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

You can also make a strong argument that Tysons peak years were probably around 19-21. He never really looked the same fighter after leaving Rooney. Lack of head movement and his power combinations often got him out of trouble against fighters.

Holyfield made a great point- Whenever he got tested- he lost. He was great to watch due to his knockout ability, but apart from being the youngest HW champ I wouldnt place him in the all time Top 20 HW's tbh

 

Dammed by faint praise considering todays HW's! I think a good example is Tyson and Frans Botha, a very average HW who was beating Tyson pretty easily and Tyson trying to break his arm in the fight. Granted Tyson eventually caught him him with a short hook that absolutely ruined Botha.

 

Buster Douglas was on fire that night and an extremely talented fighter who was USUALLY a lazy under achiever…. He trained right for that fight and came to kick Mikes ass.

 

If you saw Douglas’s last couple of performances before the Mike Tyson fight you would not be calling him mediocre. The guy was a legit contender who deserves all the credit in the world for stopping Tyson.

 

It was an overhand right

 

It's probably as simple as Douglas fought the fight of his life against a Tyson, whose lifestyle had finally caught up with him.
I really think it's as basic as that.

 

Good post! Douglas looked extremely good in his previous fight vs. Mike Williams. Williams had allegedly been a sparring partner for Tyson and had supposedly given Tyson a tough time in sparring. Anybody who saw Douglas fight Williams should have realized that Douglas, if he was in shape, had the physical ability and skill to be a problem for anybody. Definitely should not have been a huge underdog.

 

To this day, my favourite upset in any sports ever.

Douglas had a perfect game plan and sticked to it. He was inspired by the recent death of his dear mother and had steely determination as a result.

We all know the excuses and the stories from Tyson's fans.
1) "Tyson was not in his prime anymore" - Right. A 23-year-old is not prime anymore. Lol.
2) "If only was Rooney around" - Tyson fired Rooney himself and never thought highly of him anyway. And how good is a fighter exactly if they can only perform with one specific trainer in their corner?
3) "Tyson partied hard at the time, he didn't prepare properly"- False. He confirmed later that at the time, he was basically confined in his hotel room and retorted to banging Japanese hotel staff because he was so bored. And no, having sex before fight night doesn't weaken the legs. It is scientifically proven that having sex the night before doesn't have any affects of physical performances.
4) "Tyson was out of shape" - How? He weighed in at 220.5 lbs, nothing extraordinary - not too high, not too low.
5) "Tyson had to lose a lot of weight" - So? If he ballooned up between fights, that's on him. Besides, Douglas had to lose even more weight as he had struggles in his personal life.
6) "Douglas receied a long count" - No, he didn't. Tyson received the exact same count. The difference is, Tyson could barely stand on his feet, while you could see that Douglas was fine - angry at himself for getting caught but otherwise fine. He punched the canvas in frustration, started to get up, then decided "hold on, I still have some time to rest, let's not rush it". When he stood up, his legs were solid, he was controlled. Had the count been faster, he would have stood up faster. It didn't make any difference.

All these excuses and theories for explaining away Tyson's loss, while most people forget how Douglas was sick at the time and was full of penicillin. He had just lost his mother who was his best friend and greatest fan. Also, if memory serves, Douglas' wife at the time was hospitalised and his child was also taken ill. Everything that could go wrong literally went wrong for Douglas. To say that his psychological state was not ideal for a fight like that is the understatement of the century.

But he stuck to his game plan no matter what and took the fight to Tyson. He wasn't afraid, he wasn't intimidated and the occasion didn't get to him. He attacked when Tyson wanted to rest in clinches, and clinched when Tyson wanted to engage. All the while he controlled the distance with beautiful jabs. It was the perfect fight apart from that KD he suffered due to his own recklessness. It's not that Tyson was beaten by a lucky guy who otherwise couldn't have done anything in his career. There isn't much any version of Tyson could have done against Douglas that night. If Douglas would have fought the way the world has seen him fighting in February 1990 throughout his whole career, he would have easily ended up as a top 5 ATG.

 

Buster was not the Rocky Balboa club fighter people have claimed him to be. He was a legit Top 10 guy, had beaten Greg Page and Oliver McCall, and almost beat Tony Tucker. He was a threat.

 

Boxing history could have been soooo different…
When they did the tourney for undisputed, Buster fought Tony Tucker for the IBF belt with the winner facing Tyson.
The crazy thing is, Buster was ahead in that fight going into round 11 when he got stopped…
This was the fight that completely pissed off Buster’s dad Bill as it looked like Buster just gave up instead of even trying to fight through adversity…
For some reason, Buster only had a huge heart for one fight.
I believe a 21 year old Tyson would have murdered Buster and history would be very different.

 

I am trying to recall from memory, which Im thinking it wsa a really short punch that you couldn't really see clearly. Just had a quick check on youtube and it was a right(hardly overhand though), wicked short right

 

nailed it with the “long count” excuse.