Fight for Respect : Boxing: James (Buster) Douglas has not forgotten his struggle to the top. And he’s still battling to be taken seriously.

James (Buster) Douglas says he always was overlooked as a contender and is being overlooked again now that he’s the heavyweight champion of the world.

“The way some people may view it is I just walked down the street and decided to fight (Mike Tyson). . . . But I’ve always been in there; I’ve always been in the trenches fighting,” Douglas said Wednesday.

Douglas won the undisputed title with a 10th-round knockout of Tyson on Feb. 10. Before that night in Tokyo, Douglas had been considered talented but uninspired, a threat lacking heart.

“I was always the one on all the major undercards. I wasn’t the one they looked at. . . . They didn’t know they were moving right past the man who was going to do it all, who was going to shock the world,” Douglas said.

He is in training for his first title defense Oct. 25 in Las Vegas against No. 1 contender Evander Holyfield. Douglas said he has more than enough motivation.

“I haven’t forgotten the way it was just six months ago, the way it was going into the (title) fight. That’s what’s going to keep me here as champion,” he said.

“There are things I think about now when I’m running or training,” Douglas said. “Like how long it took me to get (the title). Or what it’ll take to stay there and maintain it. I’ve seen it from both sides.”

After beating Tyson, Douglas announced he would fight only twice more--against Holyfield and then a rematch with Tyson. But Douglas now says he will fight former heavyweight champion George Foreman after Holyfield and then take on Tyson.

Douglas plans to fight for another three or four years.

After making more than $1 million for fighting Tyson, he will be paid an estimated $25 million for the Holyfield fight. Those figures just add to the amazing changes he has seen this year.

“This whole thing has been a surprise,” he said. “Everything that’s happened is beyond my imagination, beyond belief.”