BoxRec

The Tyson that showed up for the Spinks fight. Just watched it again
after several years & the speed+power he displayed was something to
behold. Tyson actually put Spinks on the canvas with a body shot &
when he took a count Mike was like "I'll Hit You Again If You Get Up!"

I'm convinced Tyson was in a different league than sluggers like Liston,
Shavers, Foreman, etc.... His killer instinct was/is UNMATCHED.

No man is ever unbeatable.

Spinks was scared going into the fight. It's common knowledge that if you have even the slightest skill and can stand up to Mike Tyson, you have a chance of beating him.

damien590 wrote:The Tyson that showed up for the Spinks fight. Just watched it again
after several years & the speed+power he displayed was something to
behold. Tyson actually put Spinks on the canvas with a body shot &
when he took a count Mike was like "I'll Hit You Again If You Get Up!"

I'm convinced Tyson was in a different league than sluggers like Liston,
Shavers, Foreman, etc.... His killer instinct was/is UNMATCHED.

You can tell from the 90 seconds or so that the fight lasted that he could have beaten ANYONE that night? With your rare abilities, you should be a trainer.

I call BULLSHIT

mike spinks beat himself,
he was scared to death, just look at his eyes, he lookes like a deer in front of the headlights on the walk to the ring

mike spinks was in that fight for the payday

Did a prime Tyson have ability to get up on his toes and dance?

npalboxing wrote:Spinks was scared going into the fight. It's common knowledge that if you have even the slightest skill and can stand up to Mike Tyson, you have a chance of beating him.

I have read that Spinks was scared, I find that hard to belive though, Spinks was a true professional, been fighting his whole life fought the best fighters in his era Qawi and Holmes just to name a couple that didnt scare him..I dont get it.

ShoeShine wrote:

npalboxing wrote:Spinks was scared going into the fight. It's common knowledge that if you have even the slightest skill and can stand up to Mike Tyson, you have a chance of beating him.

I have read that Spinks was scared, I find that hard to belive though, Spinks was a true professional, been fighting his whole life fought the best fighters in his era Qawi and Holmes just to name a couple that didnt scare him..I dont get it.

Only Spinks would know for sure. But that's the impression I got as well. Tyson was being hyped as the baddest fighter ever. Qawi and Holmes were never hyped so big. The thought at the time was that not only was this guy going to beat you, he was going to hurt you. Larry Holmes never gave that impression.

I'm talking about the mindset & shape Mike came in for that bout. Spinks
being scared wasn't Mike's problem. Wasn't his fault. I'm just saying it's
not a heavyweight in the history of the sport that would've beaten Mike
ON THAT NIGHT. No one. All the shit talkin Butch Lewis was doing got
spinks knocked out.

I'm really confident in saying that Mike is the biggest waste of talent ever.
He acheieved alot becoming the youngest but could've accomplished
much more. Possibly could've been the greatest ever.

Everybody is so fareweather. Meaning that it wasn't a time when some-
one would say anything bad about Tyson or Roy Jones.

Remember? Totally unbeatable. Then they get past their prime & don't
perform all of the "They Weren't Ever Anygood Or Been Tested."

One day everyone will be saying the same about Mayweather & Jeff Lacy.

Stupid to say that everybody who lost to Tyson were affraid of him. Every fighter has some fear in the ring.. where do you drag the thin red line? Anyways.. I would not ripp that Spinks fight out like it was somethin so special .. cose at that time Mike was always usually difficult to beat. But you could calle it his prime cose after that the team that helped him get to the top was gone. And yes no fighter would be unbeatable even on there best night .. styles make the difference. I don't think that Tyson's life was wasted .. f***k the glory .. or perfect record , life whatever ... He had endure so much and has grown beacose of it... boxing is not everything.. he's life is just begining.

Douglas had no fear as he was absorbed by a family tragedy. Holy the next person to beat him went in twice with no fear. Seems calling Mikes bluff was all it took.

Johnny Bombs wrote:I call BULLSHIT

mike spinks beat himself,
he was scared to death, just look at his eyes, he lookes like a deer in front of the headlights on the walk to the ring

mike spinks was in that fight for the payday

I remember they posted each fighter's overall measurements during the pre-fight hype - reach, chest, arms, neck, etc. Tyson's biceps were as big as Michael Spinks' neck.
Yes, Spinks was definitely scared going into that fight. Just like Michael Grant was scared going into the Lewis fight - I could see it in his eyes while he was walking toward the ring.

npalboxing wrote:Spinks was scared going into the fight. It's common knowledge that if you have even the slightest skill and can stand up to Mike Tyson, you have a chance of beating him.

I disagree, if Spinks was not scared of Larry Holmes, he was not scared of Tyson, he just got plainly knocked out.

It's just like saying Judah was scared of fighting Kostya Tszyu that's why he got knocked out and gave us a little dance.

Its funny how once a couple of people say the same thing its gets accepted as fact. This theory that Tyson wilted anytime anybody stood up to him is garbage!

Tucker stoop up to him. Thomas stood up to him. Williams stood up to him. Ruddock stood up to him. Berbick stood up to him. Bruno stood up to him. Rabalta (sp?.) stood up to him between the 55 times he got knocked down. And they all lost convincingly or got knocked out.

Buster Douglas was not the first guy to stand up to Mike. He was the first guy who had the tools (when he finally decided to get in shape) to catch Mike when he wasn't in shape, had a bunch of incompetent people in his corner, and mistakenly thought he was invincible.

Tyson's downfall perfectly coincided with the rising influence of Don King in his career. When King had full controll and Mike started believing his own hype and didn't feel it was necessary to train, his career was done.

And yes, Spinks was afraid of Tyson in my opinion, but that doesn't mean everyone he fought was scared of him too.

i disagree damien, IMO the joe louis that knocked out max schmelling in there second fight would have knocked out miek tyson. louis was unstoppable that night, he was fighting for his country. he even fractured schmellings back with one punch!!!!

Didnt mean to overstate the "standing up to Tyson" case. The tools and the lack of fear certainly do go together. Wouldnt do me a whole lot of good to "be brave and stand up" to Iron Mike.

Mistachill wrote:It!

Tucker stoop up to him. Thomas stoop up to him. Williams stood up to him. Ruddock stoop up to him. Berbick stood up to him. Bruno stoop up to him. Rabalta (sp?.) stood up to him between the 55 times he got knocked down. And they all lost convincingly or got knocked out.

.

I agree, but those guys didn't have the skills to match their pride. Ruddock didn't throw a jab, all Thomas had WAS the jab, Bruno was slow and had a bad chin, Tucker fought with a broken hand and never showed the will of a true contender . . .Williams was stopped prematurely . . .to a fan of Tyson these seem like excuses but come on we know they are true.

Of course Mike looked devestating. Spinks was scared to death and didn't want to be there. A prime Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Marciano etc were a cut above Spinks in every way. Anyone who had the mental ability along with the talent and confidence are going to give Tyson trouble. Holyfield proved this. I know Tyson wasn't as good then as he was in 88, but he was still very dangerous. Self belief is a huge factor in beating a monster

Good post Mistachill...I see where you are coming from, but I still think those guys were more concerned with going the distance, than actually beating Mike. Bonecrusher to me didn't really try and when he did, Tyson looked bemused and at times silly. They stood up to him, but did NOT challenge him or stamp their authority on him...they were basically there to survive.

Rubio MHS wrote:holyfield would have beaten tysons sorry ass or forced him to foul out on that day or any other.

fornicate tyson up his overrated ass.

Be my guest, Rubio, he's all yours.

A 90 year old grandma wearing a Tyson mask would have beaten Spinks that night.

get ready for this ya'll. spinks would've beaten holyfield easily if they
ever met. spinks was a complete well rounded fighter & resembled
a larger version of Mayweather Jr.

He was just scared of Mike that's all. If it wasn't for Tyson he'd rule the
heavyweights back then because of his slick style. Very slick & Holyfield
would've had hell to even land a decent punch on spinks.

Spinks was slick but not in the same style as Mayweather. He was hard to hit because he was awkward and used a lot of herky-jerky movement.

Threads like these make me miss Terap... Badly.