Posted: 05 Jul 2007, 04:56
Sounds very much like the Tyrell Biggs story. Rushed to a title shot against Tyson before he imploded into a nasally-induced black hole.KOJOE90 wrote:Well as a big Leon fan I sometimes think that Leon was at his peak as an amatuer where he was a feared force of nature and may well have been the best Light-Heavyweight USA amateur ever. From what I have read Leon seemed to really enjoy his amateur days, traveling the World representing his state or country without the pressures of the professional world. As an amatuer Leon became good friends with his team mate Aaron Pryor and I have always felt their respective styles were not that disimular (in or out of the ring). I think Leon holds some sort of KO record as a American amateur. He was a beast in the vest, and I truely believe he would have given Evander Holyfield all the trouble he could handle in a amateur fight (had they been around at the same time of course).stujones wrote:Crying shame about what happend to Spinks after. History will always say that Spinks' title win was more Ali's doing than his own.... and whilst that is true to a certain degree, he was a damn good fighter and if he hadn't pissed up his life he could have been a real contender for Holmes in the Holmes era.
But then he turned professional. Unlike his younger brother Micheal, Leon never had the maturity to deal with the media spotlight and pressures of the paid ranks. Leon loved to fight but hated to train and once he turned professional and had money in his pocked for the first time in his life he was like a starving kid in a sweet store, out of control.
The way he was rushed into a title shot may well have been the best way to deal with him to be honest. At least he can say he beat 'The Greatest' as was the Heavyweight Champion of the World, even though he didn't have the mental tools to deal with that situation.
If he had have been brought along slowly from the start, and his management planned for him to have about 20 fights then have a title shot around 1981, that would have meant keeping Leon clean for another three years which was never going to happen and he would have lost to some fringe contender. Then his career would have carried on the way it did anyway, fighting on way too long just for a few $$'s.
If Leon had been as clean living and dedicated as Michael I have no doubt he could have competed with the Witherspoons, Dokes, Tates, Pages and Tubbs etc. But he wasn't.
