30 year anniversary of the knockout heard round the world
The 30th anniversary of the Buster Douglas Mike Tyson fight.
One of the greatest upsets in boxing history, Buster Douglas was a 3rd ranked relatively unknown fighter going against a almost certified killer in the Ring. Tyson at that point was starting his downward spiral that would end his career.
I was going to school in Dallas and we decided to buy this fight figuring it would be over in a hurry, but as it went on we knew that something special was happening.
Tyson didn't take this seriously, Buster did combined with the death of his mother a few days before the fight laid the path to history.
Douglas lost the title later on that year when he showed up out of shape and unmotivated against Hollyfield. Tyson went on spiral out of control with bankruptcies, controversial fight decisions and prison.
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Last edited by CaptainCrunch; 02-11-2020 at 10:24 AM.
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I didn't understand the magnitude at the time, I just remember my grandfather being beyond excited to get a VHS copy of the fight a few days later.
Which was odd as: (1) he wasn't the excitable type; (2) he knew the outcome and taped sports, especial knowing the outcome, just isn't the same; and (3) a 76 year old in 1990 using a VCR was practically unheard of.
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Edmonton is no good. Tyson was supposed to fight Razor Ruddock in Edmonton a few months beforehand but got chest pain, probably from the water, and they had to cancel.
Then negotiations to reschedule fell apart and they moved his next fight to Japan and and a new opponent Douglas.
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Last edited by Johnny Makarov; 02-11-2020 at 06:02 PM.
I recall this being middle of the night on a Saturday night, or very late at least and maybe made the 11pm sports.
Could you have imagined the pandemonium in the crowd and then the ring if that 9th and 10th round and finale was in Vegas or really anywhere stateside?
Yeah I remember hearing about this on the radio going to a 6:30 AM hockey game on a Sunday morning. It almost reminds me of the South Park episode where Jesus fights Satan and Satan takes a dive.
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Watching that fight again and reading up on it, it was really a perfect story against Tyson. He was already having troubles in his corner and in his personal life. Douglas was a good fighter and a huge fighter, but his troubles in the past had been based around his heart and desire. Tyson also had victory fever, you go back and watch those earlier fighters and he was a killer. He was also that rare one punch knockout guy.
Douglas had the emotional boost from his mother's death, from hearing that he was going to be embarrassed by Tyson. On top of that they had a great game plan, that was taking advantage of a massive reach advantage and Douglas having a great jab.
When you watch the fight you can see that Tyson even in his unmotivated state was incredibly dangerous. He landed a few shots out of nowhere that were devastating but I think Douglas stayed on his feet because he knew that Tyson was vulnerable, had no answer to Douglas' jab and couldn't get inside on Douglas to do damage.
Even with the knockout punch, Tyson was still moving at 3 but he reached for his mouth guard, he had only been hurt like that once before by Tillman during his amateur career, he didn't know what to do.
Its a great fight end to end and the commentators were freaking out from the end of round 1 to the end of the fight.
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I wouldn’t say few knew about this fight. It was the biggest heavyweight fight in a very long time and likely will rekindle some interest in the division.
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I was watching Ali on Sunday, and it made me think about who are the champions right now. I was a big boxing fan in the 70s (Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Norton, Holmes) and 80s (Duran, Hearns, Hagler, Leonard, Benitez). Last time I knew the heavyweight champ, it was Klitschko.
The "Rumble in the Jungle" was watched by an estimated audience of 1 billion people.
This could be entirely on me, but I never heard of Fury and Wilder until I re-connected to Ring Magazine. It used to be the heavyweight champ was the most famous person in the world. I suppose the move of boxing from network TV to PPV, and the rise of MMA, too many boxing bodies, mismanagement/corruption, and knowing more about concussions, has caused boxing to diminish.
Is it making a comeback?
Why boxing disappeared after the Rumble in the Jungle
Boxing’s sheer brutality forced it off the national network airwaves. Enormous revenue further facilitated its transition to cable and pay-per-view telecasting, and the sport then eased out of the living rooms of everyone but dedicated fans.
Boxing results soon moved off the nation’s sports pages, and reporters no longer covered the sport regularly. It had always been a favorite of America’s most celebrated writers, but even the literary set moved on.
Can you name the current heavyweight champion of the world?
I think with Wilder losing, no chance it goes back to the main stream here in North America. Next big fight will be Fury vs. Joshua which most likely be held in the UK. (Both british)
After that, no one of note coming from the US to get people interested. Definitely european ruled heavy division atm.
I think there is a rematch clause but if Wilder loses again, boxing will remain stagnant.
I was watching Ali on Sunday, and it made me think about who are the champions right now. I was a big boxing fan in the 70s (Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Norton, Holmes) and 80s (Duran, Hearns, Hagler, Leonard, Benitez). Last time I knew the heavyweight champ, it was Klitschko.
The "Rumble in the Jungle" was watched by an estimated audience of 1 billion people.
This could be entirely on me, but I never heard of Fury and Wilder until I re-connected to Ring Magazine. It used to be the heavyweight champ was the most famous person in the world. I suppose the move of boxing from network TV to PPV, and the rise of MMA, too many boxing bodies, mismanagement/corruption, and knowing more about concussions, has caused boxing to diminish.
Is it making a comeback?
Why boxing disappeared after the Rumble in the Jungle
Well the drop in interest in the heavyweights has been more precipitous than the drop in interest for boxing in general, as there have been some gigantic fights in recent years. Mayweather and Pacquiao have been incredibly popular (still not like the heyday) but the heavyweights have been nowhere.
So those factors you mention are relevant but don’t really explain the demise of the heavyweights specifically.
Like any sport, it’s about the stars I guess. Parity doesn’t sell tickets.
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30 year anniversary of the knockout heard round the world
