Greatest Underdog Stories Of All Times

Sometimes the impossible happens! People tend to cheer for the underdogs except when bets are concerned, or your favorite is the opponent. This article will recall the greatest underdog stories of all times!

The Least Expected Winner

One of the most incredible stories in the history of sports is when the ninth child of an American farming family beat the greatest wrestler of all time, the Russian Alexander Karelin, who everyone believed to be unbeatable. Rulon Gardner prevented the legendary giant from becoming the sport’s first four-time Olympic champion.

It all happened in 2000, in Sydney, at the Summer Olympic Games. At the Olympics, Aleksandr Karelin reached the finals of the 130 kg weight group of wrestlers in a way that none of his opponents could catch him on the way to the finals. 

Rulon Gardner was an unknown wrestler compared to Karelin, and his road to the finals was not easy. The American originally had to wrestle one match more in the group against a Tunisian, an Armenian, and an Italian wrestler. The latter, Giuseppe Giunta, almost defeated Gardner.

His semi-final was not without excitement either since he won only by a hair’s breadth against the Israeli Yevshejcs. However, Gardner, who his schoolmates called Dumbo because of his stature, could not be defeated in this semi-final either. So, in 2000, the Russian Karelin and the American Gardner reached the Olympic finals in the 130 kg class in Greco-Roman wrestling.

So there was not a single person on earth who believed that Karelin could lose the Olympics. However, Gardner pulled the unthinkable in the finals in 2000. Karelin announced before the final that this would be his last match and that he would retire after the Olympics. The final hadn’t even started, but the audience was already celebrating Karelin as the winner.

Then everyone watched in shock as the first three minutes went by, and there was no action. According to the rules, a lock followed. The point was that if one of the wrestlers’ hands slipped out of the grip, the opponent earned a point.

Gardner is the Luckiest Man!

Karelin’s hand, who was the favorite, slipped for a second. A long video analysis followed, after which the judges gave Gardner a point. The American won the Olympics with this one point, without action. There were still five and a half minutes after the lock, but Karelin could not achieve anything against the giant man. However, this was not the only time when Garder beat the odds! In 2002, Rulon Gardner went snowmobiling in Idaho’s Salt River Valley with his friends. 

In the minus 27-degree cold, his snowmobile got stuck, then set off on foot but got lost. He spent hours alone in the forest. When they found him, his body temperature was only 32 degrees, and the middle toe of his right foot had to be amputated. His body shook from the cold, but he knew he shouldn’t fall asleep. In the most difficult moments, Gardner thought about the Olympic victory, which gave him enough strength to survive.

In 2004, he won a bronze medal at the Athens Olympics before escaping a motorcycle accident. He was knocked off his brand new Harley Davidson by a car. In 2007, with two of his friends, they took off in a Cirrus SR-22 plane, but the plane crashed. Gardner survived that too. The plane landed in the icy waters of Lake Powell. The three friends swam ashore, then huddled together to warm each other. That’s how they survived. Gardner’s life is full of unexpected events, which you can follow at online gambling sites in the US!

Greatest Underdog Stories of All Times

In terms of major international tournaments, the Greek soccer team’s victory in the European Championship was the most surprising achievement to date. According to many, the performance of the decade was what the German coach and the Greek national team did in 2004.

Before this, they could not even win a match in the history of the European Championships, and in 2004 they did not stop until the ultimate victory. The Greeks beat Portugal 2-1 in their first match, which was the opening match of the entire tournament. It was already 2-0 at the beginning of the second half, and Cristiano Ronaldo was only able to score when it no longer had significance. 

The Greek players had so much adrenaline that nobody could sleep after the match because everyone was watching the summaries again and listening to the commentators. The Greeks, who always entered the field as underdogs, organized their defense based on the attacking style of the opponent. Also, they always made sure that a player remained behind for defense. For those who like the tactical part of soccer, this Greek team was a real treat, as they took advantage of the few opportunities to score goals.

The usual Greek recipe also worked against the Czechs and French teams. No one wanted to believe their eyes when the Greek national team reached the final. The tournament ended the way it started, with a Portugal-Greece match, and to everyone’s surprise, the Greeks won again.

Nikopolidisz did not let a goal in, as he never did during the tournament, but the Greeks scored again. This is definitely one of the greatest underdog stories of all times though according to Bovada, fans did not always appreciate their methods and playing styles!

Tyson’s Shocking Defeat

In the summer of 2019, an unexpected victory shook the boxing world! Andy Ruiz knocked out heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua almost out of nowhere. However, the real surprise happened thirty years ago, in 1990, when Buster Douglas knocked out the undefeated Mike Tyson in what everyone considered a practice match. The legendary match drastically changed the lives of both athletes. By 1990, Mike Tyson had become such a prominent figure in heavyweight boxing that his dominance was becoming monotonous. 

By the end of 1989, he had a record of 37 wins and 0 defeats, and only four of his matches reached points. Defeating Carl Williams in 1989 was his ninth title defense in a row, and after knocking out Michael Spinks in 1988, he won four heavyweight belts, the WBC, WBA, IBF, and The Ring. Before the 1990 match, Douglas was only seventh on the heavyweight list, so no one expected too much from him, and rightly so. The then 29-year-old Douglas was not considered a particularly good boxer. He did not win a title before, so the fans just waved the match off. 

Everyone was already waiting for the Tyson-Holyfield super fight. Moreover, Tyson was in the best form. In 1988, he knocked out Michael Spinks, who was also undefeated until then, in 91 seconds, and in 1989, in his last fight before the Tokyo match, he won against Carl Williams in 93 seconds. Then match against Douglas was essentially unsellable in the US. No one wanted to pay for another boxing event which they expected to be over in two minutes. That’s why they organized the event in Tokyo.

Greatest Underdog Stories of All Times

There was only one casino in Las Vegas where people could bet on the match, but only a few bets came in. Douglas, who is 192 cm tall and usually weighs 100 kilos, was not famous for always being in great shape. He had to work hard to get rid of his excess weight, which he often failed at, which is why he has collected four defeats before. He was taller and heavier than Tyson, and thanks to his height, his punching distance was also greater, and he arrived in exceptionally good shape. 

In the first round, it immediately became clear that this would not be Tyson’s usual fight because the match was still going on after 100 seconds. Eventually, Tyson attacked and got in some brutal hits, and in the tenth round, when he initiated again, the pain and strain caused by the blows he received started to show.

One of his eyes swelled shut because he endured perhaps the most hits of his professional career, more than 100 hits in one game. Sensing this, Douglas caught Tyson with a couple of smaller punches, and after the fourth left jab, he prepared the fatal blow with a huge right uppercut. 

The uppercut was followed by three more blows to Tyson’s head in a row. It caused the heavyweight champion to fall in the ring for the first time in his career. The camera next to the ropes perfectly captured the moments when Tyson tries to gather himself during the count.

He put the mouthguard back in his mouth and tried to stand up, but Octavio Meyran did not allow him to continue fighting. Some bet over $50,000 in hopes of a $2,000 profit, and others wagered $93,000 to win $3,000 with Tyson’s win. Even though Tyson would never agree, this was one of the greatest underdog stories of all times! Click on the link and check out the sorest losers in sports!

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