Boxing · 1990 · Tokyo, Japan
The Upset of the Century
A 42-to-1 underdog knocks out an undefeated Mike Tyson in Tokyo, in a fight the bookmakers had treated as a formality.
Douglas def. Tyson, KO round 10
Result
42-1 against Douglas
Betting odds
37-0
Tyson record entering
Mike Tyson came to Tokyo unbeaten in 37 fights and with a reputation as the most feared heavyweight of his generation. James 'Buster' Douglas was a 42-to-1 underdog fighting weeks after his mother's death, given so little chance that some bookmakers stopped taking money on the fight entirely.
Douglas used his reach and a disciplined jab to hold the range round after round, and put Tyson down in the eighth. He was then dropped himself, right on the bell. Whether he had actually beaten referee Octavio Meyran's count stayed a live argument for years afterward.
In the tenth Douglas landed a four-punch combination that put Tyson on the canvas for the first time in his professional career. Tyson, dazed, could not beat the count, and the idea of his invincibility went down with him.
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