Tyson Vs Spinks

Thought i would just post this taken from the Autobiography by Peter Heller on some background on the Tyson-Spinks fight.

Chapter 13. Tyson-Spinks. The Making Of A Fight

"..At one point a 6-1 betting favourite, Tyson dropped to 4-1 by mid June. Muhammad Ali was picking Spinks to win, but, like Joe Louis before him, Ali's greatness in the ring did not confer any great analytical abilities when it came to picking winners in fights.."

"Opinion about the likely outcome of the fight was divided. Ex champs Tony Zale and Rocky Graziano were looking for Spinks to outsmart and outpsyche Tyson and pull an upset, joining Ali in his selection of Spinks.

Wally Matthews an astute boxing write for the New York Newsday, liked Spinks to TKO Tyson.

Veteran Boxing announcer Don Dunphy, who had been broadcasting fights since Louis-Conn in 1941, also picked Spinks.

But Billy Conn, the brash Lightheavyweight champion who had come so close to dethroning Louis in that classic confrontation. before being KO'd by Joe in the 13th round, liked Tyson by knockout.
"How soon?" said Conn, "As soon as he hits Spinks."

Jake Lamotta, the Raging Bull, was in the Tyson camp, as were former trainer, matchmaker and TV Commentator Gil Clancy and Larry Holmes former trainer Richie Giachetti. Both Liked Tyson by an early Knockout.
"Spinks will find out that he cant run from Tyson, so hell be forced to stand and fight," said Clancy prophetically. "That should make it an exciting fight, but not a long one."

Angelo Dundee, who had led Ali and Sugar Ray Lenoard to world titles and hd been in the camp of ex champ Pinklon Thomas the night Tyson destroyed him, said, "If Spinks cant hurt Tyson early, forget about it."

Ex heavyweight champ George Foreman also picked Tyson. as did two other former champs who had felt the power and determination of Tyson in the ring.

Bonecrusher Smith chose tyson by KO. When asked what Spinks would need to win, he said 'He'd need to take me in the ring with him.

And Larry Holmes, KO'd earlier in the year said, "Tyson is very hard to hit and he hits very hard, which makes it a bad combination for Spinks". He picked Tyson to stop Spinks in less than five rounds.

Promoter Bob Arum, who had staged some of Tysons early fights but was now out of favour with the Tyson people because Jim Jacobs believed he had tried to stea; Wilfred Benitez from him, hit the nail on the head. He said that when Tyson "nails Spinks for the first time, and make no mistake about it, he will NAIL him, the fight in essence will be over. There is no way that Spinks can stand up to the overwhelming power of the champ. Tyson will attack Spinks from the start, will cut the ring off on Spinks and land his devastating body shots. If Spinks survives the first the first round assault, he will only be postponing the inevitable. Tyson will take him out for good in the second round, Tyson by an early Knockout."

In the afternoon, there was a visitor to Tysons room. The once great champion, Roberto Duran, stopped by. Duran had been a boyhood hero of Tyson 's but they had never met. They hugged and began talking. Tyson, intensely interested in boxing history, asked Duran about his ring career, while Duran told Tyson to stay calm and go right to Spinks, who would, he assurred him, be nervous. "Youll catch him," Duran said.
Duran had once been promoted by Don king who had made millions out of him. After they parted, Duran linked up with kings archrival Bob Arum as his promoted. Now most of the fortune that he ahd earned in the ring was gone, somehow frittered away. He did not have a ticket for Tysons fight. Apparently none was forthcoming from King, although it is customary that greats of the past are taken care of in this manner, Tyson gave Steve Lott $1,500 to buy a ticket for Duran.

Eddie Futch would later say that Spinks failure came when he abandoned his game plan, which was to jab and move, counterpunch and make Tyson work, miss punches, and slow down. Futch also said Spinks wasnt scared, no matter what anyone said.

But Richie Giachetti, who had been in the corner with Holmes the night Tyson stopped him, said Spinks had the same look on his face that Larry had just before the opening bell, a look he had never seen on Larrys face in any of his other fights, It was the look of fear.

Tyson talked of retirement. He told Mike Marley of the New York post the day after the fight that it had definitely been his last appearnce in the ring. "Don King was laughing, but when he finds out im serious, he wont be laughing. I had fun, boxing was good to me, but nothing lasts forever, i decided its time to move on. Its time to call it a day, i dont like reading that my wife is a ***** and that my mother in law is a sneaky conniver. And then i read im an idiot. I know it goes with the territory, but its difficult".
Tyson, of course, would fight again. It was all he knew. That night in Atlantic City, he had shown that he truly was invincible in the ring. But outside the squared circle, his familiar world was crumbling around him.

End Chapter

 

Yeah, same Ali told everyone that if he loses the fight to Frazier (1st one) he will get on his hands and knees and crawl to Frazier and admit defeat.

 

Yeah, you can see it on "Through The Eyes Of The World" dvd

 

He wasnt THAT smart, i mean he was outboxing Joe Louis until he foolishly started slugging with him, enh enh bad move.

 

Ive always believed Tyson would have wiped the floor with both Bowe and Holyfield before prison

 

Thing is, Evander in 91 was smaller and more prone to brawling. Judging how Evanders best shots didnt really move Mike when they fought, (esp in the final round where Holyfiled was throwing everything except the kitchen sink) i dont think Mike would have had any respect for Evander during 91 and would have walked through him. It would have been similar to the Spinks fight but lasted longer.
Evander hit nowhere near as hard as Ruddock, i cant see any reason as to why Holyfield would beat him.
After prison, it was Tysons inactivity which hurt the most, along with his overconfidence, ring rust and not enough quality fights, and the fact that he had lost his bottle in prison.