Buster could have gotten up but his heart wasn't into the fight. That showed in his lack of preparation going in.
Holyfield had the blueprint of peak Douglas from the Tyson fight, coupled with his ring IQ Holyfield would have just kept beating him to the punch all night, even if Douglas was in Tokyo shape he would not have been able to sustain it against Holyfield who was too consistent with his timing and counters The barrage he took Tyson out with never would have worked on Holyfield
Douglas was never going to win that fight. He got exposed for what he really was. Holyfield took him serious, was in top shape, was prepared to utilize speed, punch volume, and timing. It didn’t matter what Douglas did on that day, he wasn’t going to win.
I always felt Buster could have gotten up. I think he chose to stay down. He was out of shape and he already knew it was going to be a long night.