Classic Forum Chat: Size isn't the only factor.

Spinks should really have faced him but the dollar spoke louder.

 

not on Paper. Tucker was just some prospect looking for his first competitive fight. Cooney was a name, his win over Greg was probably better than anything Tucker the unknown prospect had on his resume at that time.

. No doubt patsy Tangstad could have been high enough in the IBF rankings to fight. If I remember rightly Spinks signed to take part in the HBO tournament. This called for each champion to make one defence then meet another champion in a unification. Witherspoon was to rematch Tubbs. That’s how I remember it. But I will gladly be corrected on this.

 

Who cares, He shouldn’t have been

 

It literally shouted!

 

In principle a champion should face his mandatories, yes, but let's just not pretend Tucker was anything remotely close to, say, a Liston or a Wills as an outstanding challenger. Rather a Page. If that.

In the end Spinks choose 10 times the money and a fighter that he was an underdog against.

 

He was also the Rings number 3 contender so you are incorrect in your assertions that he was a nobody at the time.

 

Lets not also pretend he wasnt more deserving of a title shot than the inactive ,and unranked Cooney.

 

I used to think that. But Tucker needed more wins. No way was he a worthy mandatory. Cooneys comeback wins we’re probably more impressive than anything Tucker had done in the same space of time. And admittedly that doesn’t say much.

At that time all the name opponents were either tied to the HBO tournament or pencilled in to meet Tyson for bigger money. Cooney was a name guy. Tucker was nobody.

 

No, let's not.

 

He'd have faced Tucker if there had being no golden, Tyson shaped prize, waiting to be faced playing the long game.
That's my opinion. Wait for Tyson to get the rest out of the way then finally he'll have to face the lineal champ.
Paid off.

 

This constant down playing of Tucker is just plain wrong, he was the number 3 ranked contender.

 

But he did prove he was no slob or journey man tho. Going 12 with Tyson back then was a bloody good achievement.

 

Not until he beat Douglas! And even then it was only because the IBF title came with that win.

When Spinks was told to fight Tucker, nobody knew who Tucker was precisely because he had not had that competitive fight yet. And that fight was Douglas. Which came after Spinks was stripped.

 

The money he was offered for Tucker was absurdly small in relative to other possible purses, though. It was barely a fourth of what Holmes refused to face Page for, to put things in perspective.

 

He beat Buster as well. That's no smalltfeat knowing what we now know.