Michael Spinks
Michael Spinks
what do you think of him? Was he the second best HW in the 80s before he fought mike tyson?
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dr_devious
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overhand_right
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Syntax Error
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Re: Michael Spinks
Superb fighter, but not the 2nd best HW of the 80's, that's Mike Tyson.Jan wrote:what do you think of him? Was he the second best HW in the 80s before he fought mike tyson?
It was a great performance against Holmes but Cooney was not the same fighter. Many thought Spinks lost the Holmes rematch.overhand_right wrote:Not even in the top 10 of the 80s HWs?? WTF!!!
You'll struggle to find a heavy with better results than outpointing the 48-0 Holmes and demolishing Cooney in 5.
Spinks is top 5 no doubt in terms of achievment, even though i feel Tubbs, Spoon, Tucker, and a few others may have overwhelmed him.
Spinks had great mobility for a 1980s HW but he never looked like, or seemed to believe, that he was a 'real' HW.
I honestly think that many big punching HWs of the decade would have beaten Spinks (Bruno, Smith, Coetzee, Weaver) and many of the skilled but erratic guys would have taken him too (Page, Tucker, Spoon, Thomas).
I love Spinks at 175 but at HW he could only beat a particular type of fighter IMO.
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overhand_right
- Heavyweight

But thats all speculatory!
Even if you think Spinks lost the rematch, its still a close loss to an all time great who still had a lot left.
Relying on pure facts, Spinks bumping off a 48-0 Holmes is a better result than any of the heavies you mentioned have on their resume/CV.
If all it took was a puncher to beat Spinks, Cooney would have done it.
Cooney not the same is again speculatory. He was the same old Cooney v Brown/Chaplin/Gregg, the difference is that Spinks didn't stay back & box cautiously as Holmes admitted he did, he was right on Cooney and punched the fight right out of him.
Spinks is #3 heavy of the 80s based on actual results/performance.
Even if you think Spinks lost the rematch, its still a close loss to an all time great who still had a lot left.
Relying on pure facts, Spinks bumping off a 48-0 Holmes is a better result than any of the heavies you mentioned have on their resume/CV.
If all it took was a puncher to beat Spinks, Cooney would have done it.
Cooney not the same is again speculatory. He was the same old Cooney v Brown/Chaplin/Gregg, the difference is that Spinks didn't stay back & box cautiously as Holmes admitted he did, he was right on Cooney and punched the fight right out of him.
Spinks is #3 heavy of the 80s based on actual results/performance.
I still can't go with it. Spinks never seemed like a HW who was going to be around for too long.overhand_right wrote:But thats all speculatory!
Even if you think Spinks lost the rematch, its still a close loss to an all time great who still had a lot left.
Relying on pure facts, Spinks bumping off a 48-0 Holmes is a better result than any of the heavies you mentioned have on their resume/CV.
If all it took was a puncher to beat Spinks, Cooney would have done it.
Cooney not the same is again speculatory. He was the same old Cooney v Brown/Chaplin/Gregg, the difference is that Spinks didn't stay back & box cautiously as Holmes admitted he did, he was right on Cooney and punched the fight right out of him.
Spinks is #3 heavy of the 80s based on actual results/performance.
The wins over Holmes are great results but Cooney was really gone and had hardly tuned up for it as I remember. I really think a fresher more prepared Cooney could have landed the bomb although it was still a fine performance by Spinks. I certainly think a Coetzee, Weaver or Bruno in their pomp could have KO'd Spinks. Mike looked very shaky against Holmes, larry just couldn't follow up.
I had a quick look at records and Witherspoon had wins over Snipes, Page, Tillis, Smith, Tubbs and Bruno in the 1980s, as well as a close loss to Holmes.
To be honest when I looked at records from the 1980s I was surprised (don't know why I should have remembered) at just how patchy the contenders were.
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elmersalsa
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elmersalsa
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The Durable Dane
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