Did Mackie Shilstone actually make a difference in the Holmes/Spinks fight?

If i remember a SI article back then------Spinks talked about running sprints instead of distance. Also used weight training during his camp. Not sure about nutrition but Shilstone received alot of favorable press

 

He definitely had an impact but I think it's overblown. It kind of use to **** me off actually because Spinks fought a near perfect fight from a stagedy standpoint and he did it without having his trainer Eddie Futch in his corner. Eddie trained both Holmes and Spinks and wanted to remain neutral. It was an amazing performance and far more impressive than Roy Jones beating John Ruiz or James Toney beating Holyfield.

Holmes was not as shot as people say. The guy went on to beat Ray Mercer, nearly beat Oliver McCall and performed well against Holyfield nearly a full decade after Spinks beat him.

 

I completely agree cross trainer. However I cannot recall where a trainer received so much credit. Dont know the odds but would like to know the betting line.......As we would see, Holmes had more left in his tank. Spinks was certainly no slouch even graduating to HW-------but he should have been 1-1in those fights. Not sure if Shistone trained him for the rematch

 

Mackie = steroid / hgh supplier. His clients include Peyton Manning, Serena Williams and boxers Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr and Michael Spinks. Of the three boxers, all are known for having gained a good deal of weight late in their careers and then going onto have the performances of their lives. With Roy it was his heavyweight fight with Ruiz. With Hopkins it was moving to 175 and schooling Tarver after having lost, albeit controversially, to Taylor at 160. And of course with Spinks it was his his fight with Holmes.
All that to say, yes, he made a difference for Spinks in his win over Holmes.

 

The evidence is empirical, speculative and IMHO, reasonable. Manning was busted in an hgh scandal involving one of those Florida “anti-aging clinics “, where the drugs were traced to either his, or his wife’s name. The excuse given was that they were for his wife because she was pregnant.
It’s not just that the fighters gained a lot of weight, it’s that they gained all lean muscle weight while not sacrificing any of their speed and reflexes. When you’re already in top shape, gaining 10+ lbs of lean muscle is nigh impossible, although it can be done with massive caloric intake and lifting heavy weights. But to do that when you’re older and training for a completely different sport that requires endurance, split second timing, and flexibility? Not possible.

 

True, Spinks was ahead his time in that regard. He also had the benefit of drug testing for PEDs being unheard of. It was also the perfect timing and Holmes being ripe for an upset.

 

I agree and it’s fun to speculate.
FWIW, I don’t think PEDs work for boxers like they do for other athletes. What I mean is that I don’t think PEDs transform boxers from light hitters to KO artists, or guys with stamina issues into Aaron Pryor types. Lance Armstrong went from a good one-day puncher roleur stage racer to being a 7 consecutive Tour de France racer. Barry Bonds went from a HOF singles / doubles hitter to being the greatest slugger baseball has ever seen.
I believe that Manny, Floyd, Spinks, Roy Jones, Hopkins, JMM, Toney all doped. But doping didn’t make them great; they were already great. Doping allowed them to be great longer and move up in weight without losing their speed and reflexes.
What’re your thoughts?

 

I'll put it out there that Shilstone made the difference, yes. A caveat might be that another comparable program/person may have produced similar results. Perhaps he could have won using conventional means but he would have had to acclimatise more IMO over more time and with tune up fights.

The thing is Spinks went straight from 175 to a heavyweight title fight. There's was no gradual build up punctuated with fights at the weight he just went BANG!

In 3 months and 2 weeks Spinks went from 175 to a very functional 199 3/4' followed by 205 in the rematch.

He lost no speed and yet retained excellent stamina which is astounding really. Given it was reasonably close (I've never seen it for Holmes but the fact is two cards had Spinks by just 1 point) it was extremely important he was in this sort of shape with added bulk.

Of course it needs to be said Spinks was central in all of it and besides being such a great fighter he obviously completely committed to Shilstones methods and anything less may not have got him there.

 

Shilstone didn't "train" him as such. He was his conditioning coach. Holmes was the 6-1 favorite even tho everyone knew Holmes had slipped. This is how big the task was for a guy, even as good as Spinks, to go from 175 straight to heavyweight.