Tomato Can (sports Idiom) - Surprises and Upsets

Surprises and Upsets

Victory over a "tomato can" is not a certainty. Journeyman boxers generally regarded as "tomato cans" have been known to provide surprising challenges to champions and in several instances, cause shocking upsets against supposedly superior opponents.

On March 24, 1975, Muhammad Ali faced Chuck Wepner, a lightly regarded but popular boxer from New Jersey. A former nightclub bouncer, Wepner was nicknamed "The Bayonne Bleeder" and was considered a washed-up contender with a mediocre record. Don King selected Wepner as a "tomato can" to provide an easy victory for Ali after his famous win over George Foreman. In a surprising turn of events, Wepner scored a disputed knockdown in the ninth round, and survived 19 seconds short of the distance, before losing to a TKO in the 15th round. Wepner's bout with Ali provided the inspiration for Sylvester Stallone's movie Rocky. Rocky III would continue this trend where Rocky himself was accused by Clubber Lang of defending his championship with "tomato cans", which Rocky's trainer later confirmed was in fact true (though Rocky didn't realize it at the time).

In a fight on February 11, 1990, Mike Tyson lost his championship to James "Buster" Douglas in Tokyo. The victory over Tyson, the previously undefeated "baddest man on the planet" and the most feared boxer in professional boxing at that time, at the hands of the 42-1 betting odds underdog Douglas, has been described as one of the most shocking upsets in modern sports history. Douglas was widely regarded as a "tomato can", lined up to provide an easy victory for Tyson at that time. Later, Douglas lost his first title defense against Evander Holyfield and was never able to successfully compete at such a high level again.