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.
Roy Jones Jr has named one fighter as the “new Canelo” and, by extension, considers them to be the ‘face of boxing’.
Some might argue that Canelo Alvarez remains boxing’s biggest commercial star but, with the 36-year-old approaching retirement, the sport is surely crying out for another mainstream attraction to take his place.
It is also unusual for the four-division world champion that, by the end of this year, he will not have fought on Cinco de Mayo or Mexican Independence Day weekend.
Instead, occupying the latter date earlier this month was Ryan Garciawho retained his WBC world title with a second-round stoppage of Conor Benn, taking his record to 21 knockouts from 26 victories, with just two defeats.
In doing so, the 28-year-old has kept himself in the mix for unification matches with Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney but, until such fights materialise, he seems eager to remain active and defend his welterweight belt.
As far as a next opponent goes, Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz has been mentioned as a possible option following his emphatic sixth-round knockout of Nestor Bravo last weekendand it seems that pound-for-pound legend Jones would enjoy that clash.
That is because Jones has told All The Smoke Boxing that Garcia-Cruz is a stylistically similar matchup to Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier.
“Ryan is the new Canelo – everybody wants to see Ryan.
“[Cruz] has the style – the perfect style – that you want to see against Ryan. Ryan’s a classic boxer-puncher; Pitbull is a brawler-puncher. That’s Ali and Frazier, almost.
“Who would not, on planet Earth, want to see that fight?”
“Ryan is the new Canelo!”
Roy makes the case for Pitbull Cruz vs Ryan Garcia being one of the most exciting fights to make in boxing 🎟️👊 pic.twitter.com/PWVwO68sTj
— ALL THE SMOKE Boxing (@atsboxing) September 22, 2026
While Cruz is, indeed, a tenacious brawler-puncher, the 5ft 4in super-lightweight would be contending with a glaring size disadvantage if he moves up to 147lbs and faces Garcia.
A pair of German prospects hope to follow in the footsteps of Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, who became the first brothers to simultaneously reign as world heavyweight champions.
The two highly-decorated Ukrainians achieved this feat between 2008 and 2013, after Vitali reclaimed his WBC title by dethroning Samuel Peter with an eighth-round finish.
‘Dr. Ironfist’ would then retire from the sport and pursue his political career, while Wladimir became the longest-reigning world heavyweight champion in history before losing to Tyson Fury in 2015.
While holding all four major titles between them, though, the Klitschko brothers established themselves as a dominant force and became mainstream celebrities in Germany.
Since then, the German boxing scene has struggled to generate such widespread attention but, now, over a decade later, Ismet Ademi (24) and Endrit Ademi (21) are bidding to emulate the Klitschko duo.
With seven national titles between them, the pair turned professional earlier this year and caught the eye of several promoters in the UK and US.
It can now be revealed, however, that the Ademi brothers have inked multi-year deals with Ringside Zone, who considers itself the leading boxing promotional outfit in Germany.
With Ismet returning to action on October 10, the 1-0 (1 KO) prospect explained that he and younger brother Endrit, 2-0 (2 KOs), would rather establish themselves on home soil than chase opportunities overseas.
“My brother and I had massive offers from abroad, but Germany is our home and this is where we want to build our legacy.
“Ringside Zone has already shown they can put German fighters in world title fights, and that mattered to us. We made a promise to each other years ago that we would become world champions together – signing here is another step toward keeping it.”
With lofty plans for the future, the Ademi brothers make for intriguing additions to the heavyweight scene as they aim to eventually reach world level and reach the heights that the Klitschko brothers once did.
Muhammad Ali once revealed who he believed to be the pound-for-pound greatest fighter of all time.
Ali is arguably the biggest name to ever grace boxing, becoming a global cultural figure not just for what he accomplished inside of the ring, but also for his activism efforts outside of it.
He was a three-time world heavyweight champion, and claimed wins in a number of epic battles, including the ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ against George Foremanand the ‘Thrilla In Manila’ against Joe Frazier.
Ali finished with a record of 56 wins from his 61 professional bouts, and despite all of his success, Ali conceded that another man ranked above him as the number one fighter in boxing history, admitting that he feels Sugar Ray Robinson is deserving of that honour.
“That man was beautiful. Timing, speed, reflexes, rhythm, his body, everything was beautiful.
“I’d say I’m the greatest heavyweight of all time, but pound-for-pound, I still say Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest of all time.”
Robinson competed professionally from 1940 to 1965, having a remarkable 201 fights during that time, winning 174 of them. At his peak, Robinson once had a record of 129 wins from 132 fights, with 85 of those wins coming by knockout.
He went on a 91-fight unbeaten streak during that time, as he held the world welterweight title for five years, before becoming world middleweight champion on multiple occasions.
Ali isn’t the only boxing legend that believes Robinson is the best ever, with fellow heavyweight icon Mike Tyson also sharing the same view.
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