What other 80s champ does Michael Spinks beat?

He would’ve been at least even money against everyone not named Tyson or “prime” Holmes.

 

He could beat numerous title holders in the 80s it just depends on what form they're in when they fight Spinks.

 

Can’t say for sure about all of them but I kinda like his chances against Trevor Berbick

 

Spinks was a great gameplan fighter. Where there was a method available for him to get the W, he would have a pretty decent chance of executing it. He didn’t have to possess all the advantages going in, to end up winning the fight.

With Tyson, there obviously wasn’t a method, and we all saw the result. Prime Holmes is out of reach as well.

With the rest, it’s a long list of bigger guys that he could plausibly find a way to win, but who would hold physical advantages over him. At the higher percentage chance you’re probably looking at Berbick and Smith, and at the lower end Witherspoon and Tucker. I don’t really like his chances against quicks like Tubbs or Dokes, but they were nearly all inconsistent so there’s that to factor in as well. Coetzee, Weaver, Thomas and Page I’m not sure on.

 

As things turned out, it would have provided more clarity. Either Tucker has a notable win that gives him more legitimacy, or Spinks has a much bigger prime heavy on his ledger.

Strangely, it probably enhances Tyson’s resume either way.

 

The three he'd have the hardest time with would be Tucker, Witherspoon and Pinklon Thomas who I consider the holy trinity of the 80s alphabet champs. The rest I'll pick Spinks to beat.

 

Other than prime Holmes, beats all of them, Coetzee, Cooney, Dokes, Weaver, Tubbs, Page, Tate, Smith.
Witherspoon is 50/50 and Spinks beats Tucker narrowly IMO, takes away his jab by feinting, side to side movement, level changing and coming over the top.

 

Page kicked his ass in sparring

 

I’ve heard about that, apparently his size got to him or something, but that may have been when Spinks was less experienced with big men, even if it wasn’t, I typically take sparring stories with a pinch of salt because there are so many factors that are different to a fight scenario, to fighters it’s just another day, they spar all the time and it’s more of a tactical approach, they won’t mentally prepare themselves as they would for a fight making sure they’re at their absolute best with a week leading up to it, since they probably do 3-4 sparring days in a week anyway, they may not be as energised one day as the other or may not have had optimal sleep etc, whereas a fight, they know the specific day they need to be up for it and it means more because it’s an actual fight.
Apparently Jerry Quarry knocked out Ken Norton cold in sparring, but Norton wasn’t as experienced and who knows what other variables there were.

 

I think I heard it was around 1985 or 86 so it would have been heavyweight

 

You have a point but I really think he was kept away from those other guys for a reason . That’s why he fought steffen Tangstad when there were anywhere from 10-15 better fighters Butch Lewis could have chosen. Spinks was badly rocked multiple time by a 36 year Holmes ( who arguably deserved the decision in the rematch. ) I really think Tim Witherspoon would have torn him apart in 1986 unless Tim showed up half drunk and 20 lbs over weight

 

I feel like Spinks’s heavyweight career was played from a financial perspective based on risk to reward ratio, I feel they believed he could beat the other top guys, but the financial risk to reward wasn’t worth it, that why he fought a huge name like Holmes (high risk very high reward), fought an unknown in Tangstad as a stay busy (very low risk), and a big name in Cooney, who they knew they were getting at the right time based on his inactivity, but still a bigger name than the rest due to how he was promoted on the way up (low risk decent reward) then Tyson who was high risk, but a high reward regardless of the outcome.