This Day in History (October 25, 1990)
By Aaron Tallent October 25th, 2006Today in Boxing History: Holyfield Wins Heavyweight Crown
At the beginning of 1990, many sportswriters considered Holyfield to be the only formidable contender left in the heavyweight division for champion Mike Tyson, and anticipated a fight between the two in the later months of 1990.
In the meantime, Tyson decided to go to face the inconsistent Douglas in Tokyo in February. What he thought would be an easy payday turned out to be the beginning of his unraveling. Douglas, spurred by the death of his mother, stood toe to toe with Tyson and jabbed his way to a 10th round knockout.
The win garnered Douglas fortune and fame. Sega created “James ‘Buster’ Douglas Knockout Boxing,� and he earned $24 million for his title defense against Holyfield.
However, Douglas went back to his old habits in the months after the Tyson fight. Long known for showing up out of shape for bouts, he did not train properly. Douglas showed up for the Holyfield fight weighing 246, 15 pounds heavier than when he fought Tyson.
Holyfield took advantage of Douglas’ sluggishness, easily winning the first two rounds. In the third, Douglas missed with an uppercut and Holyfield countered with a smashing right, sending his opponent to the canvas for the full ten-count. Douglas’ reign as champion had lasted seven minutes and ten seconds in the ring.
Holyfield defended the title three more times before losing it to Riddick Bowe in 1992. He would be crowned heavyweight champion three more times throughout his illustrious career. Douglas retired after the Holyfield bout but returned to the ring in 1996 after a diabetic coma forced him to get in shape.
October 25th, 2006 at 9:57 pm
I remember the weigh in and Lou Duva raised his hand’s in the air and called Buster Douglas a disgrace.
October 26th, 2006 at 1:34 pm
I remember the fight. Pathetic. And I remember some writers calling him James “Biscuit” Douglas.
October 29th, 2006 at 2:03 pm
I saw this fight on closed-circuit television in Evansville, IN, with my brother. I chose Holyfield to win, because I had a feeling Douglas was a one-hit wonder. Then Douglas showed up out of shape, and I knew the fight was over. On the night he beat Tyson, Douglas might have been competitive against any heavyweight in history. Unfortunately, he’ll never be considered an all-time great, because an important criteria for greatness is CONSISTENCY.