how did mike tyson lose to a 42 to 1 underdog ?

That's fair but he was certainly rocked when Buster hit him. Many, many times.

 

Oh I agree 100%, I was talking specifically about the fighters that I mentioned.

 

I will repeat what I have written elsewhere. To beat Tyson (including the 'PRIME' version), you needed to fulfill four criteria.

1. Be prepared physically and mentally i.e. no injuries, addictions, mental health issues.
Douglas's mother was dead, but that only made him mentally stronger unlike Tyson who was mentally ill-prepared going into the fight. And Buster was in perfect physical shape. Trevor Berbick, Tyrell Biggs, Tony Tubbs and Pinklon Thomas had substance issues, Tucker's right hand was broken, and Larry Holmes was in bad shape and inadequately trained.

2. Have a decent chin.
Douglas had a decent chin. Not good, decent. Bruno's chin was his weakness. It was the same with Francois Botha.

3. Have a decent technique and gameplan, do not try to go on war right away.
Douglas had a decent technique, nothing special. And his gameplan was not just effective, it became a blueprint to beat Tyson in the coming decade. Douglas did not rush Tyson immediately unlike Razor Ruddock nor went on a hug fest (James Smith).

4. Do not get intimidated.
Douglas did not get intimidated at all. He bullied the bully, unlike Micheal 'the kitten' Spinks.

 

Everyone's summed it up already.

**** Training Camp
Cocky
**** Trainers and corner
Mentally unprepared
Banging too many women and partying
Don Kings a ****en cancer
Douglas was there to kill or be killed. Literally. He was fighting for his mother. God Bless her soul.
Referee was ****. Slow count. Fact. Whether Douglas could have made it or not. No one knows. But the count was way too slow.

Tyson thought he was invincible and believed he was going to steam roll Buster. He didn't count on Buster Showing up.

Buster was on. Mike wasn't.

 

These are all just excuses, really.

A real injury is a genuine excuse for a loss. He didn't have one of those.

Even all the 'partying' is not a good excuse unless he was actually intoxicated during the fight. Let's not forget nobody excuses Fury for McDerm I and Fury was out drunk the night before, likely more hungover than Tyson would have possibly been. Also at his age, Tyson could recover well from this type of life, especially with all the PEDs. Everybody knows that it's easier for young people to function living the 'party' life.

It's totally laughable saying he couldn't fight properly because he was having sex with prostitutes in the lead up.

In reality he got exposed. He was always overhyped because he was a 'brand', one of the first huge ones exploited commercially, even with video games named after him. The American media propaganda machine is unmatched.

 

Hes overrated simply by merit of being a cultural icon. There was another thread about De La Hoya and its the same principle. If Tyson was not overrated he'd be the GOAT of HW boxing or a close second to Ali.

I think Tyson would beat Douglas most times but Douglas was not cinderella. He was an elite fighter who lost the IBF title to Tucker who had been Tysons best opponent up to that point. Buster might have had a nice little reign at HW if he had the belt earlier. Instead Holyfield was his first opponent. Reinforcing the idea he simply got lucky against Tyson.

 

I find it more shocking that the prepared and sculpted Adonis AJ was absolutely embarrassed in what was to be his USA coming out party by a rotund, blob of a mess in Andy Ruiz.

 

Bull****.

 

Nah. Against Headbuttfield he floated like a Buffalo and stung like a Nat.


He also quit vs Evander.

 

Yeah he dedicated that fight to her and fought like a man possessed.
Kinda like in Cinderella man when Braddock ate a big right. In his head he sees his family in a one room shack barely eating. Shakes his head smiles and was like nope not tonight.
It’s amazing what someone can do when they have something on the line.

 

yeah have watched that fight countless times. Buster smartly just waited until the ref’s count hit 9 before getting up. He could have bounced back up almost straight away if he had wanted too.

 

Buster could have easily made the count however fast the ref counted, he sits there looking directly at the ref counting along to make sure he gets up exactly on 9. I have watched that fight countless times.

Hardly the actions of a fighter on s**t street.

I hate the Buster long count nonsense. It’s up there with the Fury glove tampering s**t.

 

He was overhyped by many.

However, I don't think that it's an excuse to say that he wasn't physically and mentally at 100%.

We've also seen it with plenty of other fighters throughout the years.

 

How was Mike slipping as at the first Bruno fight? Remember, in typical Tyson style, Mike nearly had Frank out of there in round 1.

Frank fought very rough and dirty against Mike thereafter. Frank was also very strong with an extremely powerful punch who also stunned Mike.

Frank introduced obstacles that Mike hadn’t encountered before - if incorrect, then who previously brought exactly what Frank did to the table against Mike?

Why does Mike’s favoured axiom “Every one has a plan until they’re punched in the mouth” apparently only apply to Mike’s opponents but not Mike himself? Very curious.

Here’s the problem, Mike’s performances were assessed as if he was fighting in a vacuum. Great or average performance, it was all about what Mike was or wasn’t (on the night).

There was little address of the quality of the opposition or their OWN back stories as to why they themselves might not been up to their usual par.

BUT, when Mike himself crashed, his circumstances were given the forensic treatment to the nth degree. Again, all about Mike.

Mike’s weight was good for Tokyo, and if he was as out of shape as some would have it, he would’ve been even lesser performed and wouldn’t have lasted as long as he did.

Btw, the Page KD wasn’t that earth shattering and Mike was partially off balance.

It’s not as often noted that Buster Douglas himself was also reported as not looking so hot during his own sparring sessions.

That’s right, Buster Douglas, the “other guy” who was actually in the ring with Mike also.

He fought a pretty damn good fight that Buster fella did and he was arguably Mike’s best opponent to date (as presented on the night).

He was certainly a far cry from the Michael Spinks that turned up in 88 - the quaking victim in one of Mike’s most celebrated wins.

But forget about what Spinks wasn’t that night - it was, as always, all about Mike.

 

He got hit more in the fight with Frank than before. His defence wasn't as tight.

His weight wasn't good in Tokyo. King was very concerned. King actually had a wager with him in order to motivate him to lose it.

By the time the fight came around, he'd shed the excess weight. But we didn't see the same upper body and head movement. He also looked very tired at the end. And sure, you could say that was because of what James did. But in the fight against Ruddock, both fighters were still at war in the final round, where they were both throwing power shots in what was a very fast paced fight. So Mike wasn't as fit as that in Tokyo. His stamina wasn't as strong.

There's no way that Mike was 100% for that fight, where he fought to his full capabilities.