"Tyson-Douglas: 30 Years Later"

30 years ago today (well, it was Feb. 11th in Tokyo where the fight took place, but still Feb. 10th here in the USA), boxer BUSTER DOUGLAS shocked the world.  A 42-1 underdog, this journeyman defeated the seemingly unbeatable MIKE TYSON to win the World's Heavyweight Championship. And in the process, he knocked OUT a guy who had never even been knocked DOWN before.

My family and I were over my MOM'S house where we were celebrating her birthday (which was the 10th.) The fight was just coming on as we were leaving, and my brother-in-law Lawrence said "Let's stay and see this, it won't take long." You see, Iron Mike Tyson knocked MANY of his opponents out in the first round, up until that point!! But instead of leaving after a few minutes, we stayed for all TEN rounds as Buster fought a terrific fight and ultimately knocked MIKE out.

And when it was over, Buster, sweat pouring down his face hiding the TEARS running from his eyes, said he won the fight for his MOM, who had died about a month earlier.

This was an AMAZING moment for boxing fans, accurately called "The Greatest Upset in Sports History." It was the first fight I ever watched where it was impossible to even suspect that "the fix was in."  Many thousands of people lost millions of dollars because of this upset, so it COULDN'T have been fixed.  The miracle, you see, was REAL.  It was PURE.  It was Rocky Balboa, but in real life.  And Tyson, himself, was NEVER THE SAME after he was beaten and proven to be only human.  He wound up getting put in jail on rape charges for a few years about two years later (there, he'd become SUB-human). Millions of dollars were lost to the boxing industry because of the chain reaction that Buster Douglas set in motion, you see, in that one fight. 

But the part I'll always recall about Feb. 11th, 1990, was watching Douglas win for HIS mom, there with MY mom, on her 54th birthday. It was refreshing to see a boxer fight not for EGO but for LOVE.

And when my own mom died in 2007, I wished I could go out and win a fight for HER like that. It's something I'll never forget.....Tyson-Douglas...30 years ago today.