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(More customer reviews)Some sporting events you can remember where you were when you first heard of them. James "Buster" Douglas' boxing knockout of Mike Tyson for the Heavyweight Championship is one of those events. Arguably one of the greatest upsets in sports history, this fight has taken on a unique historical aura over the years. Joe Layden's engrossing and tragic 2007 book "The Last Great Fight: The Extraordinary Tale of Two Men and How One Fight Changed Their Lives Forever" gives a superb account of this sporting epic.
I was waiting tables on the busy Saturday night this fight took place and was amazed at the cheers coming from the bar. I realized something more was going on than your typical Tyson KO. When the fight ended, the message that Tyson had been defeated spread through the restaurant like wildfire. Luckily, I taped the fight, and went home that night to watch the bout over and over again trying to understand what my eyes could not believe. Over the years, I have re-watched this fight many times and am amazed by the eerie atmosphere of the broadcast. The fight took place in Japan, playing out before an oddly reserved crowd. The HBO announcers, puzzled and shocked, were equally confused. Tyson had such an incredibly invincible reputation that no one could believe what they were seeing.
Layden's book accurately reveals the numerous events leading up to this fight that played a crucial role in the outcome. Douglas, son of a former middleweight contender, struggled from the constant expectations of his demanding father. When his dad was removed from the training team, Douglas seemed to thrive. In addition, the death of Douglas' mother just days before the fight seemed to create a sense of destiny. He lost the fear that seemed to hold him back during his career. Tyson, suffering from an ugly divorce and too much coddling with his new Don King team, had become a man who began to either believe in his invincibility, or no longer cared.
What I liked about Layden's book was his documentation of Douglas. His story, in many ways, is a tragedy. We've read enough about Tyson and Layden expertly gives Douglas equal time with fine interviews with his training team, including long-time friend John Russell. Russell's loyalty to Douglas is especially touching. Several times during the passages detailing the Douglas years following the Tyson fight I was moved to tears. I was also surprised by the sympathetic light Layden shines on Tyson, a man portrayed far too often as a villain. After reading "The Last Great Fight," I feel as if I know Tyson and Douglas and have renewed respect for both men.
Layden hypothesizes that the Douglas/Tyson fight, held in 1990, was a quasi-end of boxing's popularity in the the public mainstream. Tyson, an enormously popular Heavyweight Champion at the time, embarked on an eventual path of shocking self destruction. He would eventually lose millions of dollars and file for bankruptcy. Douglas, in turn, would wisely invest the small fortune he made for his fight immediately following the Tyson victory, an uninspired KO loss to Evander Holyfield. The contrast of the two men's lives, finely detailed by Layden, shows Douglas ironically living in comfort while Tyson desperately struggles with financial and personal issues.
It's a disturbing story, as the cruelties of modern celebrity are revealed yet once again. Most importantly, Layden's work documents the lives of two men who are eventual victims of an ugly and greedy machine vicariously feeding on bodies and spirit. I was deeply moved by Douglas' survival to become a better man after his retirement from boxing. The brilliance of Layden's book is that it covers not only this historic fight, but the struggles of both men for years afterwards. This is a boxing story, granted. But it's also a tragic American tale you will not be able to put down.
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The Last Great Fight: The Extraordinary Tale of Two Men and How One Fight Changed Their Lives Forever
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