FANTASY FIGHT: Michael Spinks vs Roy Jones Jr (15 Rounds/Poll)

It's a great KO but I think Virgil was picking the lock on Roy up till that point.

 

It’s funny looking at these polls here and then checking the voting on YouTube - it’s exactly the reverse.

 

Absolutely nailed him perfectly.
Hill was not a guy that was stopped easily, Roy was on fire back then.

 

Would probably have to agree with the common sentiment here that Spinks takes the win. As usual though I don't think it's as cut and dry as these polls make out.

Spinks has the style and attributes to trouble Roy. The first Montell Griffin and hill fights show that as good as Roy was he wasn't *impossible* to somewhat figure out and trouble with a good jab and inside fighting. But at the same time Roy also beat both of those men. In Griffins case he absolutely smoked him in their rematch and likely would've won their first fight had he not hit Griffin while he was down. Still, a prime Michael Spinks is, with all due respect to Griffin and Hill who were both very capable, probably a lot better than them.

On Spinks' end, I don't think he ever really fought somebody stylistically that gives us a strong idea of how he'd fare against Roy. Certainly never fought anybody as fast as Roy. Qawi was probably about as hard to hit clean but he had a completely different style and attributes. Guys like Marvin Johnson and Mustafa Muhammad were top guys of the era but again not as defensively adept as Roy and also much more willing to get close and engage on the inside with Spinks which Roy would most certainly not do.

I favour Spinks in the fight but I'm largely just guessing that he'd be able to deal with what Roy brings to the table.

Early on I think the fight is quite cagey with neither guy being fully willing to commit to anything yet. Spinks works his jab though it isn't landing clean much. 1-1-2 Spinks

Mid rounds Spinks comes on stronger, using better timing on his jab and starts backing Roy up to the ropes and working his body. Jones gets through with occasional big counters and buzzes Mike a few times but is often being countered himself, generally being outworked and struggling to deal with his awkward rhythm and combinations. He scores better shots to the head than Spinks but is being outworked for most of the rounds. 5-3-2 Spinks

Roy gets his timing down more late in the fight and realising he's down starts fighting more aggressively and landing dazzling combinations that have Spinks looking confused at times. Eventually Spinks steps on the gas himself not wanting to give Roy a chance to steal the fight and starts pressing Roy and unloading on him when he's on the ropes. Most shots are to the body or caught on the guard but Spinks lands a big shot from seemingly out of nowhere that hurts and floors Roy. Roy may very well be stopped here but I give him the benefit of the doubt and say he rises to survive through the last round.
7-6-2 Spinks with a knockdown, Spinks wins a competitive but clear unanimous decision or possibly a late KO/TKO.

I think as great as Roy was, he could be troubled and outworked by an awkward fighter especially one on the level of Mike Spinks. He was knocked down at the weight by Lou Del Valle and although I don't think his chin was *always* suspect like some make out, that fight showed that he could be hurt at the weight.

Michael was taller, longer, just as smart and hard hitting and was a very hard man to beat at 175. It wouldn't be an easy fight, and I think a rematch might not go in his favour, but in a first encounter I think he'd have the ability needed to defeat Roy over a tough tactical 15 rounder.

 

I pick Spinks by stoppage.

 

This is basically the way I look @ it.

Both fighters pose unique challenges for the other, but Roy's lhw resume leaves a lot more to be desired & a lot more unanswered questions IMO.

Not only had Hill visibly slowed down @ least 3 fights earlier, but he'd become a walking injury magnet around that time - he reportedly entered the Dariusz fight w/ a bum leg, & his cw fight w/ Tiozzo was postponed multiple times due to broken bones & other injuries that Hill sustained in training. I think it can be fairly questioned whether Hill's apparent increased brittleness played a role in that KO.

 

Unless Mr Hill showed some kind of body injury prior to the realization of his about against TFE then i think it's quite unfair to easily dismiss a KO that was incredibly executed and set up regardless of the circumstances, there is also absolutely no indicator that if he was really injured or with increased brittleness then he wouldn't have committed the same errors that led to his demise had he been healthy and fit. Mr Hill literally put his kidney in the air and walked into Roy's hook.

Edit: by realization, i mean the lead up, apologies for not expressing myself correctly

 

Virgil was only ever stopped twice. The other time was like 4 years later on his stool at cruiser vs Mormeck.

There’s zero to indicate he had any hidden injury vs JRR, including every second of the fight up to the stoppage.

Funny how him being ‘brittle’ didn’t lead to other stoppages.

 

I think more people here are familiar with Spinks (and familiar with boxing in general) than they are on YouTube

 

This is a great line and I'm shamelessly stealing it for future posts.

As a lifelong fan of Spinks I'm glad to see he's getting the love and props he deserves.

 

I never intended to suggest that he entered the Roy fight w/ a "hidden injury," I raised the question of whether he was more predisposed to sustaining injuries compared to his prime given the apparent increased frequency that he was sustaining injuries (including broken bones) around this time. The same thing happened to Benvenuti down the stretch of his career.

It led to him being unable to enter the ring in the 1st place for some scheduled fights, as well as testing positive for banned substances intended to mask or diminish effects of injuries.

 

Plus he had Eddie in the corner & I always lean towards the great corners in competitive matches.


And look what Futch did with Montell Griffin against Jones. Hardly a prize pupil like Mike Spinks was and he was like what 5'6"? I Spinks--at worst --would nullify a lot of those Jones big favorite checkmarks he had on his side going into those lh bouts of his. And some Spinks would downright exploit and that'd be worse than the nullifying.

 

Spinks comfortably by decision. Stoppage win for Spinks if they end up slugging.
His awkwardness would offset Roy’s speed and Spinks is bigger and has legitimate fight ending power with either hand. He’s a top 5 if not top 3 all time light heavy both as career and h2h.
Roy’s a great fighter too but I don’t see him winning this. Very different Light heavyweight era