Tucker spent a year out of the ring due to injury, and he had drug problems.Those two things, if anything, hurt his development.He should have been making major moves around '82 and '83, instead of '86 and '87. He had no business losing in the Western Regionals in '80 to DeLucia.
He had complicated managerial difficulties too, if i remember rightly. He kept changing trainers and managers, I think his father signed him up in several directions at once. Here he is in his pro debut (looking a bit skinny) : [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JotJ0Iyc3Rk[/ame]
I don't know. Could be. Chris McDonald and Davey Moore debuted on the same card. Tony Ayala was fighting his 5th pro fight. And "veteran" Freddie Roach was on the bill too.
I've always wondered if Spinks might have beaten Tucker had they fought around 1987, like they were technically supposed to. Tucker was big, but not terribly aggressive and guys who could jab fairly well had the tendency to land on him pretty regularly.. I might be inclined to picking Spinks by a close decision, but then who knows how good Spinks really was as a heavyweight and in 1987.