Two of the greatest 175 lb men ever. I've always struggled with this one. One factor I'll do my best to deter others going on is their different rates of success in the heavyweight division. Spinks beat a very faded Larry Holmes whilst Foster's biggest bouts were against a prime Joe Frazier and a still very dangerous Muhammad Ali. Also,Bob did n't have the more modern methods of bulking up that Michael had. I'll be back on this when I've made my mind up. Very close to call.
I'm going to catch flak for this, but I'm not all that sold on Foster as the end-all at LHW. I think Spinks at that weight is awkward enough, smart enough, and dangerous enough to make Foster not just wade in. Hence, Spinks ekes out a close, possibly disputed decision. I don't think there's a lot of clean punching in this thing and it would be hard to score. Spinks just had this thing about him where he could simply take the play away from his best opponents. He might not steamroll the very best ones, but he knew how to nullify stuff. This fight is about nullifying.
Based on the great point Sal pointed out, I think Michael does enough nullifying of Bob to take a close unanimous verdict, no knockdowns.
What we learned from Finnegan is that Bob could dissect as well as smash. Concerning himself more so with spotting mistakes than creating opportunities, he flashed his left shoulder and then came back with a cross; a neat move repeated en route to victory. Spinks' high guard and straight jolts would bruise Foster, though he must be versatile on the night. I believe Foster is the one who can (and will) impose himself, forcing Michael into different parts of the ring. I'm not sure how he would react to Bob's flicking jab - it was very quick. Getting inside those long arms, making use of a fine uppercut, and then zig-zagging might be the ticket. Heavier blows controlling the action or sharper punches landing more frequently. This fight is designed to split the audience.
Excellent posts from SalSan and Ted ... I honestly do not know ... Both true terrific bangers at 175 with far more game than just punching ... Spinks would be fighting a slightly taller man with a longer reach .. I do think that in Mustafa Muhammad and Qwai might have been better than anyone Foster ever defeated at 175 and I say that knowing Muhammad was not 100 percent .. he was still a nasty fighter ... a hell of a match up ...
Spinks would figure him out but Foster would not figure out Spinks. Spinks UD. Probably. Very hard to call tough. SD perhaps.
I think it's a very reasonable scenario. Spinks threw off the timing of lots of very good fighters with his herky jerky moves . I go for Foster , but not with any great confidence.
If Spinks could drop his Jinx over Foster's low left jab , things would get mighty intereresting, very tough fight to predict. I will go for Belting Bob though.
Both GREAT light heavyweights. I'm not sure about Michael not getting stopped though...I mean, he did take some heavy shots from Eddie and Dwight but I think Foster was more powerful. I'm going to say Foster by TKO if it's longer than a 12 round fight. If under, I give it to Michael by SD...and I think both guys could get knocked down.