How would Mike spinks have done against Ali of the Leon fight s?

1985 Spinks? he would easily outbox ali twice

 

Spinks x 2.
Michael was a very good fighter.

 

He'd win the first, second i am still tossing up.

 

I never thought of that. Good one..

 

Great matchup! Agreed - I'd pick Spinks both times ... too strong for Ali at that stage of his career, and an excellent boxer; he might not be able to match brother Leon for aggression, but his ring generalship would more than make up for it in this fantasy fight. Assuming a similar playout for the expected rematch, with Ali showing up in better shape, another decision victory for Michael (Ali didn't win the rematch in '78 - Leon lost it); youth is served.

 

MSpinks wins both of them.

 

I'd better watch the second fight again, looks like Ali was worse than i remember. It's been a looooong time.

 

I'd definitely go with Michael over a 1978 Ali.

 

Ali was running on fumes only at that point JT...barely hanging on.

 

I've forgotten how bad he was tbh. I'm thinking now he was mostly laying around and not doing much at all. Pretty sure i have the rematch on tape and was mixing up his rematch effort with the woeful first.

 

Peoples' memories aren't that strong around here.

Ali was MUCH better in the first fight with Leon Spinks than he was in the rematch. Butch Lewis even said as much in Thomas Hauser's bio of Ali. Lewis said something to the effect that Ali was much worse in fight two, Spinks just didn't train at all for the rematch. He was missing for much of his training camp. They hired Mr. T to try to keep track of Spinks, and Mr T lost him. Lewis was just happy to get Spinks to the Superdome that night so they could all get paid.

In the first fight, Ali spent a lot of time on the ropes covering up because Spinks only had seven fights and Ali figured Leon would exhaust himself after a handful of rounds and Ali would just take him out later. In the rematch, Ali avoided the ropes, and just grabbed anytime Spinks got close. But Ali was awful in fight two. Hell, Ali just threw a jab and an occasional right the whole night. Then he'd grab. Half the time he threw his right, Ali would close his eyes. That's how bad he'd gotten.

The first fight wasn't like that at all. Hell, watch round 15 of Ali-Spinks 1. It's one of the best 15th rounds in heavyweight history.

The 15th round of Ali-Spinks 1 was actually named THE ROUND OF THE YEAR that year, and that was the same year of Holmes-Norton. And round 15 in Holmes-Norton may have been the best round in that fight, too.

Michael Spinks never would've survived the onslaught Ali delivered in the closing rounds of his first fight with Leon. In the final round of fight one, Ali totally goes for the KO. The problem was Leon matched him punch for punch.

I think Ali and Spinks threw AND LANDED more punches in the final round of their first fight than Wlad and Tyson Fury did in all 12 rounds of their bout. (If not, it's close.)

Anyone badmouthing Ali-Spinks 1 needs to go back and watch that again, especially the closing rounds. The final round is still a marvel, considering guys don't even fight 15 rounds anymore, let alone expend that kind of effort in a final round.

I am one of Michael Spinks' biggest fans, and I always have been. But the Michael Spinks who decisioned Larry Holmes would've lost to Ali in February 1978. Hell, I doubt Spinks would've seen the final bell.

Leon just gave one of the single greatest performances in heavyweight history that night. He just wouldn't stop punching hard the whole fight. He could never duplicate that performance again. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a great performance. Any other night in Leon's career, Ali stops him. Because Ali looked better in his first fight with Spinks than he had in the entire previous year (1977).

 

I think nearly all of the 15th round is here, beginning around 3:50. Ali hit Earnie Shavers with half as many punches in the last round of their fight a few months earlier, and had Shavers reeling. Spinks just wouldn't be denied that night.

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