Former boxing champ Buster Douglas says he was bullied as a kid

James "Buster" Douglas, former heavyweight boxing champion, said he was bullied in elementary school in Columbus until his mother told him to stand up for himself.

He said he had to use "A little of both," when asked if he had to physically fight the bully or use his words.

Douglas was in the spotlight Monday morning at the Buckeye Imagination Museum, a cast member in "The Final Contestant" a film about anti-bullying being shot at locations in Mansfield and surrounding areas.

Little Chicago Pictures is shooting and producing the film. Local residents Kimberly Miller with Kelby King, co-owners of Heart of Ohio Films and their nonprofit Mansfield Films, invited media to the filming Monday morning at the museum.

Douglas filmed his scene with kids at the indoor playscape on the main floor of the museum at 175 W. Third St.

The friendly Douglas appeared to feel right at home, surrounded by children and having fun playing in the museum.

Buster Douglas active in Columbus Parks and Recreation Center

He works with children daily and is active in the Columbus Parks and Recreation Center, mentoring and counseling children and being a part of the center's amateur boxing league, the same program he grew up in.

"I deal with them and having a good time. It kind of takes me back to the beginning in the same program I came up through. My dad was a boxing instructor," he said.

A friend of Mansfielder David Kirst of Rominus James Productions, who is partnering with Miller and King on the project, Douglas was recently in one of Kirst's films and Kirst invited him to be in "The Final Contestant."

Douglas said he experienced bullying as a child in elementary school growing up until one day, he came home from school crying and his mother told him to stand up to the bully who was verbally abusing him.

And so he did.

"It can be a rough time in one's life," Douglas told media at the museum. "My mom was the one who brought me through it. I never looked back once I stood up to the bully and seen it was something that could be dealt with, be it physically some times, or just standing up. It can have a very negative effect on an individual and alter one's life," he said. "Fortunately I was able to overcome it and become the man I am today," he added.

A man with a great sense of humor, Douglas said his mother turned him on to standing up for himself and then she had to turn him off.

"Somebody would say something and it was like, smack, whack, bam, bam," he said. "She said you can't just whack 'em because they say something. She said wait until I got touched and then let loose."

Buster's advice to kids

He said his advice to any kids being bullied is to just stand up for yourself.

"Basically it's just another kid not feeling secure through oneself and wanting to take it out on another kid," he said.

Douglas said kids should seek help.

"Don't be quiet about it," he said. He said there are people out there willing to help an individual deal with bullying.

Known throughout the world, Douglas 33 years ago this month became the first person to ever knock out Mike Tyson, earning the title of world heavyweight boxing champion.

Still in physically good shape, Douglas towered above the children in the museum, wearing black athleticwear and a black hat.

Douglas said he began boxing at age 10. The oldest of four kids, he said everyone participated in boxing, and he also played high school basketball.

"It's been a great experience," he said.

The family-friendly film with an anti-bullying theme features three main characters in different situations who all are forced to face the difficulties of bullying. They all become winners by uncovering the strength they need to move past the bullying and towards a brighter future, Miller said.

The three individuals are in different seasons of life. Although they are strangers, they each have one thing in common: They are bullied by someone in their life. Their journeys cross at a talent show where they end up finding the strength they need to let go of the past and begin moving forward with unwavering courage and hope, she said.

Also featured in the film is Breckelle Miller, 8, of Mansfield.

lwhitmir@gannett.com

419-521-7223

Twitter: @LWhitmir

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Former heavyweight boxer in Mansfield to film, "The Final Contestant."