Was there anyway Tyson vs Spinks could have been more competitive?

Short of Spinks hiring Tanya Harding to club Tyson's knees, there was nothing Spinks could do against that wrecking ball coming 100 MPH at him.

 

Make Tyson wear handcuffs, literally, and put a Hannibal Lecter mask on him. Spinks might have made it to seven.

(Sorry, just having a little fun. It’s a good topic.)

 

I think it could have been more competitive yes. The biggest problem was that spinks simply didn’t come to fight. I’ve always believed he laid down. Not because there was a fix or anything, but because he simply wasn’t into it anymore. I also believe that if the purse for that fight wasn’t as high as it was, he never would have taken it

 

I thought he looked scared to death.

 

Give him a better chin??

 

Exactly. I don’t think he wanted to fight. When one guy comes to fight to prove himself to the world while another comes just to get it over with it tends to be a short night

 

I thought Spinks appeared terrified also - but there is the counter argument put forward by some that Spinks always looked like that before a fight - personally I didn’t notice it so much except for the Tyson fight.

It’s frustrating to be unable to recollect the boxing mag. and date (I used to have so many) but I def. recall reading an article, after the fact of the fight, in which Spinks said the prospect of the fight made him think about his future health and question if the risk was worthwhile.

 

Tying one of Tyson's arms behind his back may have extended it a round or two.

 

Maybe if Tyson had met Spinks instead of Berbick or Smith?.
Spinks maybe couple of years younger and more mobile.
But I don't see even then, him lasting much longer.
He'd have always seen Tyson as that monster and felt intimidated.

 

He did, didn't look like he wanted to be there at all.
Hardly surprising after seeing what he could do.!

 

I don't believe in fate, but sometimes some things just seem 'meant to be.' Like Frazier wasn't going to be denied in FOTC, or Ali beating Foreman in Zaire, I think this was just always meant to be Tyson's night.
I've watched this many times, and I can't recall Springs landing a meaningful punch, yet nearly everything Tyson threw seemed to have a dramatic effect on Spinks.
Hard to see how Spinks -on that night - was going to last long.

 

He literally said he didn't want to fight in a press conference prior to the fight

Tried to play it off as a joke but he meant it

Unless you give that boy a bat or make Tyson fight with his hands tied behind his back, he has no chance

 

I have written this many times before and I will write it again. Due to styles, outside of someone like, perhaps James Toney, I dont think any lightheavyweight in history gets out of the 1st round against prime Mike Tyson.

 

I don’t blame Spinks for jumping at the chance to make big $$$ but it would have been nice to see him at least put up a fight. He disgraced his legacy by laying down from the start. Evander showed how to beat the hype job Tyson twice. Tyson was a cancrusher, bully and ultimately showed himself to be a coward when he bit off a part of Evander’s ear rather than take a beating. I was sad to see the fight stopped because Evander was putting a beating on Tyson and would have knocked him out.

Spinks was no Evander but he was better than he showed that night. He was too small and apparently lacked the ability to move and avoid punishment. In the end, he had no chance. I saw this fight live in a venue on PPV CCTV. As I recall, none of the people around me gave Spinks much of a chance but I expected him to at least try to outbox Tyson for as long as he could. It was a disgraceful performance and the rest is history.