Iv heard lots of people say boxing is like rock paper scissors, was Douglas just the scissor to mikes paper or was Mike so far gone by then? Or is Buster just the better boxer? whats your take?
Tyson is better than Douglas. Douglas was better that night for many reasons. Kudos to Douglas for giving it his best.
The Douglas that beat Tyson has been extremely overrated, and as good of a triumph as it was, it was not against a true and prime Iron Mike, and therefore it should be treated as such. A good triumph, but not something that would be repeated, even against a '91 Tyson.
Douglas was the paper to Tyson's rock. He had the style to beat Tyson combining elements from the boxers who gave him trouble. There's actually a book detailing how Douglas' camp studied film and had him train to create a game plan to frustrate Tyson. -The heavy, consistent jab of guys like Pinklon Thomas and Holmes -The lateral movement and ring awareness of Jame Tillis and Tucker -The spoiling/clinching tactics of Smith and Bruno -Strong uppercuts from Bruno and Tucker -A fierce determination to win and the refusal to simply fold or back off when Tyson pressures and uses intimidation Combine all these elements, and you'll frustrate any short, aggressive HW. It certainly helped Douglas had a significant height and reach advantage and used them very effectively. He laid down a blueprint that many SHWs use today. This doesn't mean Douglas would've always won, but he would've always given Tyson problems with his style and strategy. It doesn't mean he was objectively the better boxer either, Tyson definitely was. But Douglas had Tyson's number that night somewhat similar to how Norton would've always frustrated Ali with his style and strategy.
Douglas lost to 3 boxers defeated quite easily by Mike Tyson. There are not even some of Mike's successes... you may wonder why it was Tyson and not Douglas who won 10 belt fights in the 1980s, since earlier than Tyson he was at the top of the category, was active and tried to fight.
