Product Description

Meticulously researched, wonderfully written, this remarkable book dramatically recounts the untold story of a legendary boxing match and two warriors who would never be the same again. The date was 11 February 1990, and in what many consider to be the biggest upset in the history of boxing, James 'Buster' Douglas knocked out the then undefeated Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson in the tenth round, at a time when the dominating and intimidating Tyson was deemed invincible. The "Last Great Fight" takes readers not only behind the scenes of this epic battle, but inside the lives of the two men; their ambitions, their dreams, the downfall of one and the rise of the other. Using his exclusive interviews with both Tyson and Douglas, family members, the referee, the cutmen, trainers and managers, commentators and HBO staff covering the fight in Tokyo, Layden has crafted a human drama played out on a large stage. The result is a compelling and classic account of shattered dreams and, ultimately, redemption. Joe Layden is an award-winning author and former journalist who regularly covered professional boxing during the height of Mike Tyson's championship reign. He lives in upstate New York.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #182338 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Review
"'Deft, sweet prose... The book is better than the fight and the fight was a wonder.' - Leigh Montville, bestselling author of The Big Bam 'Takes you into the corners, the locker rooms, the minds of the two protagonists, producing revelations that arrive in combinations and a story that packs a heavyweight punch' - Wayne Coffey, bestselling author of The Boys of Winter"

About the Author
Joe Layden is an award-winning author and former journalist who regularly covered professional boxing during the height of Mike Tyson's championship reign. He lives in upstate New York.

Customer Reviews

A must for any boxing fan interested in the upset of the century
An extremely well written, balanced account of what many say is the greatest upset in the history of sports. If you want to know what really happened to Douglas and Tyson; before and after their battle in Tokyo, then look no further.

A great book chronicling a great event
This is a wonderful book. Extremely well written, detailed and full of insight and anecdote about and surrounding what many regard as the greatest sporting upset ever.
What marks this book out from many others of the same ilk is how it manages to portray its two protagonists as human beings - as real people. This is a striking achievement on its own when we consider the brutality and base animalism at the heart of a 'sport' where the intention is to render an opponent physically defenceless by beating him about the head!

Refreshingly, this book doesn't focus on 'Iron' Mike Tyson, or on the myth of his one-time invincibility. The fully rounded treatment of James `Buster' Douglas is welcome, as it `fills in the blanks' for many people who know Douglas ONLY as the guy who beat Tyson. Even Tyson himself is portrayed sympathetically - but not in a fawning or sycophantic way. On the contrary, Tyson's various weaknesses and personal demons before and after 1991 are amply described.

One of the best books about boxing I have read. I would recommend this book for boxing fans and non fans alike.

Essential for any boxing enthusiast
This is a fabulous in-depth look at one of the biggest upsets in sports history- James Buster Douglas' victory over the then seemingly unstoppable Mike Tyson. The author does a terrific job of chronicling the lives of both boxers, before and after the bout. Much has been said and written about this event before, but this was by far the best account I had come across. Even though you know what the outcome will be, you are still racing through the pages in anticipation of the inevitable knockout.
Joe Layden has done an absolutely sterling job here and I hope that he continues to write about the sport of boxing. Behind Donald McRae's brilliant Dark Trade, this is my favourite boxing book and it is easily the best I have read about Mike Tyson. Fortunately this is a fairly recent publication so there is a lot of information about the last years of both fighters careers. Simply put- this is an essential purchase for any boxing fan.