Michael Spinks vs Deontay Wilder

Spinks uses lateral moment and defense to slowly pick wilder apart …it could be a dull fight …And I never pick a hypothetical fight to be a split decision…but this time I could really see it …Spinks SD

 

It comes down to whether or not Spinks can take those right hands from wilder.

 

I think it more comes down to whether Wilder can land that right hand on the infinitely more skilled Spinks. If he can, he might be able to stop Spinks. But, I believe a focused and cautious Spinks would make Wilder look silly all fight. He would always be 2 steps ahead of Wilder.

 

This could turn out to be one of those, where the more skilled man ends up flat on his back.

 

For all Wilder’s famed lack of skill, only two fighters actually outboxed him…Fury and Ortiz. But tbf that’s probably more down to Deontay’s pi*s poor resume than how great his technique was!

I think Spinks would join that exclusive list of two, with his movement, his trickiness and his ring intelligence. Wilder would probably be behind on points throughout, but that right hand artillery of his would be a threat to the very end. And I can see…regretfully for Spinks…the right hand detonating late on and blowing the dominant Spinks out of the water by Round 11.

 

I think Spinks can win, but that Wilder would intimidate him similarly to how Tyson did. Wilder by KO

 

A 36 year old Holmes was rocking the hell out of Spinks with right hands. Spinks was definitely quicker and more skilled than Wilder. But he’s not going to avoid getting tagged all night long. And when he finally does he will feel power like he’s never felt before except for MAYBE Tyson and we all saw how that ended

 

Spinks frustrates the hell out of Wilder from the beginning right into the middle rounds.

In the 9th round he gets caught, flush.

Bye-bye Spinks.

 

I think so too. It took Wilder all night to track down Szpilka who I humbly submit is not better than Spinks

 

I don't see the rights landing. Spinks could turn it into a fight like the Cooney fight. Just the better skilled fighter avoiding the power (which he would have to) and using his great instincts and speed and intelligence to come on when he has to.

 

Wilder was leading Szpilka 5-3 and 6-2 x 2 when he knocked Szpilka out. DW was in no danger of losing. Szpilka was 20-1, a 6-4, 235 pound southpaw. If most, probably all heavyweights prior to 2000, had defeated a southpaw with Szpilka's record and size it would be considered a career highlight. DW handled him easily, and was on his way to a lopsided decision before scoring a highlight reel knockout over Szpilka.
It might be a compliment to DW because people expect so much from him, but he has been knocking out southpaws and huge, athletic fighters for years. I've never seen DW in a boring fight and he has knocked out everybody he has ever fought except for Tyson Fury and he has come close to doing that.

 

Spinks got hit with shots in just about every fight he was ever in. Even Steffen Tangstad landed on him. Gerry Cooney had only seen one round of boxing in three years and showed up about as prepared for that fight as a college frat boy for a final exam after partying all night. It’s possible Spinks might have evaded wilder for a few rounds and gotten some points on the cards. But he’s going to get hit with some hard shots and I don’t know if he’d have whiskers to withstand them

 

Wilder also took very few clean, meaningful headshots from Szpilka and over the course of an extended fight (taking 10 punches in 1 round messes your brain up more I think than taking the same number of punches with the same force over 10 rounds).

Many people don't understand the factors at play with Wilder, including his opponents. Even Fury underestimated him in fight 1.

Needless to say he'd knock Spinks out sooner or later. People would write it off as "Wilder getting lucky again" or Spinks having a weak chin at heavyweight.

 

All respect (I love your forum name), but this sounds more like a heavyweight Pernell Whitaker against Wilder.

Spinks was never a Pernell, he was really just never that smooth. Even at light heavy, he was more on the puncher side of boxer/puncher.

At heavyweight Spinks was herky jerky, mostly perplexing the opponents through his intentionally multi-faceted weirdness and rarely giving (as I believe Marv Alpert commented) the same view twice. It worked against worn Holmes the first time, a substance addled and ridiculously under prepared/rusty Cooney, and Stefan from Saturday Night Live.

Against a prime Wilder it works for awhile, but Spinks got hit a LOT more than PW, my friend. Against a real, young competitor like Wilder, he'd fold hard in the middle rounds imo.