Thirty-six years after one of heavyweight boxing’s most contentious nights, the debate over Mike Tyson’s first defeat resurfaced when WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán was asked why an immediate rematch with James “Buster” Douglas was not ordered in 1990.
The fan question alluded to the controversial eighth-round knockdown in Tokyo and suggested that the WBC could knock Douglas out of shape if he refused to fight Tyson again.
Sulaimán replied: “It was about 36 years ago. I remember Holyfield was the mandatory challenger and then he fought Douglas. I’m sorry I don’t have the details right now, but I’ll look into it.”
One low response reopened a familiar argument and, more importantly, shifted the focus back to what the WBC could realistically do once the result was official.
Long count vs. knockdown debate
Tyson dropped Douglas slow in the eighth round of an undisputed title fight in February 1990 at the Tokyo Dome. The number given by referee Octavio Meyran has been debated for decades, and footage shows Douglas lying on the ground for more than 10 seconds before the bell ended the round.
The referee’s count is discretionary, although traditionally he follows the ten-second standard.
World Boxing News has previously analyzed this incident and its fallout in our coverage of the eighth-round controversy and Meyran’s subsequent explanation in his referee’s statement.
As for the rematch question, the main issue isn’t whether fans think the count was leisurely. The issue is whether the WBC was justified in stepping in and changing the next move after the fight was signed.
Why Holyfield was next
At the time, Evander Holyfield was the mandatory challenger for the WBC title. When Douglas stopped Tyson in the tenth round, the WBC regulations directly indicated a mandatory defense.
Douglas then fought Holyfield and lost the title later in 1990, which matches Sulaimán’s recollection of this sequence.
Any rematch clause would be a contractual matter between the fighters and the promoters. The WBC’s job is to maintain order in the championship, and mandates are rarely bypassed without a formal revocation or official ruling changing the outcome of the fight.
A Don King production
Could the WBC have ordered a rematch?
In scarce cases, sanctioning authorities may take action after stern controversy. However, such situations usually require a formal protest process and a clear violation that warrants intervention.
Without a successful appeal or official change of result, Douglas remained champion on paper. In such a scenario, getting rid of him for Tyson’s fight with another contender for the vacant belt would involve the risk of legal consequences and undermining the WBC ranking structure.
Sulaimán’s response suggests that the WBC viewed Holyfield’s mandatory status as a controlling factor at the time and hinted that it would look into the finer details behind the scenes.
Some have long argued that the WBC could have delayed Holyfield’s mandatory commitment and ordered a rematch, although that would have required bending its own championship structure.
Why is this question still being asked
The Tyson-Douglas rematch debate endures because it combines two things that boxing fans rarely accept quietly: contentious judging and a title structure that moves on without looking back.
Sulaimán’s answer does not rewrite history. This highlights the likely reason why the WBC did not force an immediate rematch with Tyson.
As history shows, Holyfield was next in line and, without a formal repeal of the Tokyo decision, the mandatory route remained unchanged.
More than three decades later, the Tokyo count – and the rematch that never materialized – remains one of heavyweight boxing’s most enduring, unresolved debates.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
David Benavidez won the WBA and WBO cruiserweight world titles with his last fight, and the “Mexican Monster” may add to his collection in the future after one of the world champions was ordered to fight him under the threat of being stripped of his belt.
As a result, the 29-year-old must decide whether he should return to the featherlight heavyweight scene or stay in the cruiserweight division, where he put in arguably the best performance of his career last time out after tuning out his fight with Jai Opetaia.
However, Benavidez was also named the WBC cruiserweight mandatory challenger and was ordered to fight WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian, another who has been linked to a fight with Opetaia.
If Mikaelian refuses to defend the title against Benavidez, the WBC president announced in an interview for the WBC magazine that he would strip the Armenian of the belt. Boxing Scene.
“The WBC order is Mikaelian against Benavidez. That’s all. If he fights again, he will waive his obligations to the WBC.”
“[There is no deadline] at this time. I will be talking to different managers. This is the highest priority. I look forward to making sure that happens.”
If Mikaeilian decides to continue the fight with Opetaia and thus lose the world title, it can be expected that Polish-born interim champion Michał Cieślak will benefit. Either he will be elevated to full world champion and ordered to make his first defense against Benavidez, or he will be included in a vacant belt fight against the three-division world champion.
“Well, he has his team there and I’m not criticizing anyone, but in both fights his tactics weren’t good,” Peter said in an interview with Sport Boxing.
“It worked out badly because look, if we have a little guy here who can throw, let’s say, a welterweight who can throw a thousand punches, and we have a heavyweight, will a heavyweight fighter throw a thousand punches with him? No.”
“Or maybe he’ll step in and take one good shot? Absolutely.”
“So basically yes, the strategy was just wrong. It doesn’t mean Usyk was better than him. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t say anything. You misunderstand the tactics and they are wrong.
“And you know, when you look at Usyk’s structure and what he does, when he distances himself and tries to box an elite boxer who is lighter than you and who is giving away pounds, he will ping you all over the shop. That should be noticed,” Peter Fury said.
Tyson Fury announced his return earlier this year and is expected to have a preparatory fight before the start of his scheduled series with Anthony Joshua. Queensbury promoter Frank Warren recently confirmed that Fury’s next opponent could be announced in the coming days, with the long-awaited fight against Joshua expected to take place later this year.
Usyk remains at the top of the heavyweight division and has been ordered to fight WBC interim champion Agit Kabayel. Warren also confirmed that negotiations for the fight are ongoing.
Fury’s third meeting with Usyk has not been announced. Peter Fury, however, remains convinced that the strategy used in the first two fights determined the result.
Jorge Kahwagi achieved something almost impossible in professional boxing. The Mexican politician retired with a perfect record of 12-0, knocked out every opponent he faced, and finished his entire career in just 15 rounds.
On paper, this looks like one of the most devastating runs the sport has ever seen. In fact, many boxing fans wondered if they even believed it.
Perfect record
Kahwagi turned professional in 2001, despite having no boxing experience. Over the next fourteen years, he set an undefeated record, won regional titles, and never once heard the final bell.
Twelve fights brought twelve victories. All twelve victories were by knockout in just fifteen rounds.
The numbers are tough to understand even now.
Several of Kahwagi’s opponents entered the ring in defeat. Others seemed hopelessly outmatched.
But the record continued to grow as the politician and businessman rose through the cruiserweight ranks without ever being seriously tested.
By the time he retired in 2015 after returning from a ten-year hiatus for one final fight, Kahwagi owned one of boxing’s most remarkable undefeated records.
Why fans never bought it
The controversy surrounding Kahwaga was not in itself. This is how some of these victories turned out.
His last fight against Ramon Olivas remains the fight most frequently mentioned in discussions about Kahwagi’s career. The break came after seemingly minimal contact, prompting criticism from fans and observers.
Doubts have already surrounded previous victories, including the victory over veteran Roberto Coelho.
Whether these doubts were justified or not, the damage was done and many fans never accepted Kahwagi’s record at face value.
WBC
Boxing has seen this before
Kahwagi’s record may be extraordinary, but in boxing there is always controversy when it comes to results.
As WBN reports, while John Riel Casimero faces a fight-fixing investigation in 2025, debates continue to arise in the contemporary era about what happens inside the ropes.
Long before that, Roy Jones Jr. denied winning Olympic gold in Seoul despite dominating Park Si-hun in what many still consider the greatest heist in boxing history.
More than thirty years later, Park returned the medal to Jones.
The Kahwagi case falls into a different category, but the result is often the same. Once fans stop believing what they’re watching, the debate never really stops.
Still one of the strangest
Few fighters retire with a perfect record, and even fewer retire after every knockout victory.
Kahwagi handled both, finishing his entire professional career in just 15 innings, and those numbers remain remarkable.
More than a decade after his retirement, the debate surrounding his record has never really died down.
That’s why Jorge Kahwagi’s perfect 12-0 record remains one of the strangest in boxing history.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
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