The reserved crowd in the Tokyo dome expected the powerful Tyson knockout which had become routine for anyone who stepped into the ring with him.
But on February 11, 1990, the crowd witnessed something better. Not only was it a great fight, but it will go down as the biggest upsets in boxing history. One for the books as they say.
James “Buster” Douglas was a good (not considered great) fighter with a reputation of a quitter and one who lacked the cold-blooded spirit to step into the ring with the Iron Mike Tyson. However, on that morning in Tokyo, Douglas turned into a real-life David who brought Goliath to his knees.
Coming into the fight Tyson was the most feared fighter in the entire sport and had made nine title defenses. The world thought he was on his way to be the greatest heavyweight to throw a punch. For Tyson, this fight against Douglas was simply a quick stop to pocket 6 million bucks before he faced Evander Holyfield that summer in New Jersey.
But what Tyson and the rest of the world didn’t expect was a reformed James Douglas—a man who was backed into a corner with seemingly inhuman motivation to win.
This wasn’t the same Douglas who had quit in the tenth round against Tony Tucker, although the scorecards showed he was winning after nine rounds. Douglas was not only an obvious underdog against Tyson, he also happened to have external conditions that fueled his drive to do his best. Less than a month before the bout, his mother died. His 11-year-old son was very ill. And, he had recently separated from his wife.
In a sense, Douglas had nothing to lose stepping into ring with Tyson. He was a 29-year-old hungry to turn his pain into gain.
It doesn’t matter what your ring is. The connective tissue is this: We are more likely to relate to Buster Douglas than Mike Tyson.
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The fight surprisingly matured into eight rounds—most of which Douglas performed well. Then, in that eighth round, the Tyson the world was waiting for showed up. He dropped Douglas to the floor.
But this is where Douglas makes the story. He got up. Something nobody did after they took a devastating blow from Tyson. Douglas fought his way to the tenth round and then did the unthinkable.
After getting knocked out, he not only got back up, but delivered a five-punch combo that put Tyson in a place he’d never been before—flat on his back, out cold.
The image is burned into sports history.
Mike Tyson, the most prized fighter at the time, was dazed and crawling on all fours trying to find his mouthpiece before the ref called the fight. The powerful, feared fighter had been destroyed by a man who was thought to stand no chance in the fight.
Few people are competitive fighters—including myself. However, this story transcends the ring. It gives us a glimpse of what normal people face every day.
In different times in all of our lives, we have to step into the ring.
The ring is different for everyone.
Maybe you want to write a book.
Maybe you want to take a shot at opening the most Subway franchises in your community.
Maybe you want to start a family.
Maybe you want to pitch an investor for your start-up.
Maybe you want to ask for that promotion.
Maybe you want to compete in sport again.
Maybe you want to become the top banker in your company.
Whatever.
It doesn’t matter what your ring is. The connective tissue is this: We are more likely to relate to Buster Douglas than Mike Tyson.
We enter with doubts. We wrestle with critics. We bring with us tons of baggage. We face the impossible. At this juncture—where you’re about to step into the ring—there are two choices, walk away or step in.
If you decide to step in, here’s what Douglas can teach you (and me.)
Build Confidence to Step into the Ring
Everything in life requires repetitions if you want to get good at it. And, when you get good at something, you build more confidence to push the edge in that medium ever further.
When somebody puts in the reps to be able to squat 405 pounds, they have built the confidence to do so. They didn’t walk into the gym on their first day and load up four plates on each side of the bar. No. They hit the gym consistently over a period of time and built up that strength. That building process also brings with it confidence.
So when the time came to attempt the PR (personal record) they had enough confidence to give it a shot even though they had never tried to lift that much in the past.
Regardless of the shaky reputation Douglas had as an athlete it doesn’t change the fact that he put the reps in over a long period of time.
Entering the Tyson fight, Douglas had a 29-4-1 record with 19 KOs. It’s safe to say the man was a trained fighter. And because of this, he had built up the confidence to step into the ring with Tyson because he had put his reps in, similar to the lifter attempting 405 for the first time.
Could you imagine if Douglas stepped into the ring with Tyson if he had no experience?
We must put our reps in before we attempt to step in the ring. This doesn’t guarantee victory, but it sure increases the chances of it.
Savor Being The Underdog
If you notice the subtle through-line in success stories, you’ll realize that people who “make it” usually reference the times when they were down to their last $7, sleeping on a friends couch, and eating Top Ramen for sustenance.
They hardly ever trumpet the current success they’ve achieved.
Instead, they draw on the most challenging times in their lives as the most pivotal moments they’ll never forget.
There’s no such thing as guaranteed victory. The entire concept of winning relies on the possibility of losing.
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For Douglas, the Tyson fight was at a time where his life was in a tornado of challenges. His wife leaves, his son is very ill, and his mother dies. Oh, and he’s facing a fighter known to knock people’s heads off on a regular basis.
This reminds me of a national geographic scene. A lion gets separated from its pack. Night falls. The lion suddenly finds himself surrounded by a pack of squealing hyenas.
What choice does the lion have?
I think Douglas was in the same position. With nothing to lose, he fought.
I’m not saying we should go out and look for such circumstances. But life has some way of delivering these moments to us. In these times, when we’re backed up into a corner facing impossible odds in the midst of a vortex of challenges, we are forced to take ourselves to a place where normative circumstances cannot.
Savor being the underdog.
Find At Least One Person Who Believes In You
Author Austin Kleon writes a good little story about knuckleball pitchers in his book, Show Your Work.
Knuckleball pitchers are basically the ugly ducklings of baseball. Because there are so few of them, they form a kind of brotherhood, and they often get together and share tips with one another.
The knuckleball pitchers believe in each other—even if nobody else does. This is what keeps the pitch alive. This is what keeps them alive.
Douglas faced odds that few people will ever face in their lifetime.
The world expected him to lose.
The knuckleball pitchers had their small alliance that injected belief into their talent and so did James “Buster” Douglas.
He had his mother.
Douglas said this:
I wanted it more than ever. I talked to my mother about a week before she passed and she was so excited. My mother felt really confident that I was going to do it and her belief in me was a real inspiration when that bell rang. Her words gave me so much positive energy.
When we step into the ring, we need at least one person who believes in us.
Wrapping Up
There’s no such thing as guaranteed victory. The entire concept of winning relies on the possibility of losing. The room for decision is found in whether you step into the ring or not.
If you decide the former, the three lessons deduced from the Douglas story will come in handy when the odds are stacked against you.
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Photo: Getty Images
It wasn’t his son that was sick!