Yeah, I remember Don King tried to reverse that decision based on that count. I think Douglas just said he followed the count and would have got up quicker if the ref had counted quicker which was fair enough I guess. Yes, it was Japan. Rumours also abound that Iron Mike had an STD when he fought. Nevertheless, Buster was fantastic.
Yeah, Mike might have been feeling the lingering effects of an STD. He may have had it for months, as he was supposed to fight Donovan Ruddock in fall 1989, and Mike cancelled. (Mike would go on to beat Ruddock twice in the first half of 1991.)
Mike fought the wrong fight. He should have fought Francesco Damiani, a much weaker fighter who had the WBO belt, instead. Mike would have been the first 4-belt champion, and at age 23 to boot. We may have also gotten the Tyson-Holyfield fight in 1990, before the Tyson-Ruddock fights.