What Would Have Happened In 1996, If Holyfield Wasnt Thought Of As Shot And Old?

I had this issue back in the day, but can't remember what the article said.. Although, I think Tyson was favored.

 

Not at all.. The fight between Holy and Douglas was promoted by Las Vegas king Steve Wynn, and it pissed every major promotor off at the time, because he outbid them all in offering both men the largest purse. As the defending champion, Douglas was awarded a then record high $25,000,000, and Evander received somewhere around $15,000,000. I might be a little off on the numbers, but it was over 20 years ago that I heard the announcement. Douglas retired comfortably after the fight, and came back years later for reasons that I am still unaware of, though I hope he wasn't broke..

 

Soon after the Holy fight (masterful display of boxing by Holy), Buster ballooned up to 400lbs & went into a Diabetic coma for 4 years. I think he must have been broke when he returned in '96, he looked ok winning 6 fights in a row, but then got blasted out in a round by Savarese in '98. His plan was to get a payday in a rematch with Tyson, many years after Mike had asked for one.

What if Douglas hadn't fought Savarese, but somebody else of equilivant value to get him a fight with Tyson in '99, & came in around a trim 233lbs like he was for Louis Monaco in '97... What would've happened? Would a revenge win over Buster be worth anything by then? Say Tyson takes the fight instead of Botha.

 

He was old and physically shot...but also smarter than ever on the inside and physically very powerful.

 

"Physically Shot".

He appeared that way because he had a collapsed left ventricle of the heart against Moorer & Hepatitis in Bowe III, but for Tyson he was supremely conditioned physically & mentally, far from "shot".

 

Douglas could still box well but I had the feeling he was a little fragile by this point in time, and the Savarese loss wasn't a whopping great shock or anything (though I didn't expect it all over in 1 round).

If Tyson knocks out Douglas in early '99, a Douglas, say, 7-0 in his comeback, it'd probably be a nice little boost and would've attracted some decent interest and cash. Not big stuff, but decent, which was what Douglas was aiming for. Was King still promoting Tyson at that time? He'd probably have whipped up interest.

 

Would Tyson have got the kind of credit Lewis got for revenge in McCall II?
Or would people write-off Buster as shot?

 

I don't think Buster was being viewed as a big challenge at the time.

Probably why they did the Savarese fight; if Douglas had knocked out Lou instead, that would've helped his credibility a lot and made a Tyson rematch more tasty.

If he fights someone else instead, a softer touch, then fights Tyson it would do decent money but not big.

Always good to beat someone that beat you, but much as a lot of people discredit the McCall II win except as a statistic, I don't think Mike gets much from a Douglas victory by '99. Unless, like I say, Douglas had beaten Lou or someone at a similar level at least.

 

Buster Douglas was knocked out by Louis Monaco on Tuesday Night Fights at the end of round 1. They Dq'd Monaco because they said he hit Douglas after the bell. It was a close call, but Douglas was out laying on the ropes and his corner refused to allow him to continue after he came to. Douglas was walking on egg shells his entire comeback. He looked decent against Quinn Navarre and his comeback is something he should be really proud of, because he was over 400 pounds and had come out of a coma, but if he fought Tyson it would have been ugly and Tyson didnt even want to fight Douglas because he knew he had no chance.

I think a lot of people knew what kind of condition Douglas really was in, and it would have probably erased some of the overblown hype that surrounds the mythical Tokyo Douglas, but not in my mind. Douglas was just too fragile during his comeback.

 

Tyson by 8th round TKO in a firefight! Both men were considered the other's "best" opponent to date.

 

Thanks.

I would love it if someone could kindly scan the pages of the article & upload the pics of them.

 

If someone asked me today how I thought that fight would have played out, I would still believe it would end in similar fashion.

 

tysons comeback opponents were not good enough to sharpen him in time for holyfield axel shultz would have been a far better oppnent for his first fight back followed by mercer after that then he should have fought for a title mcneeley was a joke while mathis was better he had no power .

 

There is a difference! Tyson weighed 220lbs for Douglas, which is a pound lower than what he weighed for Berbick!

There is no doubt which version of Tyson was in better condition!

 

Exactly, Physically, Mentally & Technically there are hugely significant differences.

Despite Tyson obliterating Prime Berbick in '86 (8 months after Trevor's most impressive performance against Thomas), the ageing 35 year old Berbick in 1990 was kicking his ass in sparring, repeatedly tagging him as he headhunted with singular bombs & struggled badly with balance & timing....a green McCall & Past-Prime Page were greatly troubling him too!