The night Buster Douglas fought in Iowa

In February 1999, James 'Buster” Douglas was already the answer to a trivia question.

It was nine years after he accomplished something that so many athletes say they've done, but are severely exaggerating.

He shocked the world.

Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson 25 years ago today in Tokyo to become the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Nine years later, he was fighting a plump fellow named Andre Crowder, who would eventually retire as a boxer with a career record of 8-55-4.

The venue was Memorial Auditorium in Burlington, Iowa. It was built on the Mississippi River's west bank, and opened in 1939. It will feature a Led Zeppelin tribute band called Zoso on Feb. 21.

Think Floyd will be there in April. That's right, Think Floyd.

But on one night 16 years ago this month, Buster Douglas fought there. And almost no one noticed.

After Douglas' fight, such as it was, I found myself alone in the basement of a humble, old auditorium, asking a former world heavyweight champion questions. He was very likable. Which only made the whole night seem sadder to me.

Here's the column I wrote from that unusual night in Burlington with the first man to beat Mike Tyson:

BURLINGTON - On a February night in 1990, journeyman James 'Buster” Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in Tokyo to become boxing's world heavyweight champion.

He shocked the planet.

Friday night in a humble arena on the west bank of the Mississippi River, Douglas knocked out a tomato can named Andre Crowder in front of a sellout crowd of 1,500.

The planet didn't notice.

It wasn't on pay-per-view or HBO or ESPN. If you weren't present, you didn't see it. Nor did you miss much. Douglas nailed Crowder with a left hook that broke his nose, and the bout was stopped 61 seconds after it started.

The fans, who wanted to see a former world champ work for at least a few rounds, jeered. Someone in the balcony lobbed a cup full of beer into the ring, and the horizontal Crowder got wet. Another spectator threw in a box of popcorn. Unperturbed, Douglas put on his ruby-red robe, left the debris behind, and returned to his cubbyhole of a dressing room in one of Memorial Auditorium's catacombs.

For Crowder, the first-round KO loss matched his performances over the years against Andrew Golota, Tyrell Biggs and James 'Bonecrusher” Smith. For the 258-pound Douglas, the effort was a baby step toward what he hopes is a return to fame and riches. He turns 39 in April, and here he was fighting in Burlington.

'At this point, the only thing left for me is a fight with Tyson,” Douglas said. 'I think that would be an attractive fight. It would draw some attention and catapult me to bigger and better things like a world title shot.”

The question had to be asked. You do know Tyson is back in jail, don't you?

'Yeah, but they're talking about releasing him in a couple months, maybe, and allowing him to fight again,” Douglas replied.

Oh, my. Tyson was sent to jail for a year this month for his assault of two motorists. He could be freed after six months for good behavior, but a Tyson-Douglas fight? It was talked about before Tyson's incarceration, but now it seems more like Buster‘s fantasy.

Still, you can't blame Douglas for wanting to reunite with the man who was his opponent the night that put him in the history books. He weighed 231 that night, and was a sharp, devastating fighter for 10 rounds against Tyson, who entered the fight unbeaten and a 42-to-1 favorite to keep his title.

Eight months later, Douglas weighed 246. He was easy pickings for Evander Holyfield, who today reigns as world champion.

Douglas didn't compete for six years after the loss to Holyfield in Las Vegas. He never retired, he simply stopped fighting. Instead, he ate and drank. He mushroomed to 400 pounds. In 1994, he went into a diabetic coma. He survived, and slowly trimmed down. He began fighting again. He won six straight contests against warm bodies.

But last June, Douglas had a pay-per-view fight with Lou Savarese, who was trying to stop a two-bout losing streak after winning his first 36, including his own 1-round KO of Crowder back in 1990. Savarese dropped a weak, flabby Douglas three times in the first round, and that was that.

Friday's fight was Douglas' second since the Savarese debacle. He still hasn't beaten anyone of distinction since that night in Tokyo nine years ago. But he continues to dream of being a headliner.

That would be mildly amusing if Douglas were a jerk or punk. But he seems like a decent soul. He coaches his 8-year-old son's flag football team. He said he liked Burlington. ('Great town, great people.”) He even liked the auditorium, calling it 'a beautiful venue,” even though it is little more than Cedar Rapids' Veterans Memorial Coliseum with a new coat of paint.

Douglas does talk about moving on with his life if his hallucination of a Tyson fight doesn't materialize, because he has a family to support.

'No doubt, no doubt,” he said. 'It's time. If it doesn't happen in the next four months, that'll probably be it for Buster Douglas.”

But fighters say things like that all the time, and they just keep coming back. The former heavyweight champion of the world is how Douglas is introduced everywhere he goes, and there will always be a promoter in some hamlet willing to put that in bright red letters on a marquee.

In Burlington, Douglas topped a card that featured fighters nicknamed 'The Mexican Assassin,” 'The Nebraska Disasta,” and, simply, 'The Rat.”

Middleweight Ray 'The Rat” Domenge of Omaha became a fan favorite only when the overbearing ring announcer informed the crowd of Domenge's nickname during the first round of his fight against Jesse Aquino.

Before their six-round battle ended, the crowd chanted 'Rat! Rat! Rat! Rat!” It may have influenced the judges, who gave Domenge a split decision win over the previously undefeated Aquino.

At least it was a better fight than the opener, which saw a 300-pounder named Robert Johnson perform like a bull in a china shop. Johnson had a glass gut, and surrendered to his foe within two minutes.

'I don't make many guarantees,” the announcer barked, 'but I guarantee things can only get better.”

The night ended with another first-round knockout, courtesy of the former world heavyweight champion.

'I appreciate the opportunity to come here and work,” Douglas said. 'I just wish I could have showed a little more tonight.”

Before one of Friday's bouts, the announcer breathlessly noted that novelty-act fighter Eric 'Butterbean” Esch, the 315-pound, self-proclaimed 'King of the Four-Rounders” might be fighting in Burlington in April.

'I gotta come see Butterbean,” one fan enthusiastically told a friend as he left the building.

High times along the Mississippi.