“If you see Tyson hurt, be nice with him.”
A rank 42-1 outsider with an undistinguished professional record, Douglas was meant to be an easy scalp for 37-fight unbeaten, 10-time heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on his unstoppable march towards a showdown with Evander Holyfield.
Ranked as the No 7 heavyweight at the time, Douglas had suffered a TKO in his 1987 title fight against Tony Tucker, but a string of six straight victories earned him the right to face Tyson.Iron Mike’s stunning combination of hand speed, defensive prowess, and awesome power had seen him become the youngest heavyweight champion in history, aged 20 years and four months, in November 1986.
Tyson, by contrast, was rarely seen training in the build-up to the fight having sacked long-term coach Kevin Rooney. His marriage to Robin Givens had also ended acrimoniously shortly beforehand. ‘Robin would go out shopping and I would go downstairs to the back of the hotel where this young girl had a room… so that was my training for Douglas.’
In the immediate aftermath, the future US president was hired as an adviser amid a rift with long-time manager Bill Cayton and was still a key player at the time of this fight. From the very first bell, Douglas showed no fear in the face of a man whose reputation was by now his biggest weapon. The contender controlled the fight into the middle rounds, allowing only the occasional shot past his dominant jab.
Still, Tyson fought on and felled his rival in the ninth round with a trademark upper-cut, but Douglas made the most of communication difficulties between the Japanese timekeeper and Mexican referee for what was effectively a 15-second count.
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