Had the discipline, skillset and mindset of Michael Spinks? Prime hypothetical -Leon Spinks With Michael Spinks mindset and ring IQ . He's serious about his career, no lost nights here. He's still challenging Ali and winning... but what then?
Is he a nightmare match for some of the big names of the late 70s? That awkward style plus discipline . Still a little unpredictable, he's not totally lost what he was , but with structure and stamina. But is it enough for him to keep winning?
He's a bit small for a Heavyweight and he fights in a overly aggressive manner which is not a recipe for success against considerably bigger Heavyweights. He's not beating the likes of Holmes, Witherspoon, Cooney, Thomas, etc. I don't really see his career altering that much quite honestly.
It's hard to say, but he was considered better than his brother, bigger and more talented. So it's quite possible he wins the rematch with Ali and a few other important fights, but his winning streak ends when he faces Holmes. Leon is a wasted talent.
Honestly we're taking for granted that Michael does much better if placed in the same situation. Michael Spinks got to fight Holmes and Cooney at the perfect time and he was sort of playing with house money. Leon got thrown into ongoing traffic with a blindfold on. The reality of that era is Leon was always going to be in Alis shadow. Holmes had everything go perfect for him and that shadow is still there. If Spinks beat the aging 70s legends they were old if he didn't hes not as good. If he didn't fight them he didn't beat anyone. He could have done better but he was set up to fail.
Leon had natural talent. Won the Olympic gold. Became a ranked contender around his 5th or 6th pro fight. Then had a few decent winning streaks throughout his career. With proper focus, cleaner living and a good team in his corner he should have been a cruiserweight champion and even repeat heavyweight title challenger. He had fast hands, good infighting skills, decent stamina and power. His chin was always shaky though and he was on the smaller end of a heavyweight division that was becoming increasingly larger
Legendary St Louis boxing trainer Kenny Loehr always said that Leon was the better and more natural fighter. I grew up hearing stories about how a young Leon Spinks would destroy everyone in the gym. He was never the boxer that Michael became but was the type that would literally run you over with his will and fast hands. He had hundreds of amateur fights, many that were never recorded. By the time he turned pro, substance abuse had really taken hold but he never lost his heart. Even in the late 80's and early 90s, he always fought with the same heart dispute suffering from CTE and severe substance abuse issues. I wish The Mortlocks was still around. He was about the biggest Leon Spinks fan on here aside from me and would be all over this thread. Some think Leon was an underachiever but considering where he came from and what he accomplished, he is an overachiever in my book. The man won Olympic gold and the Heavyweight championship of the world. Not bad for a man that grew up fatherless in one of the worst ghettos in the country. Regarding the topic. I believe he never would have beaten Holmes but he certainly would have been a handful for everyone else.
This is my thought exactly, but on the balance, he would have done better at cruiser too, I think he could have had a really great career, but yeah, his style was more suited to being an absolutely huge LHW in the amateurs.
Think he would have made a great cruiserweights. There would always be heavys that he would never overcome.
He was a rising young heavyweight but then he beat Ali and it was too much too soon. He couldn’t get back on track again. However ultimately unless he went on a weight gain regimen like his brother did for Holmes with pro nutritionist he would have been too small for Holmes Tate Berbick Coetzee etc.
In terms of him being smaller, let’s not forget that he did move down to cruiserweight. Qawi beat him, so did Carlos DeLeon.
...Loved Leon. Man that cat was crazy. Modern chefs make classic meals but 'unstructured', Leon was an unstructured Smokin' Joe...