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Remembering Douglas-Tyson: still a shocker 25 years later

Fighters Network
11
Feb

An energetic Douglas bounced down the aisle, then, after stepping through the ropes, hopped lightly and effortlessly on his toes as he awaited Tyson’s arrival. An iron-faced Tyson strode toward the ring with a smaller-than-usual entourage and, as was his custom, eschewed a robe in favor of a towel with a hole cut in it. Tyson impatiently waited out the pre-fight festivities, which included the awarding of the WBA’s “Joe Louis Heavyweight Super Belt” signifying his many successful title defenses.

Douglas continued to bounce and shadow-box throughout the pre-fight pageantry while Tyson, eyes focused on the floor, mostly paced slowly from corner to corner while only occasionally engaging in warming-up exercises. The stare-down, what there was of it, was brief and devoid of drama.

The fight itself, however, was the complete opposite.



It took just a few seconds to realize that Douglas’ hand and foot speed was at least comparable to his six-years-younger opponent. Moving in small semi-circles in both directions and using subtle upper-body feints as well as affixing brief but well-timed clinches, Douglas also showed a feisty side as he fired two punches on the break. A sharp right to the face followed by a double-jab moments later showed that Douglas could penetrate Tyson’s guard. Several more right leads in the final minute not only allowed him to reach the end of the first round – something 17 previous Tyson opponents had failed to do – but to win it. According to CompuBox, Douglas out-landed Tyson 22-8, including 12-5 in jabs.

“That was a good round for Douglas and I gave it to him,” HBO analyst Larry Merchant declared. “Probably the best round I’ve ever seen him fight.”

There would be more “best rounds” for Douglas this day – many more.

Douglas started the second by throwing combinations at close range, many of which found the target with impressive regularity. Tyson tried to use his once-vaunted side-to-side upper body movement but because it lacked its previous verve, it wasn’t nearly enough to avoid the challenger’s missiles. Tyson’s singular scuds mostly found air or gloves and those that did get through inflicted little, if any, damage. Most importantly for Douglas, he never was a stationary target; he continually shifted his position, moved his upper body and changed angles. And yes, he punched and punched effectively.

With each passing second, Douglas’ self-belief was felt by everyone observing him. For once, a Tyson opponent was living up to his pre-fight declarations of bravery. At least for now, he was fearless.

Midway through the second, a right lead to the temple briefly stunned Tyson and another series of rights a minute later triggered a cascade of leather that had Tyson befuddled, if not bedazzled. A frustrated Tyson tried to hit Douglas on the break but it, like most of the rest of his punches, missed. Out-landing Tyson 30-8 in total punches, Douglas won the second round by an even bigger margin than the first.

“I don’t know if he’s going to shock the world but he’s shocked me so far,” said Merchant.

Tyson started the third with a hook to the body, his best punch thus far, but Douglas swiftly returned to long range and nailed the champion with his own piercing right, then a prickly right/left to the face. Tyson continually fell into clinches instead of unleashing his formidable body attack and while he tried to sneak in a stray elbow from time to time, mostly he languished until referee Octavio Meyran broke them. As for Douglas, he throttled down his pace and rested. Though Tyson was out-landed 20-12, the third was, for him, a better round comparatively as he landed several singular body shots in the final minute.

Still, it was clear that Tyson wasn’t on his A-game. He was passive, passionless and incredibly impotent. For the first time, the urgency level in the champion’s corner increased.

“Six-four-one inside, don’t just stand there and look at him; work!” barked Bright.

“You’re not closing the gap, Mike,” added Snowell, who continued to speak in low tones. “You’ve got to get inside, like jabbing and moving your head. When you get on the inside, you’ve got to punch. Punch, Mike. Jab, jab, jab, overhand right and come back with the left hook. Relax. You’re too flat-footed in there.”

“Right,” Tyson replied. But according to his autobiography, “Undisputed Truth,” he was thinking, “No f*****g s**t. Why don’t you try to get inside? The guy had a 12-inch reach advantage on me.”

How commanding was Douglas so far? After three rounds, Tyson threw 73 punches. Douglas, on the other hand, had landed 73 punches.

Douglas commenced the fourth by firing bursts of jabs, several of which found Tyson’s face. Even as he continued to control the action, questions about his stamina arose. Along with his history of tiring late, Douglas had been battling flu-like symptoms and was taking penicillin and antihistamines to combat them.

“About 30 seconds [into the pre-fight interview], I start to realize that this guy has one of the worst head colds I’d ever heard in my life,” Ross Greenburg, who served as executive producer for HBO’s broadcast, said in Layden’s book. “I mean, just a horrendous head cold. And I’m kind of thinking, ‘What? How is he going to get in the ring? This is insanity!’ His voice sounded like he had a head full of congestion.”

The illness obviously didn’t have any effect on his technique, for with a minute to go in the fourth, Douglas threw a jab, nipped back in a semi-circle, planted his right foot and delivered a flush right to the jaw. Tyson couldn’t do much more than rush in behind cuffing punches and let himself be grabbed.

With another round in Douglas’ column, Snowell now upped the intensity – and the volume level – of his instructions.

“You’ve got to use that seven (jab) to get inside, Mike, to back this guy up and you got to move that head,” he urged.

“You won all four rounds,” Douglas was told. “You got to hold your concentration. It’ll come back; everything will be there.”

In the fifth, it was. Douglas hammered Tyson with jabs and a big right in the opening minute stunned the champion. A jolting left/right/left appeared to wobble Tyson and, at that point, one had to ponder two results that, a half-hour ago, bordered on lunacy: (1) A Douglas victory and (2) a Douglas victory by knockout.

Douglas’ repeated rights helped create a 33-11 connect gap in the fifth and raised a knot over Tyson’s left eye. The challenger punctuated the session by throwing a right hand a full two seconds after the bell, showing the bully that he would not stand to be bullied.

Few believed the fight would go five full rounds and that carelessness apparently extended to cutman Taylor Smith, who neglected to pack an Enswell to address the swelling.

Snowell, the chief second, was forced to make an infamous audible as he filled a latex-based object with cold water and pressed it against Tyson’s eye. Snowell said it was a glove but Tyson said in his autobiography that it appeared to be an extra-large condom. Whatever it was, it didn’t work.

At ringside, blow-by-blow man Jim Lampley and Merchant began to sift through their memory banks to put this potential stunner into perspective.

“This would create a new standard of upsets if this went on,” Merchant said.

“[Max] Baer and [Jim] Braddock, not as big as this,” Lampley agreed.

The sixth and seventh rounds featured more of the same: Douglas controlling the action and Tyson pursuing the one-punch knockout. As round seven began, Lampley and Merchant noted the eerily silent crowd, which seemed shocked by the proceedings. The Godzilla-like creature that destroyed Tony Tubbs two years earlier was nowhere to be seen and their muteness was such that the cornermen’s instructions were clearly perceived and the punches could be heard through the headsets. But as the second minute of round eight neared completion, Lampley asked the question that was on countless minds.

“Can you imagine: James ‘Buster’ Douglas, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world?”

“It’s not over yet, Jim,” analyst Sugar Ray Leonard replied. And, as if on cue, Tyson confirmed the wisdom of Leonard’s caution.

Moments after Douglas stunned Tyson with yet another right hand and after backing him to the ropes and belting him with combinations, Tyson cranked a short right uppercut to the jaw that dropped Douglas as if he were shot. Douglas regained his feet by Meyran’s count of nine but since four seconds remained in the round when Douglas was decked, the round-ending bell sounded.

It has been written that the last asset that leaves a spent fighter is his punching power. With one single blow, Tyson had pushed back an avalanche of adversity and had put himself in position to save his championship.

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