Thad Spencer 'Whats a Guy Have to do get a Shot at Clay'

I suspect many are regretting that they ever did.

 

Another point that is being completely overlooked here when Pepe touts Spencer's high ranking is that Spencer was only ranked that high AFTER the WBA dropped Joe Frazier down arbitrarily because he refused to participate in their tournament.

Joe Frazier, young and green as he was, had a better cause to complain than Spencer who actually saw his stock rise not because of what he did in the ring but because of Frazier decision.

 

Not really, one thing is for sure it's sparked a lot of interesting posts.

Shame Pepe's threads on the smaller guys don't elicit a similar response IMO.

 

I actually have that here;

Oakland Tribune; Thad Spencer said 'I have no ambition and let's be honest Joe Frazier is far more worthy than I am, I suck and am about to go on a big losing streak so don't be looking at me when you're trying to find a title challenger' ;-)

 

He had an 8 month layoff between Jones and Lincoln.

He had a 7 month layoff between Rischer and Lincoln.

He had an 8 month layoff between Leslie and Shiel.

He had a six month layoff between Dugan and Carter.

Despite you saying that he only showed cracks in his dedication AFTER Ali retired (yes I can read between the lines) he actually was never 100% focused on boxing. The guy was married at around 17, had something like five kids by the time he was 25, ended up getting divorced by the time he was 24. So there were always distractions.

If a twenty four year old notches the biggest and most important win of his career while still in a tournament to compete for the ultimate prize and then falls apart before he ever gets to the second round of the tournament that says a lot about where he is headed both potentially and in real time.

 

Well that one didn't turn out as expected did it?
Prime Quarry could fight prime Spencer 10 times and run the table 10-0.

 

No you have consistently picked and posted only those facts that twist the story to your liking, ignoring those that torpedo your overall thesis that Ali is an overrated fraud.

In other instances you either invent or make massive leaps in order to draw conclusions about things that have a much simpler explanation.

 

The quote you use of Spencer plodding forward like an undisciplined gambler, whether consciously or not, was borrowed from Howard Cosell who described his style as a gamblers style. This was nothing new. Spencer took punishment. Its not like he was some fleet footed boxer who moved and danced and never got hit. His style was to slowly work his way inside where he could bang away at the body. In the meantime he took punishment.

Against Quarry it was more about a bad style matchup than Spencer suddenly becoming unfocused. You dont slowly work your way inside Quarrys wheel house. You either get in and get out, or you work in close and better hope you are more durable and can hit harder. Spencer was never a fighter to do any of those things.

Spencer was actually booed when he was introduced prior to the Quarry fight.

He was hurt early in the first round against Quarry by a lead right that caused him to hang on for dear life to Quarry's left leg in order to not go down.

He started to warm up in the third only to get rocked badly twice at the end of the round.

In the fourth, while trying to work his way inside, slowly as ever, Quarry uncorked a left hook that was blocked by Spencer but had so much leverage on it that it pushed Spencers own glove in to his chin with such force Spencer was dropped and hurt.

In the fifth Quarry again rocked Spencer and was so dominant he began to clown Spencer.

Spencer again tried to come back in the sixth but counter hooks and lead rights by Quarry made Spencer wary and when Spencer did throw Quarry made him miss. Just before the bell ending the round Quarry worked Spencer over on the ropes hurting him again.

By this point in the fight Quarry, who was known to have bad stamina, began pacing himself.

The seventh was fought at a slow pace with Spencer beginning to bleed from the nose.

The audience began to boo in the eighth as Quarry began to huff and puff and Spencer seemed unable to take advantage. 45 seconds before the end of the round Spencer was once again hurt but fought back valiantly.

Quarry seemed very tired in the ninth and went to the ropes as Spencer weakly tried to fight his way inside. When the fight was ring center both fighters seemed arm weary. The round ended with a good flurry by both fighters. Quarry returned to his corner bleeding from the mouth but he seemed to take Spencers punches much better than Spencer took his.

Quarry once again took refuge on the ropes in the tenth. Spencer landed punches in this round but nearly every time Quarry made him pay and as in the previous rounds it was Quarry who benefitted from these exchanges which slowly chipped away at Spencer. About 15 seconds before the end of the round Quarry rocked Spencer along the ropes and a few seconds later spun him in the same position and then dumped him hard with a right hand. A beautiful tactical move.

By this point Spencer could only win by a kO.

In the eleventh Quarry began to box and move, choosing instead to preserve his overwhelming lead rather than follow up on his advantage from the previous round. Even with this uncharacteristic tactic by Quarry he was able to bounce punches off of Spencer's forehead and hurt him. Spencer's right eye and nose showed a slight swelling. At the end of the round both fighters exchanged hard left hooks yet it was Spencer who backed away with Quarry motioning as if to say "where are you going, Im right here on the ropes."

Quarry was cocky and confident in the final round, coming out shaking his head as if to say "you dont have a chance." For much of the round Quarry fought defensively as Thad, to his credit came out throwing leather in an attempt to change the fight around. His effort tired him however and left him open to counters. Quarry took advantage 30 seconds prior to the end by rocking Spencer with a right hand. Quarry followed up with a barrage, chasing Spencer around the ring when the ref stepped in and stopped the contest just seconds before the final bell.