The undisputed World Heavyweight Title fight between Evander Holyfield and James "Buster" Douglas from 1990. The fight could hardly be called a classic, but it was a dominating performance by Evander Holyfield. More info below... In February 1990, James Douglas scored the biggest upset in heavyweight boxing history since Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston. A 42-1 underdog, James "Buster" Douglas knocked out the seemingly unstoppable Mike Tyson. 8 months later Douglas would put his new undisputed World Heavyweight Title on the line against former undisputed World Cruiserweight champion, Evander Holyfield. Buster entered the fight with a record of 30-4-1, and owned victories over top contenders of the time like Oliver McCall and Trevor Berbick. In contrast to his fight against Tyson however, Douglas was out of shape and noticeably overweight when he stepped in the ring against Holyfield. He was rumored to have entered training camp weighing close to 300lbs! Holyfield had a record of 24-0, and was the former undisputed World Cruiserweight Champion having held the WBC, WBA and IBF versions of the title. Although the cruiserweight division was still relatively new and not as well respected as the other more established weight classes, Holyfield was none the less the first boxer to unify the world cruiserweight titles beating fighters like Carlos De Leon, Dwight Muhammad Qawi and Ossie Ocasio along the way. In mid 1988, Holyfield made the jump to heavyweight and scored a string of 6 victories all by stoppage against top ranking opposition, earning himself the WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight title in the process. Nobody was sure who would win this fight, although the odds favored Holyfield, Douglas had all the physical advantages being taller, heavier and possessing the longer reach. Once the fight got underway however, Holyfield would prove he was substantially quicker and in far better condition. In round 3, Holyfield feinted Buster into missing with a lead uppercut and then countered with an accurate right cross that landed flush on Douglas' chin, putting him down and out for the count with 1 punch. With that win, Holyfield claimed the WBC, WBA and IBF titles. He became the 3rd boxer to have held a world title in a lower weight catergory and succesfully go on to win the undisputed World Heavyweight Championship following Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897 and Michael Spinks in 1985. Holyfield would go on to have many more memorable fights in his career, finally retiring in 2011. Douglas on the other hand would retire immediately following this loss, letting his weight balloon up to 400lbs and eventually going into a diabetic coma. Following his release from hospital Douglas made an effort to get back into shape to better his health and lost an impressive 150lbs! In 1996, 6 years after losing his world heavyweight titles, Douglas would make a successful return to the ring, racking up 6 wins against credible opponents before being stopped by Lou Savarese in 1 round. He would eventually retire for good in 1999. James "Buster" Douglas was a skilled fighter but his big problem was the lack of consistency in his skills, some times he would box like a world title contender and other nights he would look no better than a journeyman. However for one night in 1990, he became the first man to prove to the world that Mike Tyson was a mere mortal after all, and that achievement can never be taken away from him.

• published: 30 Jul 2015
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