Tyson might be more famous now for biting Evander Holyfield in their 1997 rematch or, for younger people, for his cameo in “The Hangover,” but he was widely regarded as unbeatable when he stepped into the ring to face Douglas. The number that Tyson eventually reached as a favorite - 42-1, or -4200 on the odds board (meaning a bettor had to bet $4,200 to win $100 on Tyson) - became part of the fight’s lore and was even the title of an ESPN documentary on the bout, considered one of the greatest upsets in the history of sports. Of the time difference), and he ended up in the media spotlight after being the only bookmaker in Las Vegas to post odds on the fight. Vaccaro helmed the sportsbook at The Mirage when Tyson and Douglas fought on Feb. “Thirty years, it seems like it was yesterday,” said Vaccaro, 74, now an oddsmaker at the South Point.

It’s the story of a heavyweight title fight and the number associated with it, the night the seemingly invincible “Iron” Mike Tyson got knocked out by James “Buster” Douglas at odds of 42-1. Jimmy Vaccaro has been telling the story for 30 years. Asher started a race and sports book management operation and hired Vaccaro to help set betting lines. The fight lasted till the eleventh round when the referee, convinced that Tyson could not take any more punishments, stopped it handing over a technical victory to Holyfield.Book maker Jimmy Vaccaro, left, stands next to former Cantor G&W executive Joe Asher in the race and sports book inside the Plaza hotel-casino on Friday June 20, 2008, in Las Vegas. It was Tyson’s WBA Heavyweight title defense after taking it from Bruce Seldon in September of that year. Evander Holyfield I, Novem– The bout was labeled ‘Finally’. On November 9, 1996, Mike Tyson faced his second defeat. By August 1995, he was back in the ring, and the following year, on March 16, 1996, he once again became the WBC Heavyweight champion.

The Desiree Washington case resulted in him receiving a prison sentence. His personal life also started grabbing headlines. Many believe the loss at Tokyo Dome in 1990 marked Mike Tyson’s downfall. Eventually, he got some sleep …” Other famous losses of Mike Tyson We partied, and I was trying to tell him to get some sleep. There must have been two dozen girls in the room with me and Mike. We partied like really, really, really hard. The opinion has been shared by other personalities such as promoter Butch Lewis and sports journalist Jerry Izenberg who, in the documentary Mike Tyson – The Fallen Champ, famously remarked about Tyson’s new corner, “ They assemble a corner for that fight which looks like it was picked up out of the semi-finals of the Intercity Golden Gloves.”Īccording to an article published on Marca, in an interview, Brown revealed, “ We used to do crazy sh*t…but there was a time when we partied in Japan right before his fight with Buster Douglas. However, they went their separate ways after the fight against former champion Michael Spinks in 1988. The trainer who took over Tyson’s training after Cus D’Amato passed away in 1985 has long been accredited with his incredible success. According to HBO’s analyst and well-acclaimed sportswriter Larry Merchant, the primary reason for Mike Tyson’s lackadaisical performance in Tokyo Dome is parting ways with long-time trainer Kevin Rooney. On the other hand, two familiar narratives often come up as reasons for his loss. After the fight, when asked for reasons for his win, Douglas replied, “ Because of my mother … God bless her heart,” as reported by nzherald. However, the setback, especially his mother’s loss, instead of sending him down the cliff, reeled him back in. If it was not enough, his son’s mother had suffered from a severe kidney problem, and he ran flu just a day before the battle. His mother, Lula Pearl, had passed away some twenty-three days before the fight. So what could have been the reason behind ‘Iron’ Mike’s terrible loss to James ‘Buster’ Douglas? What went wrong that day on February 11 at Tokyo Dome?ĭouglas, who has had a mixed-bag career till then, was going through some personal tragedies. The man, till then considered unbeatable, finally met his match and lost. It was one of the biggest upsets in the history of boxing.

James buster douglas vs mike tyson