James ‘Buster’ Douglas handed Mike Tyson his first defeat in a shock upset in Tokyo in 1990.
‘Iron Mike’ began his career quickly, helping him to become the youngest heavyweight champion of all time. However, after just five years of professional boxing, he would face adversity.
Tyson had just delivered an incredible knockout over Carl Williams in his 37th professional win in a row when he was paired up with Douglas.
‘Buster’ Douglas was a 28-4-1 heavyweight, who was considered a huge underdog as he challenged Tyson for the WBA, WBC, and IBF World Heavyweight titles.
However, the favorite would fall short on the night in Tokyo, with one of the greatest heavyweights of all time losing his first-ever professional fight.
Buster Douglas defeated Mike Tyson in controversial loss
Tyson would be dethroned in a major upset against ‘Buster’ Douglas, as he lost the fight by knockout in round 10.
Although, the fight was not without controversy. As both men were knocked down in the fight, there have been claims that one man received a longer count than the other.
Some fans feel as if Douglas was the recipient of a longer count, allowing him to continue the fight.
Douglas hit the canvas in the eighth round, while Tyson went down in the 10th. However, Tyson’s knockdown would result in a TKO loss.
It was also a talking point that Douglas’ knockdown came at the very end of the round, with no punches being thrown after he returned to his feet before the bell sounded.
Weighing in the debate, Joe Rogan shared his thoughts on the infamous title fight.
Joe Rogan compares counts in Mike Tyson vs Buster Douglas
In a 2018 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan spoke about Tyson vs Douglas with his guest, comedian Felipe Esparza.
Reminiscing on Tyson’s first loss, Rogan said that until his loss in Tokyo, he felt it was impossible for ‘Iron Mike’ to lose a fight.
However, as they spoke about Tyson vs Douglas, the subject of the supposedly ‘slow count’ came up. Then, Rogan played the two counts side-by-side to compare the duration of each.
Rogan said, “That’s so different,” on his first watch of the two counts being given simultaneously.
The pair watched the comparison of the clips a number of times. However, Rogan ultimately felt as if Tyson’s count was ‘was quicker’ than Douglas’, even thinking that it was a different referee counting each time.
“That’s ridiculous. Dude, you suck at counting,” Rogan said after another watch.
The podcast host then said, “They’re both out,” about both men being significantly hurt by the punches.
On the final watch, Rogan counted alongside the clips, claiming that both men were out, not beating the count. Should neither man have beaten the count, Tyson would have won the fight, as Douglas was knocked down first.