Great Mike Tyson Posters: The Night The Heavyweights Died

In our Boxing Posters for Sale post we promised a look at some of our favorite Mike Tyson posters on sale at Bob Pace Boxing Memorabilia Store. Here’s number two of our favorite four.

Fight: Mike Tyson (37-0) vs. Buster Douglas (29-4-1)
Date: February 11, 1990
Site: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo Japan

We all know what happened on this fateful night. Jabandgrapple.com is still trying hoping that the ending changes the next time it is on ESPN Classic. It never does.

Bob Pace’s store tells us that this poster is the scarcest one of the three issued for the fight. A poster’s rareness = higher value. Most poster designs on the site can be grouped into two categories: 1) poster features a picture of one boxer and 2) poster features a picture of two equally sized competitors.

This poster is a startling exception. Tyson stands in the foreground while a small Douglas stands behind him. Even stranger is that Tyson’s visage is out of focus and obscured and Buster is crisp and clear.

We find the poster incredibly foreboding. Tyson looks fatigued rather than fierce. His image takes the poster’s center stage but it’s still caught in a shadow. His jaw is shaded in darkness and his face is blasted by the light. Douglas, meanwhile, lurks in the background confused but in a clearer focus. He’s haunting Tyson sucking his energy winning the fight.

The fight scene above the stylized oil portraits looks eerily similar to Tyson’s disastrous corner knockout. It’s all too much to take.

Poster price: $200
at Bob Pace Boxing Memorabilia Store