What about this one? Thomas at his peak had one of the best jabs in the division , tight guard,all round good fighter really . Before the drug's and **** hit. Ike had insane pressure,granite chin ,high punch rate and brute strength. Does Thomas out box him here or does Ike's pressure break him down?
Ike was a tank at 244 against Byrd, almost the same height as Byrd (6’2 vs 6’1/2) but looked two weight classes bigger just because of how dense he was. He had insane conditioning, and from what we saw of him, he could fight at a ridiculous pace for 12 rounds. The Tua war proved he could take heavy shots from a murderous puncher while still out-working a guy who never takes a backwards step. And stopping Chris Byrd is no small feat, as Byrd was slippery as hell. Pinklon Thomas though at his absolute peak is a different animal all together in my opinion. Prime Pinklon was 6’3”, same reach as Ike (77 inch), and one of the best jabs at heavyweight for a brief window. If Thomas could outbox and outpoint someone as crafty, cagey and rugged as Tim Witherspoon, then I think he has the tools to frustrate Ike. Pinklon’s jab wasn’t just busy; it was powerful, accurate, and could dictate a whole fight. He also had one of the great heavyweight chins. Tyson had to absolutely tear into him to get him out of there, and that wasn’t even the best version of Thomas anymore. I don’t see Ike knocking him out. Both men had elite chins, so I’m treating this as a 12-round distance fight. Could Ike out-hustle him with pressure and volume. Sure, that’s his best path. But I think Pinklon’s jab, right hand, and overall ring generalship win him enough rounds. Ike would have moments, especially when he gets inside and bangs the body, but Thomas at his best was too polished, too complete, and too mentally composed to simply be walked down. Thomas by decision. Close but clear.
Both had short primes. One of them due to his career ending abruptly while the other wrecking himself with his lifestyle. Both showed extreme promise but their lists of top wins were short. Thomas beat Witherspoon, Tillis and aged Weaver. Ibeabucci beat undefeated renditions of Byrd and Tua. I’m thinking it’s up for grabs
I'm always torn about the Witherspoon fight. Pinklon was brilliant, but there were already drugs, disillusionment, and the general King diseases spreading around Tim's camp prior to the fight. Witherspoon looked somewhat pale.
I'm not buying that. Witherspoon was 217 pounds vs Thomas which is lighter than what he weighed vs Holmes which is considered his best performance. Witherspoon was in shape vs Thomas and come to fight its just Thomas was better on the night.
Yeah, Spoon was in great physical shape and looked sharp for that fight. I just think Thomas was simply better that night. That was pretty much his apex. His stretch from 1982 through 1985 was really impressive, the win over Tillis, the (in my opinion) bogus draw against Coetzee that I felt he won, the win over Spoon, and then the one-punch KO of Weaver were all quality results. You could see he was slipping a bit by the time of the Weaver fight, but he still iced a dangerous former champion. I think he was the real deal, even if it was only a relatively small window.
Re Ike and sparring. Two things I have read from either the fighter or a camp source: 1. Kirk Johnson and him were stablemates who had life and death sparring sessions. Either Johnson controlled him or they were all out wars with each having good days. 2. Supposedly Hasim Rahman (according to Rahman himself) iced him with a right hand in a sparring session. Sparring is sparring but it gives you an idea that Ike was not this unbeatable monster and his ceiling may have been lower than previously thought.
Ike beat two good fighters his whole career, one barely and the other emphatically. I'm taking Pinky as the more proven product but also because we never saw Ike against a good outfighter, a long guy with a jab who wasn't going to meet him in a phone booth.
