Douglas was not the same. Douglas was so hot and cold. and mostly cold. We were all surprised.