Mike Tyson vs James Douglas 11.2.1990 - WBC, WBA & IBF World Heavyweight Championship

Arguably the greatest upset win in the history of professional boxing. Underdog James "Buster" Douglas stepped up to face the man most viewed as indestructible, the Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, "Iron" Mike Tyson. More info below... James Douglas was a good but inconsistent boxer. When he was focused he was as good as any other leading heavyweight of the 1980's, but if his mind wasn't on the fight he was very average and struggled with his weight. Douglas turned pro in 1981 and in his first 12 months racked up an 11-1 record, his only loss coming against the debuting David Bey by TKO. In Oct 1982 Douglas fought his first real serious opponent in undefeated Steffen Tangstad of Norway. Douglas could have won the fight however he was deducted 2 points and it was declared a draw after 8 rounds. After a few more easy wins Douglas suffered his 2nd loss this time to Mike "The Giant" White in 1983. White, who stood 6'10" tall and outweighed Douglas by over 30lbs, was trailing on the scorecard when he forced a TKO stoppage in the 9th round. Douglas took a 7 month break following the loss but when he returned in 1984 his first fight back was ruled a no contest when both he and his opponent wrestled each other to the canvas in the first round. Douglas got a big break in Nov 1984 when he was picked as a substitute for Trevor Berbick to face Randall "Tex" Cobb. Douglas gave a good account of himself considering he only had 3 days notice and ended up winning a majority decision against the veteran. Douglas now had a 19-2-1 record and picked up the level of his competition quite drastically over the next 3 years. In 1987 Douglas fought Tony Tucker for the vacant IBF World Heavyweight title but was stopped in the 10th round of a very close fight. Douglas bounced back strong however and scored impressive wins over USA Oklahoma State Heavyweight Champion Jerry Halstead, former WBC World Heavyweight Champion Trevor Berbick and a young Oliver McCall to position himself as a possible contender for another World title shot. Although Douglas possessed a decent 29-4-1 record and recently beaten some good contenders, his previous inconsistency combined with the perceived invincibility of Mike Tyson made Douglas a 42-1 underdog come the night of the fight. Douglas was also dealing with his own personally tragedy as his Mom had passed away just 23 days before the fight. Mike Tyson was making his 10th defense of the World Heavyweight title and mowing through the heavyweight division with ease. But Mike Tyson was also dealing with his own demons and it was becoming apparent to those close to Tyson he was starting on a downward spiral... Not to mention he had a new training team who were vastly less experienced than previous trainer Kevin Rooney whom was fired in 1988. Tyson was undefeated in 37 fights but his heart didn't seem to be in it anymore... For those who think Douglas got lucky in this fight need to watch it again because right form the very outset Douglas was in complete control and had a near flawless game plan. He boxed well from behind a strong jab, maintained a good work rate throughout and would tie Tyson up whenever he got in close. Tyson wasn't exactly laying down as he was still stalking Douglas around the ring and did land some good shots on occasion with rd 8 being the standout scoring a knockdown from a short right uppercut. This knockdown would be the focus of debate for Mike Tyson's team after the fight as they claimed Douglas was given a long count. Tyson tried to finish it in round 9 winding up and looking for the 1 punch knock out but Douglas fought back viciously with neither man backing down. In rd 10 it was clear Tyson didn't have much left, his legs were unbalanced, his feet where flat and his punches lacked the accuracy of earlier rounds. A minute into the round Douglas unleashed a stiff uppercut that caught Tyson flush on the jaw and followed it up with a flurry of shots to put the Champ on his back and unable to beat the count... Douglas was the new undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World!