A controversial video proves Mike Tyson defeated Buster Douglas and never should have lost their historic 1990 ‘Upset of the Century.’
Tyson lost for the first time in his career as his world imploded on itself through a wild out-of-the-ring lifestyle. But what transpired in Tokyo on that fateful night on February 11th has a startling significance.
‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ won the fight before Douglas could pummel Mike Tyson to the canvas.
Referee Octavio Meyran gives both the challenger Douglas and the undisputed king Tyson counts well over ten.
The occurrence of Tyson dropping Douglas with a vengeance first means the champion ultimately retained his title.
Despite being one of the most famous knockouts in the sport’s history, the footage displayed undeniably proves Tyson won via an eighth-round knockout.
Douglas got up and continued. He then blasted out Mike as he ran out of steam late on. In the process, Tyson lost his status as the number one fighter due to the controversial tenth-round stoppage.
But Meyran should never have been allowed to oversee the second count. If he had done his job, the fight would have been over, and Tyson could have been celebrating in the locker room.
MIKE TYSON LIFE-CHANGING
The fight’s significance is clear, and why Meyran’s incompetence on the night cannot be underestimated. He robbed Tyson of that win and was a potentially life-changing decision.
Tyson’s life went even further downhill, and he served time in prison, losing a prime portion of his career.
A full thirteen seconds elapsed in both the eighth and tenth rounds as Meyran floundered, something which, with regretful hindsight, altered the course of history.
Others will argue that Tyson needed that reality check to become the man he has. But staunch Tyson campaigners have never been able to accept it.
On February 12th of 1990, Mike Tyson had the right to wake up at 38-0 and still the world champion. Meyran and those who failed to act in retrospect had to deal with that until their lives ended.
Watch the counts for yourself. It’s not hard to determine what the outcome was.
