As we know back in 1987 Spinks refused to fight number-1 ranked contender Tony Tucker and was stripped of his title after he opted to instead fight Gerry Coney. Who do you think would win this fight between two champions of the 1980 heavyweight era?
Spinks. Tired of hearing what Tucker could have been. Well he wasnt anything special in my book. Spinks UD
Spinks is not going to win this fight..... tucker was mobile... long jab and would eventually make Spinks a bit tentative.. shot knees don't just apply to his loss to Tyson... these same knees have to face Tucker...
Tucker would've easily knocked out Spinks in 87. Spinks was shot with two bad knees by 87. Spinks in 1985 would've had a chance of maybe outpointing Tucker, but even then Tucker most likely would still win, since Holmes in 1985 wasn't half the fighter he was in 82 or 83.
Spinks was ready to be taken. He drops a lopsided decision to Tucker. I'm not certain Spinks even gets by Bruno back then--especially if Mike Spinks was going to be a road warrior.
Norris is one of my favorite fighters and was a very skilled one.. Tucker was nowhere near his best at this point when he fought Orlin... Spinks was just not going to be able to fight a younger fighter with good reflexes compared to a faded Holmes and ancient Cooney... I actually would love to see Spinks and Orlin fight each other... that would be a much more intriguing match up than the OP
I agree he had few competitive fights and not a great performance but he had lost a large degree of his mobility and spark when he came back.. Spinks just was not that great of a heavyweight in my opinion. Tucker is one of those fighters whose reputation is based on potential compared to real accomplishments...