Mike Tyson Had a Hard Time Dealing With Himself After His Historic Loss to Buster Douglas
Mike Tyson’s shocking loss to Buster Douglas will forever stand as one of the greatest upsets in boxing history. Nobody expected the then-undefeated Tyson to lose to Douglas, who many people felt was outclassed.
Regardless, as history would have it, Douglas knocked out Tyson and claimed the undisputed heavyweight championship. After the historic loss Tyson had a hard time facing himself, knowing he didn’t put his best foot forward.
Mike Tyson underestimated Buster Douglas
Leading up to the match, Tyson didn’t do much to prepare. He had slacked off on his training and became consumed by the excesses of his wealthy lifestyle. Everyone assumed that Douglas would be no match for Tyson, which may have inflated Tyson’s ego a bit too much.
Tyson recalled what the energy at the fight was like in a clip from a Hotboxin’ episode featuring Jason Lee. According to Tyson, everyone expected him to “kill Douglas easy,” and Lee claimed he was planning the afterparty before the fight even began.
“I’m chilling, I’m f—ing the maids and s–t, I’ma knock this n—a out,” Tyson said. “I knocked n—as out that knocked [Douglas] out. … As we know, that didn’t happen, right? And now you have to deal with that. With yourself.”
Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson in a shocking upset in Toyko
Boxing analysts anticipated the match to last no longer than 90 seconds, but everyone was in for a big surprise. When the match began, something was clearly wrong. Tyson didn’t look like his usual self, and Douglas looked sharp.
Douglas went the distance with Tyson, maintaining control of the fight throughout many of the rounds. In the 10th round, Douglas knocked Tyson down for the first time in his career, ending the match by count-out.
The world was shocked, and many fans were devastated to see Tyson lose in such a dramatic fashion. Douglas became the undisputed heavyweight champion, ending Tyson’s undefeated streak in the process.
Tyson struggled to deal with the loss to Buster Douglas
During the same interview with Lee, Tyson admitted that it was very difficult for him to overcome his loss to Douglas.
“Oh yeah. Yeah, you arrogant, f—ing n—a, who do you think you are?” Tyson said. “Do you really think you’re God, motherf—er? You’re a f—ing uneducated n—er that just learned how to fight, you unappreciated piece of s—. This is how you treat it? You don’t work out, you don’t train? You gotta deal with that.”
Mike Tyson says, ‘what can go wrong, will go wrong’
Although Tyson himself was devastated at the time of his loss, he has a different perspective now. He understands that life is unpredictable and that you can get too comfortable in any situation.
“Listen, what can go wrong, will go wrong,” Tyson said. “ … It’s the possibility, it’s always a possibility. Human beings are meant to fail. They’re meant to fail, guaranteed. Yeah, there’s no f—ing doubt about it, but when’s it gonna be? But keep betting, it’s gonna happen.”
Beating Mike Tyson is Buster Douglas’ claim to fame
Douglas’ shocking defeat of Tyson went on to become the highlight of his career. He lost the title to Evander Holyfield 8 months later and never recaptured the esteem he shortly held.
