GOOD
Yesterday Tokyo time – today in the U.S. – was the 30th anniversary of Buster Douglas’ seismic upset of Mike Tyson.
Whether that result was “good” depends on your perspective. If you were a Tyson fan, it was not good. If you celebrate the historic moments in a sport rich in lore, as I do, Douglas’ knockout remains as fascinating today as it was in 1990.
Douglas proved that a capable, motivated fighter – particularly one as big as the 6-foot-3½ Douglas – who wasn’t terrified of Tyson could be competitive with one of the sport’s most intimidating figures.
Inspired by the death of his mother, Douglas, a good boxer, brought experience and determination into the ring against the then-unbeaten Tyson and, even though he went down himself, shocked the world by ending the fight in the 10th round.
Douglas hurt a fading Tyson with a right uppercut and then followed with a left-right-left that put him down for the first time in his career. Tyson, dazed and guided by instinct, managed to stumble to his feet but it was too late. Referee Octavio Meyran waved his arms to end the fight and an era.
The image is indelible: the great Iron Mike, on hands and knees, fumbling for his mouthpiece, a beaten man. He was never the same.
Of course, many fascinating elements are attached to the fight. One that always stood out for me: Tyson was only 23 years old at the time, meaning he was more of less a shooting star who began his decline much earlier than most fighters.
Tyson was good post-Douglas and always compelling – he regained a portion of the heavyweight title after emerging from prison years later – but he was never the force of nature he had been before Douglas.
BAD
Guillermo Rigondeaux is stuck being who he is. And that’s not the worst thing in the world.
The two-time Olympic champion gave us a glimpse of his warrior side when he went toe to toe and then knocked out Julio Ceja in June. And he provided one more peek at that version of himself in the opening round against Liborio Solis in his first fight at 118 pounds on the Gary Russell Jr.-Tugstsogt Nyambayar card Saturday.
And then it was over. The Rigondeaux, who was tagged by Solis a few times in the first round, went back to the safety-first boxer we’ve grown to know and not-quite-love over the past decade-plus.
The Cuban proved he has more than enough at 39 years old to beat a solid fighter like Solis when he fights his way, which is to jab and move and land just enough punches to win on the scorecards. That’s how he walked away with a split-decision victory over Solis that should’ve been unanimous.
The problem? He was booed late in the fight because of a lack of action. Of course, that’s understandable. The fans come to see warfare, not dancing.
Still, to boo Rigondeaux is harsh. The man has mastered the technical side of boxing to a degree rarely seen. He’s a true artist. At the very least, fans should keep that in mind when they watch his fights even if he hasn’t mastered the entertainment side of the sport.
Maybe he’ll have to beat someone like Naoya Inoue – which I believe is possible – to get the respect he deserves.
WORSE
Tugstsogt Nyambayar seemed to be kicking himself when he said after losing a unanimous decision to Gary Russell Jr. that he “made a mistake waiting for him during the fight.” And he might’ve been right to do so.
Nyambayar, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist from Mongolia, fought the more-experienced Russell on even terms from the fifth round on in the featherweight title fight.
The problem, from Nyambayar’s perspective, is that he gave away the first four rounds and couldn’t make up the lost ground. He tried. Starting in Round 5, he attacked Russell with the kind of ferocity necessary to at least somewhat neutralize Russell’s speed and polished skill set but didn’t have enough time.
Thus, the self-flagellation made sense. Nyambayar probably could’ve scored a career-defining victory or least come closer to doing so.
In the end, he’ll have to be satisfied with a learning experience. One, if he had any doubt about his ability to compete with a top-tier opponent, that has been resolved. Two, he learned not to dig himself into a hole. And, three, there are many more subtle things a fighter learns in such a competitive 12-round fight.
Nyambayar is justifiably disappointed in the result and himself. At the same time, he’ll be a better fighter going forward. That is extremely bad news for prospective opponents in and around his weight.