While he was in his prime, boxing fans often found Mike Tyson unconquerable. As Tyson himself once declared, his style was “impetuous“, his defense “impregnable”, and he was simply “ferocious” inside the boxing ring. Following his pro debut in 1985, Mike Tyson was on a 37-fight win streak until James Douglas beat a 23-year-old Tyson via TKO. However, after the loss against Douglas, Tyson rediscovered himself and won eight back-to-back fights until Evander Holyfield laid his hands on ‘Kid Dynamite.
Before the fight against Douglas in 1990, Mike Tyson seemed unstoppable. It is fair to say that fighting Tyson at that time was equivalent to solving a puzzle with no practical solution. In this context, in an old interview, a journalist asked Tyson if there was a way to beat the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’. In a spontaneous reply, here is what a confident Tyson said.
Buster Douglas and Holyfield countered the “.375 Magnum” response of Mike Tyson with only their hands
In the mentioned interview, when asked about how someone could beat him, Tyson prescribed a .357 M agnum. Very confidently, a blustering Mike Tyson replied, “.357 Magnum, and you stand a chance“. “I feel like I’m the best fighter in the world right now,” he went on to add.
In the future, Tyson will be proven wrong. James, aka Buster Douglas, and Evander Holyfield countered this statement by Tyson with nothing but hands inside the boxing ring. In the 10th round with Douglas, Tyson desperately tried to end the fight with one shot. However, in close proximity, Douglas landed a clean cross to Tyson’s face. He followed it up with a series of vicious jabs. Finally, Douglas hit him with a clean uppercut and a 1-2. Tyson fell on his back and suffered his first pro loss in boxing.
On the other hand, Holyfield badly rattled Tyson in the 10th round of their fight. In actuality, the bell saved Tyson. However, as soon as the 11th round began, Holyfield picked up the momentum and kept unloading. After a rain of hooks and straight hands, the referee stopped the contest and rescued Tyson, who continues to make waves with Olivia Dunne.
What do you think about the answer Tyson offered? Did Evander Holyfield learn something from Douglas beating Tyson?