The great Muhammad Ali once quoted, "Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."
It seems as if people didn't even listen to Muhammad Ali at all, even though the man was an all-time great. If there was anything that seemed impossible, it was Mike Tyson losing a fight; this was during the time when he was 37-0 with 33 coming via knockouts. Mike was viewed upon in the boxing world as an invincible human being; he was like a vicious animal in the ring and his opponent was the fresh meat thrown into the hungry animal.
What also seemed impossible was the thought of an opponent such as James "Buster" Douglas beating Mike Tyson. It seemed as if they gave an average person a better chance at winning the lottery than Buster winning the fight. Despite being a huge underdog in the fight Buster went through a lot of adversity before the fight. He got into boxing because his father was a boxer as well. Billy Douglas fought as a middleweight and light heavyweight from the late sixties until the early eighties.
Billy was described as an intense fighter and very aggressive. Billy was the hardest on Buster out of all his fighters. This might have been the main factor that pushed him into basketball in high school, which was not necessarily a bad choice since he led his team to a state title. After attending a couple small colleges for basketball he decided to turn pro in boxing and ask his father to train him.
As his boxing career began in 1981, many said Buster had tremendous talent but lacked heart and seemed as if he didn't like fighting. He was often out of shape and gave up during his fights. In 1987 he got a title shot against Toney Tucker for the IBF title. Even though he was winning the fight he gave up during the fight and got knocked-out.
After the fight Buster's father was so frustrated with him that he gave up on him as his own trainer. In his personal life he witnessed his brother Artie die from being shot. His wife at the time walked out on him, which caused him to become depressed. Soon he began drinking and was eventually charged with DUI.
The mother of his eleven year old son at the time had gone into the hospital with leukemia. Out of all these setbacks, none were greater than him losing the closest person to him, his mother Lula Pearl Douglas. Lula Pearl Douglas passed away on January 18, 1990 from a stroke just 23 days from the fight. There was one lesson his mom taught him that he was going to use in the fight, one time there was someone bullying Buster and he came home crying, so his mother told him you either standup to me or standup to the bully, so of course Buster chose to stand-up to the bully and after that the bullied left him alone. That was one of his game plan going into the fight as well as out boxing him and being first.
Before the fight began to start the boxing analyst said Buster said he's going to shock the world, and then the other said he would shock the world if he makes to the middle rounds. It's because many believe it would only last thirty seconds that’s why no one in Las Vegas would put out any odds on the fight so they had the fight in Tokyo, Japan on February 10, 1990.
As the fight began Buster started using angles on Mike he was first with his jab and punches. When Mike got Buster in the corner Buster punch him back and got out of the corner using his footwork. At the end of the fifth round Buster hit right after the bell showing no respect as Mike's eyes began to swell. While Buster was dominating the fight, Mike at the end of the eight round landed a hard upper cut that knock Buster down, but Buster showed heart and got up.
In the ninth round he continued to dominate him, but during the tenth round Buster landed four jabs then pivoted his right foot then hit while he threw an upper cut that was followed with a left hook and right hook that sent Tyson to the canvas while his mouth piece flew out of his mouth.
As the referee counted to ten Sugar Ray said, Unbelievable". Larry merchant said, "This makes Cinderella look like a sad story what Buster Douglas has done here tonight." Jim Lampley said, "Let’s go ahead and call it the biggest upset in the history of heavy weight championship fights" In the interview after the fight Buster said while shedding tears, he wanted it and his mother was his biggest motivation. Buster proved it doesn't matter who believes in you as long as you believe in yourself.
(This article is dedicated to Jess who is a special person who is motivating me to reach my goals )
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