I'd favour Spinks here due to his top level ring iq, but Wilder could potentially end the fight at any time if Spinks got sloppy and Wilder shortened up his punches a tad. Wilder was occasionally able to land a short right going backwards that could catch fighters out (look at Szpilka and Ortiz I fights) and Spinks was occasionally a bit lax in defence, but if Wilder just tries to wade forward trying to bomb Spinks out he might find himself in trouble. Spinks was up there with Jimmy Young and Chris Byrd as one of the trickiest smaller HWs of the modern (post 70s) era. All three would cause Wilder major difficulties.
Spinks from the first Holmes fight would put a boxing clinic on Wilder. I have no doubt he’d completely neutralize Wilder. Spinks from the Cooney fight on the other hand might get knocked out by Wilder, since he was already less mobile due to having a bad knee and he wasn’t able to get in tip top shape anymore. That said his hand speed and combinations would still trouble Wilder, but the extra weight and bad knee increase the chances of Wilder eventually connecting clean on him.
It's 55-45 Spinks imo. There's a size disparity and Deontay has good power. Spinks has the 'Spinks Jinx' and is p4p better though. At his best, Mike can cause Wilder major difficulties and has the real possibility of winning this, but that's different from actually doing it. He can't get caught too many times flush with Wilder's right and Deontay has a chance all night. Essentially an even fight, with a slight edge to the class of Spinks.
You can count the number of guys Wilder has fought who he's outweighed on one hand. The guy is always giving up 20, 30, 50 pounds in fights. A light heavyweight with bad knees? What's the quickest knockout in heavyweight title history?
I don't even know what that means. The last guy Wilder fought who he outweighed lasted 29 seconds. (LOL) Yes, bring on the light heavyweight with bad knees who liked to kill time at heavyweight by walking around on the outside. I'm sure that'll work out just fine for Michael Spinks. Spinks wasn't a 6'9" 270 pound heavyweight.
If you don't know what that means then you are not wise to the mysteries of the game. Spinks was a tricky HW, like one poster said, comparable to Jimmy Young. It's not all bad for Spinks.
That's an insult to Michael Spinks. Jimmy Young was a career journeyman who had a good two-year stretch in a 20-year career. I'm a huge fan of Michael Spinks. But Michael Spinks gets walked down and blown out by Wilder.
I'm not saying Wilder doesn't win, but that Spinks, with his superior skill may have a decent chance.
What? You seem to be looking for things that aren't there, today. I said you could count the guys Wilder fought who weighed less than him on one hand. Basically, 90 percent of the guys he's fought (and stopped) were far heavier than he was. A light heavyweight moving up with bad knees wouldn't make the cut, I'm afraid. And I've been a huge Spinks fan since I watched him fight live back in the day. And I've been defending him for 30 years when people dismissed him aft the Tyson loss. But Spinks doesn't beat Wilder, IMO. I'm not comparing Spinks to anyone but Michael Spinks as he was as a heavyweight. I see no way that he would win.
You insinuated that Spinks wouldn't do as well as Oltmanns. To me, that's a comparison. Comparing Spinks to him, is much more 'insulting' than comparing him to Young. The Young comparison isn't awful, but for a stretch Jimmy Young was elite, for a stretch Jesse couldn't make the third round. And you say that you see no way of Spinks winning, acting as if Wilder KOed everyone quick. Wilder rarely KOed anyone short of journeymen quick. He was out-boxed by Artur Spzilka, Gerald Washington, Eric Molina ect. I'd say HW Spinks several levels above them. After all, Wilder wouldn't even be in his top 2 wins at HW. Then again, you already know this. You've seen more of him than I have. I get picking Wilder to win, he only needs one shot and he often landed it. However, Wilder wasn't impossible to out-box, all it takes is for Wilder to not land and he doesn't win. Not hard to see.
