A good boxing read

If you are looking for a good, historical read of one of boxing's biggest upsets, then make sure you pick up a copy of "The Last Great Fight" by Joe Layden.

The book goes into detail about the 1990 heavyweight fight between James "Buster" Douglas and Mike Tyson, the fight that witnessed Douglas upset the powerful and unbeaten Tyson in Tokyo, Japan.

Douglas had a reputation as a good fighter, but one that had not reached his potential. But on that February night in Tokyo, he put it all together in knocking Tyson out. By fight night, Tyson, who was regarded as the baddest man on the planet, had begun to falter both personally and professionally.

The book is an interesting look at the lives of both fighters pre-fight and post-fight. Before the fight with Douglas, Tyson had it all, money, television fights and all the glory. Douglas, a very basketball player before turning to boxing, had struggled to find consistency in his career and was looked at as an opponent before Tyson was scheduled to fight Evander Holyfield during the summer of 1990.

Douglas came from a boxing family, his father William, was a solid fighter in his own right. Tyson grew up in on the tough streets of New York before being saved by the late Cus D'Amato.

The author Layden does a great job of telling the stories of both fighters in leading up to the fight and what transpires to the two fighters after that memorable fight.

The post-fight lives of both are sometimes sad, sometimes funny and sometimes a successful tale, but most of all, the stories are true and intriguing.

The "Last Great Fight" is $24.95 and is also available here in Las Cruces at the Thomas Branigan Library.

— Felix