"I've always told people my goal was to be the heavyweight champion of the world, not just to fight one guy for the money." HOLYFIELD, WATCHING the fight at ringside, insisted he was surprised but not that unhappy - although, if he fought Douglas, he'd make far less than the reckoned shortend of 15 million he'd have earned boxing Tyson. (In Fanwood, N.J., AP reported, International Boxing Federation President Bob Lee said the IBF had no choice but to call Douglas champion). A spokesman for Don King Productions refused to confirm reports that his boss complained about the count and started the hassle that led to withdrawal of recognition for Douglas. It upset everybody - Tyson, disbelieving fans and King, who watched timbers cave in on the goldmine bout Tyson was to have fought with Evander Holyfield in June. up by two left-right combinations that stifled his senses and made him easy game for the finisher. Tyson, outfought and outfoxed all the way, was set. Nobody at ringside in the Dome saw Douglas' demolition of Tyson as a chance, out-of-nowhere punch. "Only in America," somebody shouted, King's tagline extolling himself for wealthy, up-from-success. It appeared to the watching reporters that Meyran started counting as soon as Douglas was down and they expressed loud and open doubt of the commission claims. Tapes of the knockdown were replayed as what the officials called evidence of a late, long count. Tyson said he believed himself still champion. Then the referee waved us on."Īs Tyson stoked his fists for the finish, the bell rang - depriving him of his best and only chance. "And I thought the referee had counted him out and the fight was over. Recalling that round, Tyson said he thought he hit Douglas with "pretty decent shot. TYSON SAT WITH THE TWO officials and promoter Don King, wearing dark glasses to cover a swollen eye and holding what appeared to be a damp towel to his lumpy face. Meyran admitted it - appeared before reporters to say he made a "hundred percent human mistake." "I'm sure Mike and Douglas want to meet again and prove once and for all who is best," Sulaiman said. "We have a 13-second KO in the eighth round and another KO in the 10th round," Sulaiman said - adding that a rematch between the two is "absolutely mandatory." Also, Sulaiman said, the referee briefly stalled the count while Tyson was still in a neutral corner.īy the time Douglas got to his feet at nine, Sulaiman said, 13 seconds had gone by. The problem, Sulaiman said, was this: when Douglas went down, Meyran began counting from one when the timekeeper had actually reached four. Sulaiman said that one of several different options could be announced in a week to 10 days - not saying what any of these might be. World Boxing Association President Gilberto Mendoza nodded along with Sulaiman, saying the WBA and WBC will decide jointly what should be done. World Boxing Council meets," Sulaiman said. "No one (neither Tyson nor Douglas) until the 20th of February, when the. Sunday night, hours after Douglas left the Big Egg with what he thought was title in hand, World Boxing Council President Jose Sulaiman summoned journalists back to the Dome and said he was "withholding recognition of today's decision" - meaning the title was suspended and neither fighter was champion. Then Tyson, his face like a dented harlequin's mask, stumbled up and fell in Meyran's arms, his mouthpiece twisted grotesquely out of his mouth.īut Tyson had put Douglas down two rounds earlier and there were loud and immediate protests that Meyran was three seconds behind the timekeeper's count, giving the dazed Douglas precious time to recover. In a groveling stupor, he made feeble efforts to rise as referee Octavio Meyran spread hands over him to signal the knockout at 1:23 of the round. Was Douglas the new champ? It appeared so to an astonished crowd at Tokyo Dome and millions more who watched a stunning upset beamed worldwide by satellite TV.ĭusk fell on Tyson with a left that landed with the velocity of a sunset gun, sending the champion down in his own corner. TOKYO - James "Buster" Douglas dropped twilight at noon on world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson Sunday, only to have his 10th-round knockout victory declared invalid because of what boxing officials called a referee's mistake while Douglas was down in the eighth.
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