James ‘Buster’ Douglas shunned former rival Mike Tyson when naming the hardest puncher he faced during his professional career.
Douglas exploded onto the scene back in 1990 when he produced arguably the biggest upset in boxing history when he defeated Tyson to capture the undisputed heavyweight championship.
The Ohio-native stopped Tyson in the 10th round of their showdown at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, handing his countryman the first defeat of his professional career in sensational circumstances.
Douglas’ reign as undisputed heavyweight champion was short lived however, as he was stopped by Evander Holyfield in the third round of their clash at The Mirage in Las Vegas just eight months later.
Speaking to Boxing Insider, Douglas spoke honestly when asked to reveal who actually hit him the hardest during his storied professional career.
“Early in my career, facing guys on the way up like myself. The hard times of driving somewhere, where the odds are against you every fight, made me a better man.
“That’s how my dad (Bill, former top middleweight in the 1960’s-70’s) did it, too. On the road. Later on they were cream puffs. They had easy opponents, never left home. They had it easy, I came up the hard way.”
After he was beaten by ‘The Real Deal’, Douglas decided to walk away from the sport, although he would make a return to action six years later, suffering just one defeat to Lou Savarese before his final retirement in 1999, ending with a final record of 38 wins from 45 fights.
