Mike Tyson got knocked down in sparring by fighter who retired with 17 losses before upset defeat to Buster Douglas

In 1990, Mike Tyson was on the receiving end of one of the biggest upsets in boxing history against James ‘Buster’ Douglas.

Few gave the Ohio puncher any chance of beating ‘Iron Mike’, who was 37-0 at the time and the reigning undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

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Tyson was sent tumbling to the canvas by Greg Page in an open sparring sessionCredit: YouTube

But Douglas, motivated by the death of his mother 23 days before the contest, produced a career-best showing to knock out Tyson in the 10th round in front of a stunned Tokyo Dome crowd.

Reports emerging around the bout claimed Tyson had slacked off in training and was overlooking Douglas after signing to fight Evander Holyfield that summer in Atlantic City.

The writing was seemingly already on the wall when Tyson got decked in sparring by long-time training partner Greg Page in the lead-up to fight night.

Footage from a Japanese television network shows Tyson and Page duking it out in the gym in front of assembled media.

As Tyson lunges in with a left hook he gets caught by a clubbing right hand from Page, which sends him tumbling to the canvas.

He quickly gets up and dusts himself but the sparring session is cut short.

Former super-lightweight world champion Tauyoshi Hamada, who watched both men exchange leather from ringside, said of the blow: “It was clearly a down.

“I watched it at the gym and also saw it on television. It was a right hook from short range.”

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Tyson was knocked out by Douglas in February 1990Credit: Rex Features
However, a trainer at the gym described the action as ‘a slip or push’.

A report from the New York Times claims Tyson sparred with Page again the next day but “quit after three rounds” and decided to take the day off.

At the time, Page was 30-8 and preparing for a fight with Martis Fleming.

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He was a good boxer in his own right and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1984 to 1985.

During the course of a punishing 23-year pro career, Page amassed a record of 58-17-1 which included wins against former world champions Tim Witherspoon, James ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith and Gerrie Coetzee.

Page would make headlines again a year later when he opened a deep cut above Tyson’s right eye just over two weeks before his fight with Alex Stewart.

The gash was caused by a clash of heads during a workout at Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.

Tyson required 48 stitches to close the cut while his fight with Stewart was pushed back three months.

He would go on to win the eventual clash via first-round knockout and quickly followed up his triumph with a pair of victories over Donovan Ruddock.

By beating Ruddock, Tyson became the number one contender to face Holyfield.

But the fight fell by the wayside once again after Tyson was convicted of the rape of Desiree Washington and sentenced to six years in prison.

Eventually when ‘Iron Mike’ returned to boxing, the super fight did happen.

Having regained the WBA crown by beating Bruce Seldon, Tyson vs Holyfield finally took place in 1996.

In a major upset though, ‘The Real Deal’ outboxed and stopped Tyson to take his belt.

When the pair rematched in 1997, all hell infamously broke loose as Tyson bit Holyfield’s ear and was disqualified.

From this point on, his career was never quite the same and he never won another world title.