Buster Douglas recounts the biggest upset in boxing history

The ESPN Films 30 for 30 presentation of “42 to 1” maps out the events leading up to Buster Douglas’ historic upset of Mike Tyson in 1990. (1:10)

Normally, James “Buster” Douglas, the former heavyweight champion of the world, is among the most good-natured and nice individuals you’ll ever come across.

That is, except when you call him a one-hit wonder for his exploits on Feb. 11, 1990, when Douglas pulled off what is considered the most shocking upset in boxing history — and maybe in all of sports — by defeating the heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Tyson.

When Douglas knocked out Tyson, he was fighting for more than just a win.

“That one-hit wonder bull—- doesn’t relate,” said Douglas, who pointed out sternly to a reporter that he actually fought twice for the heavyweight title in his career (a 1987 loss to Tony Tucker being his first attempt to win a belt).

When asked how that perception made him feel, the 58-year-old Douglas lightened the mood by joking, “It pisses me off. It makes me want to come out of retirement.”

But whether he likes it or not, Douglas will always be indelibly linked with that one magical moment in time in Tokyo. Which is why ESPN’s latest edition of 30 for 30 focuses on this historic upset through his eyes. “42-1,” co-directed by Jeremy Schaap and Ben Houser, premieres Monday, Dec. 11, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

When you ask him what it was like to relive this moment, Douglas reverts back to his friendly demeanor.

“It was great, especially going back over to Tokyo, we went back to the Tokyo Dome, walked around downtown Tokyo, it was really rewarding,” he said last week while in Los Angeles for the heavyweight title fight between WBC titlist Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.

In a city where Douglas has to stand out, did anyone in Tokyo recognize him?

“I don’t think so,” said Douglas, perhaps being a bit too modest here.

The great irony is that back in 1990, as he landed in Japan, he was an anonymous figure, imported to play another defenseless victim to the rampaging Tyson, much in the way Tony Tubbs was in March of 1988. Tubbs was drilled in two short rounds at the same venue this bout would be held. Tyson’s dominance in those days became problematic for his promoter, Don King, who had increasing difficulty persuading the casinos in America to dole out millions of dollars in site fees for bouts that sometimes didn’t last as long as the national anthem.

Which is why Tyson-Douglas took place in Japan.

“I knew I was here with no chance at all,” said Douglas, who was installed as a 42-1 underdog by the one betting parlor that took action on this fight. “I knew that going into the fight no one was giving me a chance, but I believed, my people believed. That was the motivation. I could care less about what people thought because if that was the case, I would have never turned pro.”

While there were many reports of Tyson being unfocused, Douglas trained with razor-sharp focus and tranquility.

“My training sessions were nice, calm and quiet,” Douglas recalled, adding that the two camps shared the same gym. “Just me and my trainers in the gym. We would come in the gym after Mike, and chairs could be turned over and everything as if somebody had a big to-do. And when my camp came in, it was just us. So it was motivation.”

There was some foreshadowing of what was to come when former heavyweight champion Greg Page knocked down Tyson during a sparring session. But at the time, it was dismissed as nothing more than a freak occurrence. Coming into the fight, Tyson had a record of 37-0 and was seemingly headed for a multimillion-dollar showdown with Evander Holyfield (who would be ringside for this event). Douglas was seen as nothing more than a speed bump on the way to more lucrative and important assignments.

Back then, most of Tyson’s opponents walked into the ring as if they were getting marched into an execution — the only things missing were a blindfold and a cigarette in their mouths. Douglas, however, bounded into the ring with a certain zeal that was noted on the telecast by HBO color commentator Larry Merchant.

And there was collective disbelief at Korakuen Stadium (as it was called then) on this Sunday morning as Douglas didn’t just survive against the most feared fighter on the planet but handled him with ease from the onset. Douglas’ size and length troubled the champion, who had great difficulty getting past his sharp left jab and accurate right hands.

Godzilla was getting beaten up in Tokyo.

Ironically, Douglas says it wasn’t until the eventful eighth round — when he was sent to the canvas by a Tyson uppercut — that he felt he had really begun to master him.

“I got knocked down because I wanted to have a moment to reflect. I stopped fighting and I was looking at Mike,” explained Douglas of his momentary lapse in concentration that nearly cost him the fight. But in the very next round, he shellacked Tyson to regain full control. Douglas says that in his own mind, he said to Tyson, “Yeah, what do you think about me now?”

He put the finishing touches on his startling performance by knocking out Tyson in Round 10. For anyone who watched this live, it was surreal. It’s been said that every boxing fan recalls exactly where he or she was when this happened, much like the assassination of John F. Kennedy. As a joyful Douglas was being mobbed by his cornermen, Merchant told the HBO audience, “This makes Cinderella … look like a sad story.”

And a few minutes later, he engaged in one of the most memorable postfight interviews in boxing history with Merchant. While there was jubilation, Douglas became emotional as he remembered his beloved mother, Lula Pearl, who had passed away just a few weeks before the fight.

“It was good, it was motivating, the energy was flowing — until he asked me about my mom and it just broke it all down. That’s when it really hit home,” Douglas told ESPN.com.

“What was special was that part of the narrative of the fight, how Douglas performed. He had performed up to his ultimate on this day,” said Merchant, who pointed out that the heavyweight from Columbus, Ohio, was known for being athletically gifted but an underachiever inside the ring, despite his boxing bloodlines.

John Johnson Jr. shares an intimate moment with his friend Buster Douglas before his fight against Mike Tyson.

“His mother had died a few weeks before the fight,” said Merchant. “I think on another layer, he had never lived up to his father’s expectations. His father [Bill “Dynamite” Douglas] had been a tough journeyman fighter who had his own gym, where Buster grew up in.

“So that storyline seemed to be imbibed in his choking up after this fight because of what it meant to him. And to me, as he was choking up and couldn’t respond, I was trying to be sensitive about the emotional issues by not approaching them, letting them unfold. He was so emotionally overwrought that he was having a hard time gathering himself to be interviewed, and he wanted to be interviewed.”

Just as he did in the eighth round against Tyson, Douglas was able to gather himself and recover with aplomb. But he and his team weren’t immediately able to fully enjoy their victory as Don King (who promoted both boxers) claimed that referee Octavio Meyran had administered a long count to Douglas when he was knocked down, therefore making anything else that occurred afterword — namely, Tyson getting stopped a couple of rounds later — null and void.

This set off a series of lawsuits and a fissure between the promoter and Douglas that was irreparable. Eventually the sanctioning bodies buckled under the public pressure and named Douglas the rightful heavyweight champion of the world.

Douglas was the talk of the town. But he himself had no comprehension of just what a big deal he became post-Tyson until he touched down in the States.

Former heavyweight champ Buster Douglas trains and inspires young boxers in Columbus, Ohio. “42 to 1” premieres December 11 at 9pm ET on ESPN.

“I didn’t,” he said, smiling broadly at the memory of his arriving to Columbus to a huge throng that was awaiting him. “Before that, we flew to Chicago and I was with my family, we’re walking through the Jetway and I was like, ‘Man, I wonder what’s going on down there? A lot of people at the Jetway, who is that? Who are they waiting to talk to down there?’ — and it’s me. They were waiting for me.”

Then there was a parade in his hometown that was attended by thousands.

“That was at the airport when we came,” recalled Douglas. “As I got off the plane, they were already in the parking lot, all through the airport, and that was before all the security — they were at the gate waiting.”
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