Thirty-four years ago, when 42-1 underdog James “Buster” Douglas shocked “Iron” Mike Tyson at the Tokyo Dome, the result resonated around the world.
In February 1990, the crowd in the 45,000-plus seat venue witnessed one of boxing's greatest upsets, when undefeated heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in 10 rounds by the unprecedented Douglas.
Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since Japan's undisputed super bantamweight world champion, Naoya “Monster” Inoue, faced Mexico's Luis Neri in an unforgettable bout for the belt.
The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and only the second man to become undisputed world champion in two different weight classes since the four-belt era began in 2004. be. American Terrence Crawford was the first.
However, Inoue will face a tough test against 29-year-old Neri, a former two-division world champion.
Inoue will be wary of suffering the same fate as Tyson, who arrived in Tokyo with an aura of invincibility more than 30 years ago.
“Tyson's status at the time was a godlike, absolutely unbeatable heavyweight,” James Sterngold, who reported on the fight for the New York Times, told AFP.
“He was truly one of a kind. He stood on a pedestal that only a few athletes can sit on.”
Because Tyson was expected to win easily, the New York Times did not want a boxing reporter to travel “halfway around the world for 90 seconds,” so they asked Tokyo-based news reporter Sterngold to cover the fight. did.
– Tyson 'didn't really care' –
Veteran Japanese boxing writer Shoji Tsue, who has covered the sport for 50 years, also commented on Tyson's early victory, despite seeing him knocked down by sparring partner Greg Page during practice. I was expecting.
“Everyone thought that Tyson was Tyson and that no matter what happened, he couldn't lose,” Tswe said.
According to Tyson's autobiography, he was too busy partying to properly prepare for Douglas, who had a modest 29-4-1 (19 KOs) record.
Sterngold interviewed Tyson in his hotel room a few days before the fight and found him wrapped in bed sheets watching a martial arts movie.
“He didn't seem too concerned,” Sterngold said. “He obviously wasn't in his element.”
The match started at lunchtime, with fans anticipating another Tyson demolition, and Tokyo Dome was “surprisingly quiet,” Tsue said.
However, Douglas began to take control of the fight, and although he was knocked down in the eighth, he got back up after two rounds and left Tyson sprawled on the canvas.
The world heavyweight champion was unable to beat the count, and those watching tried to make sense of what they had just seen.
“I was sitting in the press box closest to the ring, and Tyson collapsed right in front of me,” Tswe said.
“My heart was pounding. I thought something like this could happen.”
~Post-game drama~
Promoter Don King rushed to reporters and tried to convince them that Tyson hadn't lost, but the drama wasn't over yet.
“He told us it shouldn't have been reported because it wasn't a knockout, the referee had made a mistake in the count, and Dr. King had already agreed that the fight would be overturned. I said,” Sterngold said.
“The story was very suspicious, but that added to the drama.”
King was unable to throw out the result, and Tyson never regained his superhuman status.
The Tokyo Dome crowd on Monday will expect Inoue to maintain his perfect record against Neri, but he will be wary of suffering the same fate as Tyson.
Neri said the choice of venue could be an omen.
“If Mike Tyson could lose his undefeated record there, so could Naoya Inoue,” Nelly said recently at training camp.
Tsue expected Inoue to win, but warned that the Mexican, who has a record of 35 wins, 1 loss and 27 KOs, could cause an upset.
Inoue is the right person to bring boxing back to the historic stadium, he said.
“Until now, there has never been a boxer worthy of a match at Tokyo Dome,” Tsue said.
“If it wasn't for Inoue, there wouldn't be a world title fight held at Tokyo Dome for a while.''
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