The Manny Pacquiao – Mike Tyson Comparison: A Lesson to be Learned
The year is 1990 and the undefeated, undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the world, Iron Mike Tyson heads to Tokyo to defend his title against the 42-1 underdog, James “Buster” Douglas, a fighter seen as a no-hoper and so bad that they could not find a home for the fight in the states. Tokyo elected to buy it and bring over the monster that was walking over his competition with ease.
Tyson was on a rampage, destroying former long time champion Larry Holmes (KO-4), undefeated light heavyweight turned heavyweight champion, Michael Spinks (KO-1), British top contender Frank Bruno (TKO-5), and Carl Williams (KO-1) along the way. He was a destroyer with power in both hands, aggressive and dangerous and sat atop the boxing world as the most popular pugilist in the game. The little known Douglas would not be a problem.
Douglas was known as a mediocrity that ran out of steam due in large part to his lack of conditioning and focus on the game. He was stopped by lesser opposition like Tony Tucker and Mike White, and didn’t appear to present much of a threat, but on fight night, he came in ready and focused, weighing in at 231 pounds.
Going into the fight there was talk that Tyson was not mentally prepared for a tough fight. In sparring, Greg Page floored him with a right hand. Tyson wasn’t sharp and had to lose a great deal of weight to look presentable for the fight. He weighed in at 220 pounds.
February 11th, 1990, the biggest upset in boxing occurred in front of a quiet audience in Japan, as Buster Douglas pounded his left jab into the face of the aggressive Tyson and followed up with right hands that landed with regularity. In the tenth round an uppercut hurt Tyson and a follow up combination sent him down for the count. The boxing world was shocked to see Iron Mike down and out of the fight, a historic upset, but the writing was on the wall.
Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao is heading into his November 13th showdown with underdog Antonio Margarito and you can’t help but to draw the similarities between this and the Tyson-Douglas fight.
As first reported by RSR, Pacquiao was stopped in sparring by Amir Khan. The event was later verified by Freddie Roach. Much like Greg Page did to Tyson, Khan did to Pacquiao and when you add that to the lack of focus on this showdown, all the elements are there for an upset.
Like Tyson, Manny is facing a taller opponent with a lot of motivation. Margarito has claimed innocence regarding his loaded gloves, a claim that has been widely dismissed by anyone with any boxing knowledge and that isn’t tied to the Margarito camp. He is shunned by most of boxing, but Bob Arum has stepped up and used his influence to convince Texas to let him fight and now the reward of getting beaten up by Pacquiao and making a payday may actually turn into much more.
Manny has been slowly turning into a monster outside of the ring. Like any other star athlete, especially a national hero like Manny is, there is the inclination to buy your own press and his ego has been growing. As documented in 24/7, HBO’s hit series leading up to many of the perceived major fights, Roach’s control of his fighter has been reduced and there is now a struggle to maintain the camp he wants. His frustration comes out regularly to the press because Pacquiao is not listening and he’s paying a price for it.
Like Tyson, Manny now has this indestructible label, and Margarito isn’t seen as much of a challenge. Going into this fight, Manny has made easy work of Oscar De La Hoya (TKO-8), Ricky Hatton (KO-2), Miguel Cotto (KO-12), and Joshua Clottey (UD-12). The question isn’t who is going to beat Manny, it’s how long can they survive the punishment?
Margarito’s last notable fight was against Shane Mosley. His world crumbled that night and so did he, losing by TKO in dominant fashion to the old warrior. Later on, his hand wraps would be examined and they were proven to have plaster of Paris within and so the suspension began and we all hoped it would be a lifetime away from the sport, but this is boxing and anything apparently goes.
Mosley was exposed as a spent force by Floyd Mayweather, JR., and it may shed light on Margarito’s skills when he’s not packing bricks inside of his gloves. If an old and shot Mosley can destroy Margarito when he’s on the level, what will Pacquiao do?
A prepared Pacquiao destroys him and does it early and perhaps he can do it when he’s not totally focused. I’m not sure that Margarito can win under any circumstances unless he loads his gloves, but this is boxing and if Manny is not focused, we could have another monumental upset, just as we did in 1990 with Mike Tyson falling at the hands of James Douglas.
The Tyson-Douglas fight has set the standard for an elite fighter coming into a fight unfocused and ill prepared against a lesser opponent, only to lose because they were not ready to fight. Is Pacquiao’s head so big now that he will not heed the warning? Like the rest of boxing, does he only consider Floyd Mayweather, JR., a real challenge? If so, he could be in for a rude awakening.
November 13th is right around the corner and the writing is on the wall for an upset. When a fighter reaches a certain point, the distractions are many, and the man climbing the mountain is usually more hungry then the one standing atop, and it will be interesting to see if Manny can get his head together and perform well come fight night. I still expect him to win with ease, but the recent reports from his training camp are bothersome. This could very well be his last fight and he could be leaving the sport on his back.