In February 1990, the boxing world witnessed what many still call the biggest upset in the sport’s history. Billed as Mike Tyson’s comeback fight, ‘Buster’ Douglas defied odds and shocked the world by knocking out the youngest heavyweight champion ever in the 10th round. Fans were left stunned, trying to understand what caused Tyson’s stunning collapse. Now, 36 years later, a new layer of truth has surfaced about that historic night.

According to reports, the former heavyweight champion was suffering from the bacterial s***ly transmitted disease gonorrhea, which severely affected his performance. Tyson was reportedly taking heavy doses of prescribed medication, which slowed him down inside the ring. That physical setback allowed Douglas to land the finishing blow, taking away Tyson’s undefeated record along with his WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight titles.

Mike Tyson fought Buster Douglas while battling gonorrhea

“Douglas fought the fight of his life, and Mike fought the worst fight of his life, and got clobbered. It wasn’t until later that I learned of the medical challenges Mike was dealing with,” Dr. Elias Graham, the chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission, told the New York Post in a recent interview.

Mike Tyson stepping into the ring while dealing with such a serious condition was undeniably brave. But the revelation goes even deeper. ‘Iron Mike’ had actually been suffering from the infection long before the Douglas fight.

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According to a 2011 CBS article, Tyson was dealing with the same issue when he defeated Trevor Berbick on November 22, 1986. Describing his experience with the disease, Tyson later spoke about how badly it affected him, as he revealed dripping pus from his genitals. 

“I was dripping like a good humid July, man,” the now 59-year-old said, as per the CBS article.

It was a brutally honest and somewhat graphic description from the heavyweight legend. Still, even after gonorrhea was revealed as his hidden kryptonite, Tyson never used it as an excuse.

‘Iron’ lauded Douglas for his performance 

For a dominant champion like Mike Tyson, losing to a massive underdog was always going to sting. But even in defeat, ‘Iron Mike’ showed the mindset of a true champion. When ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked him at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, Tyson accepted the loss with honesty and gave full credit to his opponent for delivering a masterclass.

“Because I took some f–in shots. You know… nobody would have took them shots. It’s just a bang. He fought a great fight that night. What a great fight. But you know what’s so ironic that he won, everybody that beat him, I knocked out,” Tyson stated in an interview with American rapper Joe Budden in 2023.

After that loss, the heavyweight legend went on to regain the WBA and WBC championships, proving he was far from finished. Still, boxing fans continue to regret never seeing a rematch between Tyson and Douglas. It remains one of the sport’s most fascinating what-ifs.

That said, do you think a healthy Mike Tyson would have beaten ‘Buster’ Douglas without much trouble? Or would the second fight have been even tougher? Let us know in the comments below.