Why is Buster Douglas' win over Mike Tyson considered the greatest. . .

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by The Mighty One, Feb 11, 2019.



  1. Robney

    Robney ᴻᴼ ᴸᴼᴻᴳᴲᴿ ᴲ۷ᴵᴸ Full Member

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    I put this in the same category as other Tyson comparison threads like the "Is Floyd now more popular as Tyson was in his prime?" type, I've seen here before.
    These people obviously weren't around at the time or too young to remember.

    It has to do with "Zeitgeist".
    Nowadays if you had a boxer like Tyson (modern day variant), there wouldn't be such a huge amount of hype, due to the world being changed, the state of boxing as a whole, and the effect THAT fight had on people's perspective on boxing.
    Every time people would call a boxer unbeatable, people would say "they used to say that about Tyson".
     
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  2. On The Money

    On The Money Dangerous Journeyman Full Member

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    I never thought Mike was unbeatable. Especially when you factor in his lifestyle, it was on the cards that some big guy was going to expose him and Douglas went in with the mentality and tools to get the job done and did it. Mike was literally beaten to a pulp.
     
  3. Ragamuffin

    Ragamuffin Active Member Full Member

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    I agree on all points, and lets not forget that when Foreman challenged Frazier for the title he was a 3-1 underdog going into the fight. The way he handled Joe was a surprise for most bar George, his handlers and a few boxing scribes.
     
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  4. mrtony80

    mrtony80 Likes thick chicks Full Member

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    If you have to ask this you don’t know boxing, and age is no excuse. Ali-Foreman was way before my time, and I’ve always understood how big of upset. But assuming you know current boxing...McGregor ko’ing Mayweather would have approached the level of Douglas-Tyson. Actually that one might be on par.
     
  5. KO Artist

    KO Artist Do not attempt to adjust your TV Full Member

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    Anyone on the street, and (hell) even the vast majority of casuals will say "who are Mike Weaver & John Tate?".
     
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  6. Bustajay

    Bustajay Feel the Steel/Balls Deep Full Member

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    Just look at what the betting line was for that fight. Some folks got RICH and some bookies went broke
     
  7. London To Alabama

    London To Alabama New Member banned Full Member

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    Breidis Prescott KO'ing Amir Khan in 50 seconds on Khans PPV debut :lol:

    & Peterson vs Khan, & Danny Garcia vs Khan
    People forget Peterson and Danny Garcia were MASSIVE underdogs going into those fights and nobody rated them. Khan has had 3 massive cherry picks gone wrong.:lol:
     
  8. IntentionalButt

    IntentionalButt Guy wants to name his çock 'macho' that's ok by me Full Member

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    What do you think you're contributing with this post in this specific topic?
     
  9. The Professor

    The Professor Socialist Ring Leader Staff Member

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    Exactly. At the time, the ONLY discussion around this fight was how long Douglas would last. Virtually everyone said less than 5 rounds.
     
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  10. surreal deal

    surreal deal Liverpool via Krypton Full Member

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    Somebody on here once described him as--it may have been you IB, but deffo somebody from our ESB generation--as the Schrödinger's cat of HW champions'....in a state of being being both overrated and underrated at the same time'....haha. I've liked that analogy ever since. Anyway it's the biggest upset as it was so seismic. The general public knew upsets happen in ANY sport...including Boxing; but not to Tyson...behave, the very idea! I was going to wrap up then, but recalled a contemporary mag of the time saying--' fighters will soon be getting credit for how many rounds they survive with him'...and the guy to beat him is a little kid in a gym somewhere training... or yet to be born'. They are close memory paraphrases and the originals were even more ludicrous. It was ridiculous, but deffo not false memories or hyperbole. Oh ..'it would probably take Marvin Hagler with a baseball bat to knock him out'....was another one. It was a HUGE upset! The biggest.
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2019
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  11. IntentionalButt

    IntentionalButt Guy wants to name his çock 'macho' that's ok by me Full Member

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    That definitely sounds like me. :lol:
     
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  12. N17

    N17 VIP Member Full Member

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    If my memory serves, hardly any press even bothered going to Tokyo for Tyson Vs Douglas, I don't think TV companies did either, they just didn't bother, nobody gave him any chance whatsoever.

    Just think about that, the biggest star in boxing, the heavyweight champion and maybe even the biggest star in world sport at the time and most of the press not even turning up because they deemed it completely pointless.

    Now, think of today's fighters, can you imagine hardly any reporters or TV companies not even bothering to turn up to an AJ fight? Or Canelo fight? Or a few years ago a Mayweather fight? Regardless of where it was held.

    That's how much of an outsider Douglas was, the odds didn't reflect how much of an outsider he was, I believe he was at far larger in odds around the world.

    Tyson was slipping slightly, he wasn't training and some said his lifestyle and outside the ring activities where going to catch up with him at some point but even those people didn't think it would be Douglas who would catch Tyson.

    It's the biggest boxing upset and without doubt the highest profile upset in my lifetime.
     
  13. Lesion of Doom

    Lesion of Doom Boxing Addict Full Member

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    I'm sure there have been bigger upsets in the sense that some fights don't even get listed by oddsmakers. But given that this was Tyson and there actually were posted odds (but almost were not), then it's safe to call it the greatest upset in boxing history. And one of the greatest upsets in all of sports history.