'Mike Tyson was a sore loser, whining like a baby in a crib.'
14.01.2015 03:08
Boxing legend James ‘Buster’ Douglas stunned the world when he knocked out previously undefeated champion Mike Tyson in what became one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history.
But while Tyson – nicknamed ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ - went on to have a long and lucrative career both in and out of the ring, boxing hero Douglas’ moment in the spotlight was short lived.
In the years after his historic victory, his boxing career came crashing down and the heavyweight champion fell into a pit of drinking, binge-eating and depression.
He struggled to cope with losing both his parents and the shooting deaths of two of his brothers.
At his lowest point Douglas ballooned to almost 450 pounds and slipped into a diabetic coma that almost killed him.
Now as the 25th anniversary of the dramatic fight approaches, Douglas is celebrating getting a ‘second chance at life’ and admits that life outside the ring has been much harder than his ten hard fought rounds with boxing giant Tyson.
‘Life is definitely harder than fighting Tyson or anyone else,’ he told DailyMail.com.
‘Life outside the ring is real, it’s hardcore.
‘But you know once I came out of my depression, and quit drinking all the time, I felt like I got a second lease at life.
‘I look forward to every day now.’
Douglas, 54, who lives in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, was the 42 to 1 outsider when he entered the ring In Tokyo, Japan on February 11, 1990 to take on the world champion in a match billed as ‘Tyson is back’.
Most casinos in Las Vegas had refused to even offer odds on the fight, so certain they were that Tyson would annihilate his opposition.
But Douglas had trained hard and despite losing his beloved mother Lula to a stroke just 23 days before the fight, he was sharply focused.
Recovering from a knock down in the eighth round, Douglas claimed victory a minute into round 10, slamming ‘Iron Mike’ Tyson to the ground with a flurry of powerful punches.
Even now, Douglas still remembers the jubilation of that night, the crowd chanting his name, as he became heavyweight champion of the world.
"It was just great - I have great memories of that night, the preparation, just focusing, feeling good about going in there and doing something everybody thought was impossible,” he said.
"I fought hard that night, I was in shape and he went down.”
But Tyson was not willing to hand over his title that easily, and soon after the fight launched a campaign to strip Douglas of the title – claiming he should have been counted out in the eighth round.
Although Tyson ultimately lost the appeal – it spoiled what should have been a night of celebration for Douglas and embroiled him in a legal battle that lasted months.
Even now, Douglas brands Tyson a ‘sore loser’ and admits the pair barely spoke to each other when they met for the first time since the fight two years ago.
(dailymail.co.uk)
ANN.Az
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