Tyson v Douglas

[k_jerome]

on ESPN classic now.

[Awsi Dooger]

1. 17 years ago

I remember it was February 1990.

I think I've told the story before on DU, that I'd seen Tyson in person a few times and it was laughable how short he was. I mean astonishingly short, to the point people around me would be chuckling and cracking jokes after seeing him for the first time, away from the ring.

The one I remember most was a British couple at the old Sands hotel. The husband said, "why lookey there, it's Mike Tyson." His wife nearly floored me with the response. "Why, he can't be more than 5 feet tall."

A guy who I knew drove Tyson around town in Las Vegas. I asked him about it and he told me it was common knowledge among Tyson's camp that he was 5-7. I'm sure boxing fans and experts will dispute that, but I'll dispute it right back. I was within feet of the guy several times and my estimate was 5-6 to 5-7 every time. I remember when a female sportswriter who covered one of his fights wrote, "Mike Tyson is listed at 5 foot 10. Yeah, in a top hat."

Anyway, after seeing Tiny Tyson I was sure he was overrated and wouldn't last long as champ. I bet a guy he would lose in the ring within two years. So I won that one. But I intended to bet Douglas at 38-1 odds at the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas. I was working as a supervisor at the Horseshoe sportsbook at the time. I touted him to many people who worked with me, that he was a big athletic guy with the skills to give Mini Mike fits.

But that was a Saturday during college basketball season. I had dozens of bets, and a horrible day. The early games were lousy and the night games started out worse. I was losing so much I left work and decided not to bet the planned $300 on Douglas.

The next day at work all my friends and co-workers were congratulating me. They had all bet $10 to $50 based on my tout and were thrilled. They were sure I cleaned up. It took months for me to admit I hadn't bet a penny.