The Spinks that beat Ali V the Cooper that ALMOST beat Ali ( That's a Ali that's about 14 year's younger tho !) Anyway 15 round s , Who take s it ?
Sorry Fergy I was rushing off somewhere! I think if we’re talking about that high energy version of Leon who beat an admittedly unmotivated Ali I think that version would be too much for Henry. Apart from what was arguably a dubious points decision over Folley, every time Cooper stepped up into true world class he was knocked out or TKO’d. I suppose it’s arguable if Leon was ever true world class but I think he’d have enough at that time to see off Henry. Having said that Leon’s chin wasn’t the best and it’s not inconceivable that he could walk onto the ‘ammer and be stopped!
No worries Cecil ,I'm all over the place myself today . I'm thinking if Leon's Chin here ,he was flattered against Ali in both fight s , obvious Muhammad could no longer produce a ko punch so Spinks got thru 30 round s . And as u say , every time Henry really stepped up he was stopped .Spinks had youth and less wear and tear ,so saying that ,I'll go for Spinks a bit to lively for him and at some point his faster hand's open up the old scar tissue and Enery s eyes will bubble . Spinks wins rsc 8 .
Leon Spinks fought great for 15 rounds the night he defeated Ali. By comparison, Henry Cooper landed one shot, couldn't follow up on it, and never saw the sixth round. That night, Leon beats a lot of top heavyweights in history, Cooper included. He showed great handspeed. Tireless energy. A huge will to win. And a solid chin. I love watching that fight. Leon fought great. It was one of the very few great nights in his career. But you can't take it away from him. He did it that night. The Leon who fought Dwight Qawi loses to Cooper, though. Leon was a train wreck that day.
Cuts would be an even bigger issue for Cooper against Spinks, because Leon was a swarmer. He didn't stand straight up in the European style like a Jack Bodell. I could see Leon cutting him and stopping Cooper, or pounding and stopping Cooper like Patterson did. Realistically, I don't think Cooper was any better than Evangelista or Mercado. Renaldo Snipes caught Holmes and dropped him. But Snipes wasn't a bomber. Same with Cooper. Cooper didn't stop Ali. He landed one good shot, and Ali got up. Other than that, Henry wasn't really in either fight. And Cooper didn't really stop anyone of note. Everyone of note beat Cooper.
I agree with most of what you say. However if you look at the two Ali fights Cooper was in both fights and actually fought well.
It's really pretty simple. Spinks was a fast starter and Cooper wasn't. Cooper was easily cut, and if Spinks started fast as usual, he would quickly open a bad cut, which he would target, and there, it's all over in a few rounds. Cooper might not finish the 1st round. Who knows.
Spinks at his sober best runs over Cooper. At his worst, he gets decapitated by a left hook from Cooper.
