Happy Anniversary Buster Douglas

On this day in 1990, Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in Tokyo, Japan. A 42-1 underdog, Douglas prepared himself for the fight of life and one night in Tokyo took down the baddest man on the planet.

There isn’t much to be said that hasn’t been in the past 29 years. Douglas would go on to lose to Holyfield next. Tyson would go to prison, come out, find himself, and become the kindly older man we know from The Hangover. The heavyweight division would peak and valley.

Perhaps Tyson’s knockdown in the 8th should have sealed the victory. Maybe Octavio Meyran should have started the count earlier. Maybe the passing of Douglas’s mother less than a month before gave him the motivation he needed to win. Whatever it was, it’s now history. For the few that saw it (given the late time) they will never forget it.

Check out the brief special by ESPN below.