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Tyson To Fight Douglas Oct. 2

August 5, 1999 / 7:59 PM EDT / AP

Mike Tyson will make his latest comeback against perhaps his biggest nemesis when he fights Buster Douglas on Oct. 2 at the MGM Grand Garden.

Tyson promoter Dan Goossen denied a deal had been struck, but the Washington Times, CNN/SI and the New York Daily News all reported the news Tuesday and Wednesday and a source confirmed it to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Tyson's boxing adviser, Shelly Finkel, was flying from New York to Scottsdale, Ariz., to watch Tyson train and could not be reached for comment.

Tyson lost his undisputed heavyweight championship to Douglas in one of the most shocking upsets in boxing history when he was knocked out in the 10th round of their fight on Feb. 11, 1990, in Tokyo. Douglas went off as a 42-1 underdog, but dominated the bout and put Tyson out with a series of punches in the 10th.

Douglas lost the title to Evander Holyfield in his first defense, then was out of boxing for six years.

Douglas launched a comeback, but has looked like a shell of himself in recent fights. He was knocked out in the first round by Lou Savarese in June 1998 and won his last two bouts by knockout against nondescript opposition.

Tyson will be making his third return to boxing. He will fight for the first time since he knocked out Frans Botha in the fifth round with a single punch on Jan. 16 at the MGM. Shortly after that fight, Tyson served time in a Maryland jail assaulting two men following a traffic accident.

Douglas, 38, will have to undergo an exhaustive series of medical tests by the commission before he is approved to fight because of his age.