We all know athletes like James "Buster" Douglas. They have potential. But they're underachievers. Once in a while they put it all together — and they shock the world.
That's the premise behind ESPN Films' outstanding new "30 for 30" documentary, "42 to 1," chronicling Douglas' upset of Mike Tyson for the heavyweight championship of the world in 1990 (Tuesday, Dec. 11, 9 p.m. ET).
I was prepared for the standard story of Tyson's rise and fall. But Douglas is the forgotten man. So is the story of the night he came off the canvas in Tokyo to upset the 37-0 "Iron Mike."
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Co-directors Jeremy Schaap of ESPN and Ben Houser smartly choose to tell it through the lens of the Douglas family (The "42 to 1" title references Las Vegas handicapper Jimmy Vaccaro having to offer those ridiculous odds to generate any action on the fight at the Mirage sports book). This is a story about fathers and sons, mothers and sons.
Douglas grows up in Columbus, Ohio, under the shadow of his intimidating boxer father, Bill "Dynamite" Douglas. The younger Douglas is peaceful, sensitive. But he wants his dad's respect. He starts boxing at age 10. With father "Billy" as trainer, he becomes a promising top 10 heavyweight contender.
Holding the family together is his equally formidable mother, Lula Pearl Douglas. The matriarch gives Buster the unconditional love and support he doesn't get from his disapproving dad. But she's no pushover.
When a young Buster comes home crying about being bullied in school, she reads him the riot act. Either you deal with this bully or you deal with me. It''s a lesson that will bear fruit when her son fearlessly confronts the baddest bully on the planet.
With a chance to win a piece of the heavyweight title in 1987, Douglas is ahead on points against Tony Tucker. But Tucker TKO's him. The word's out: Buster is no Dynamite Douglas. His heart pumps Kool-Aid.
Promoter Don King takes note. "Buster Douglas is a dog. He’s always been a quitter. Really, that's why I chose him," he notes in the doc.
To turn his career around, Douglas has to fire his own father as trainer.
King selects him as "interim" opponent before Tyson's expected big-money showdown with Evander Holyfield in June 1990. The media treats him with equal contempt.
The Associated Press describes Douglas simply as Tyson's "next victim." ESPN's Charley Steiner describes the upcoming bout as "30 Seconds over Tokyo." He predicts his brief on-air report will last longer than the bout.
Douglas' mother is frantic. Tyson doesn't just beat opponents. He terrorizes them. Is Tyson as big an animal as he's portrayed, she asks her husband. Yes, answers Billy Douglas. He's a killer. Like Me.
"My baby is in trouble," declares Lula.
She pleads with her son to cancel the fight. Don't worry, he says. Worry about the guy facing me in the ring. Lula suddenly sees her ferocious husband in her son.
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Meanwhile, a celebrity Tyson is partying instead of training. The doc shows a sparring partner scoring a flash knockdown against him. An omen?
With only 23 days to go before the fight, tragedy strikes. Douglas' mother dies of a stroke. He gets three days to bury her before heading to Tokyo. He refuses to postpone the fight. Douglas calls his father for some final advice. "Let those hands go — and see what happens," Billy tells his son.
Fight night at the Tokyo Dome comes February, 11 1990. From the opening bell, Douglas goes hard after Tyson. The ringside announcers are stunned: "Buster is not backing up. He's here to fight," one exclaims.
"I wasn't taking no bulls—," Douglas recalls in the doc. "This was a different night, baby."
By Round 5, Tyson's eye is closing. His camp is frantic. They didn't even bring the standard device to treat swollen eyes. We get the now famous scene of Tyson's trainer treating his eye with a latex glove, filled with ice.
In the eighth round, Douglas barely survives a devastating Tyson uppercut. But he beats the count — and is saved by the bell.
Douglas roars back with a great 9th round. Then comes the 10th. He tells Schaap he could hear his father's voice urging, "Finish him, finish him." Douglas knocks Tyson out. The aura of invincibility around Iron Mike is gone forever.
In the ring afterward, Douglas salutes his mother and father.
"I knew she was looking down, happy, saying, 'I told you, my baby did it," Douglas recalls, with a tear trickling down his cheek.
There's no fairy tale ending. Only eight months later, an overweight Douglas loses his belt to Holyfield and dissappears into obscurity. But for one moment, he rises to the occasion and becomes a hero. Watch this documentary.
