Buster Douglas Overachiever or underachiever??

[iamboxing]

I don't think he was either. He had a few decent wins prior to Tyson, and after his loss to Holyfield he basically ran out of steam, no longer had the passion or desire for the sport. But he held wins over Greg Page, Oliver McCall, Trevor Berbick, and Tex Cobb. He was underestimated against Tyson, who was nowhere near his best when he lost to Douglas. I think he falls right around where he should be in terms of achievements, skills and expectations.

this, even without the weight issues...above is accurate

[Elroy The Great]

the stars aligned perfectly for busters fluke to happen.

[embryo]

I wish he quit boxing after quitting against Tucker. He did not deserve to have such a monumental win over Tyson, that should have been reserved for someone worthy like Holyfield or Lewis because they would have done something with it. Douglas was a punk who took a fat arse dive in his first title defense and quit the sport.

lol I think you're being a little harsh, man. I respect your opinion, and it bothers me he beat Tyson (I, like many, believe he was KO'd in the 8th round...I mean c'mon..long count.) But he kept moving forward, was persistent and persevered, and got an opportunity to fight for the Undisputed championship. I can't fault a guy for taking advantage of the chance of a lifetime like that. I fault Tyson for taking him lightly...and Robin and Ruth Givens and Don King for obvious reasons....

Douglas should have given Mike an immediate rematch, though. He knew he would have been annihilated even if he came back in the same shape. Mike would've decimated him and then beaten Holyfield and history would be much different.

[All in]

Your thoughts???

Overeater..

[embryo]

And all the heavyweights from those days, especially Holyfield, all say Douglas was a good fighter. He wasn't a "bum." He was a solid heavyweight, he was a contender. He wasn't Larry Holmes or Ken Norton-level, but he was a game fighter (most of the time) and I really can't bash the guy. He had his flaws with eating and not having "heart" in some instances...is he supposed to be perfect? Tyson was a drug addict, Holyfield is a religious nut (as was Ali) who has like 11 kids out of wedlock, but who cares? I love them all. They're all characters in their own way and I'm glad they're all still here and have their facaulties intact. Evander is a funny mother****er, man, I love his interviews. He's been at the gym with Shannon Briggs often in the last couple years.

[embryo]

I'm not sure the Douglas victory over Tyson was that much of an over-achievement.

From the very beginning Cus D'Amato knew all about the *serious* psychological weakness which festered in Tyson's core - a pathological fear of being bullied.

D'Amato knew that any fighter who possessed a modicum of talent and, more importantly, wasn't going to let himself be intimidated in the ring stood an excellent chance of getting into Mike's head and causing a meltdown.

It's the reason Tyson's opponents were so carefully screened early on in his career. It's the reason mentally tough guys like Tim Witherspoon who could take plenty of punishment throughout a fight and yet rally in the championship rounds were never really given an opportunity to pop Mike's bubble on his way to his first title.

D'Amato would have known Douglas was bad news and advised Tyson to steer well clear. Even at Tyson's peak when he undoubtedly possessed a massive advantage in speed, power and range of punches Douglas would always be the mentally tougher guy and if Tyson didn't blast him out of the fight early the chances are he would have exerted enough pressure on Tyson's fragile confidence to threaten catastrophe.

This is just silly. From the UK, ah.

[BKM-]

lol I think you're being a little harsh, man. I respect your opinion, and it bothers me he beat Tyson (I, like many, believe he was KO'd in the 8th round...I mean c'mon..long count.) But he kept moving forward, was persistent and persevered, and got an opportunity to fight for the Undisputed championship. I can't fault a guy for taking advantage of the chance of a lifetime like that. I fault Tyson for taking him lightly...and Robin and Ruth Givens and Don King for obvious reasons....

Douglas should have given Mike an immediate rematch, though. He knew he would have been annihilated even if he came back in the same shape. Mike would've decimated him and then beaten Holyfield and history would be much different.

It is not about Tyson, i'm no fan of his. Like I said I wanted Holyfield or Lewis to take the unified titles from him.

Not some loser who took a dive in his first defense and then quit boxing to nearly eat himself to death.

[Anthony342]

Holyfield would've taken the title if they got to fight even back then. It just would've been closer, either a late stoppage or gone the distance. Then Lewis still would've beaten Holyfield for the titles sooner, like he eventually did but maybe had a nice trilogy instead.

[Mintcar923]

Of course James never seemed to have any fear but also didn't seem to give a damn about any other fight other than Tyson.. Although he had a wealth of talent he didn't really utilize it fully except for February '90.. Nobody expected it least of all Iron Mike..

[LITTLE JOE]

Underachiever. Look at the combination he put away Tyson with.Just beautiful. I have always felt Buster had as much natural ability as any heavyweight ever.The dedication to be great was only there one time and it was against a troubled Tyson who was still dangerous but not what he used to be.