Grilling in the Back Yard with James 'Buster' Douglas, the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World

When I met James "Buster" Douglas, I remember thinking to myself, the Heavyweight Champion of the World is grilling in the backyard! Like most true boxing fans, I could never forget his round 10 Mike Tyson knock out back in 1990. That unexpected victory was broadcast worldwide from Tokyo, Japan.

When it was over, James "Buster" Douglas was the undisputed champ. Boxing fans went crazy with excitement. Until then, no boxer had been big enough and bad enough to take down the infamous "Iron" Mike Tyson. Douglas was the underdog too, which made the knockout even sweeter.

Meeting the champ

James "Buster" Douglas has been out of the ring for years, but he will always be a boxing legend. When Tony Reynolds, Douglas' coauthor, invited my son to interview the champ about his book, he said I was welcome to come along for information to write an article. How could I refuse? We made the trip to Columbus, Ohio on Saturday afternoon May 30, 2009. My son videotaped an interview. I took notes and snapped a few pictures.

I learned quite a few things about James "Buster" Douglas that day. A diabetic coma and near death experience almost took him out in 1994. He considers it a miracle that he's still alive to tell the tale. These days he donates his time to Columbus area charities and he's on a personal diabetes awareness mission. His book, "Buster's Backyard Bar-B-Q" is his way of sharing what he learned about living with the disease. It's filled with stories about his life and diabetic recipes.

James "Buster" Douglas, still big and bad and nice too

Meeting a sports legend was a big thrill for me. Douglas is still a big man, and he's probably just as bad as he was back in 1990. He's open and very friendly. (If you're a fan, you can be his friend on Facebook) He's also pretty good with a backyard grill.

While he talked about his life and his book, he worked the grill like a professional. I know he was only showing us how delicious diabetic cooking could be. Still it was a bit surreal, watching the man who brought Mike Tyson to his knees grilling chicken wings in the backyard. He lays out a mean grill, by the way, and he has his own secret sauce that's pretty tasty.