Knockout: 25 years since Buster beat Iron Mike
February 11th, 1990. He was a 42 to 1 underdog battling a nasty cold. His mother had died just weeks earlier. And no sane person would have predicted that he had a chance in the ring against the undefeated champ. But he stepped in anyway…and ten rounds later, James “Buster” Douglas of Columbus, Ohio stood tall in the center of the Tokyo Dome on the other side of the planet, having knocked out Iron Mike Tyson to become the new undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Tyson’s camp and, in particular, Don King, would protest Buster’s victory. In response, the WBA and WBC would hold up recognizing the new champion for four days before relenting to public pressure. Eight months later, the title was gone, lost in Buster’s first defense in a bout with Evander Holyfield.
His reign was short-lived but the boxing world remembers, as does the (614), the night that our own Buster Douglas defeated Tyson, shocked the world and became the champ. (jj)
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