Getty Buster Douglas' victory over Mike Tyson might be the most stunning upset in the history of sports.
ESPN’s documentary series “30 for 30” will tackle Buster Douglas’ stunning upset of Mike Tyson for the undisputed heavyweight title in 42 to 1, debuting on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET.
If you don’t have cable or a TV, here’s how you can watch the newest documentary online:
If you’re looking for a live stream of ESPN, which will broadcast 42 to 1 at 9 p.m. ET, “Hulu with Live TV” offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN News. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the documentary as it airs on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials), allowing you to record the film whenever it airs.
Another option if you’re looking to watch the documentary live as it airs is Sling TV, which includes ESPN and ESPN2 in its “Sling Orange” bundle. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the documentary as it airs on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
Every previous “30 for 30” documentary can be watched on ESPN+, ESPN’s new digital streaming service that includes tons of original programming, as well as live football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, tennis, rugby, cricket, college sports and other events, and 42 to 1 will be added to the library on January 1.
You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.
Additionally, you can find all of the previous “30 for 30” docs on your computer here, and if you’re on the app, you can just search for whatever one you want to watch.
Preview
Promoter Don King intended for Tyson’s fight with Douglas — at the Tokyo Dome on February 11, 1990 — to be the former’s tune-up for a hyped bout with Evander Holyfield.
“Buster Douglas is a dog,” King said before the fight, according to The News-Herald. “He’s always been a quitter. Really, that’s why I picked him.” The challenger entered the fight with a 29-4-1 record. Tyson was 37-0.
After getting dropped by a Tyson uppercut in the eighth round, Douglas beat the count, then knocked the champ out in Round 10.
Las Vegas oddsmaker Jimmy Vaccaro, a subject of the film, set the odds at 42-to-1 at the Mirage.
“I opened the Buster Douglas/Tyson fight at 27-to-1 and people jumped on Tyson,” Vaccaro told Gambling Online Magazine in 2015. “The first bet I took was for $81,000 to win $3,000. I moved it to 32-to-1 and the next guy bet something like $93,000 to win $3,000. And since we were the only place offering odds, everybody had to come to the Mirage if they wanted to bet. … So, eventually it got up to 42-to-1 and by adjusting numbers to get two-way action, we were in a spot where if Tyson lost we could win $104,000 and if Tyson won we would gain $3,000. So we had no risk in the outcome and great publicity with every news outlet in the world coming to the Mirage. And after Tyson lost, we were the only place that could talk about it because we were the only ones who had odds on the fight.”
Eight months after the upset, Holyfield took Douglas’ undisputed heavyweight title with a knockout in the third round.
The film is a passion project for ESPN reporter Jeremy Schaap, who co-directed with Ben Houser.
“It was October last year and I was having lunch with Libby Geist (ESPN’s vice president), who is an old friend,” Schaap told Awful Announcing, “and we were talking about projects, and she said, ‘Is there anything that you want to do?’, and I said ‘I haven’t really thought about it, but the thing I’ve always wanted to do is the Buster Douglas story, it’s always been in my back pocket.’ And I told her why it’s a great story, and I think more than anything else, she was impressed with my passion for it and my enthusiasm. And the next day she said ‘All right, let’s do it.’”
Schaap chose to focus on Douglas’ relationship with his father, William “Dynamite” Douglas, a middleweight who went 42-16-1 in his career.
“To me, the heart of the story is this father-son dynamic, this relationship with his father Billy,” Schaap added. “And even fight fans I know, aficionados, don’t know that his father was a fighter (as William “Dynamite” Douglas), much less his trainer, a contender, and a guy whose reputation in the game was the polar opposite of Buster’s.”