"Larry Holmes vs. Tim Spoon" of May 1983... Underrated and ignored as great.?

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011.


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  1. MRBILL

    MRBILL Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Fellers,

    I saw and tape "Holmes-Spoon" back in May 1983 when this fight occurred. At the time, Tim Spoon at 219 pounds was thought to be a lamb for the slaughter against Larry Holmes. Well, what we fans got was an exciting and competitve heavyweight title fight. Okay, Larry Holmes blamed his weight of 213 pounds and a case of the shits days leading up to the fight as a result for him looking drained and a wee bit off-key against the upstart Tim Spoon in Las Vegas. Be as it may, a score of 115 to 114 for Larry Holmes seemed about fair. I thought Holmes held a slight edge over Spoon...

    Too bad Tim Spoon couldn't maintain his focus and desire to stay around 220 pounds and fight his fights with conviction. Tim Spoon would drop the nod to champion Holmes in 1983, but then rebound and out-boxed a passive and slobbish Greg Page in March 1984 for the vacant WBC title, before sleepwalking and blowing his title to Pinklon Thomas.

    Who else lived through and viewed all this fight jazz as it went down in 1983 and 1984?

    MR.BILL:good:deal:hat
     
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    #1
  2. Sam Spade

    Sam Spade Member Full Member

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    BILL,

    What was Holmes usual weight at this time? He was a full sized heavy, about 6'4, and 213 seems so light by todays standards...of course theyre werent lifting, eating and supplementing like some fighters do today, but stilll...
     
    Sam Spade, Jun 10, 2011
    Sam Spade, Jun 10, 2011
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  3. MRBILL

    MRBILL Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Good question.... Holmes was 209 to 215 during his reign from 1978 to 1983... However, Holmes said later in 1992 out in Vegas that he was expecting to be about 216 for Spoon, but he caught the shits a few days before the fight and it left him a wee drained and he came in too light for Spoon at 213.... Maybe it was an excuse, but this is what Larry said to me in 1992 while he was in training for Holyfield....

    P.S.

    This thread was suppose to be in the classic section, but I blew it..... Oh, well, no problem...

    MR.BILL:deal:hat
     
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    #3
  4. Arka

    Arka New Member Full Member

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    Great fight. IMO Tim should have got a draw-at the least.
     
    Arka, Jun 10, 2011
    Arka, Jun 10, 2011
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  5. GazOC

    GazOC Guest Star for Team Taff Full Member

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    "Spoon" is a little underated in the greater scheme of things. One of those lost generation of 80s heavyweights that Don King ****ed up.
     
    GazOC, Jun 10, 2011
    GazOC, Jun 10, 2011
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  6. Arka

    Arka New Member Full Member

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    I certainly think it is one of the best heavyweight contests.

    Tim showed impressive technical skills (eg boxing southpaw), he could really punch and I'm sure he had Holmes hurt and out on his feet a couple of times.
     
    Arka, Jun 10, 2011
    Arka, Jun 10, 2011
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  7. MRBILL

    MRBILL Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    114-114 would've been fair, as well......:bbb:good:yep
     
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    #7
  8. MRBILL

    MRBILL Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    I guess you can say Norton will always question the decision in 1976 at Yankee Stadium against Ali and Tim Spoon will always feel he was reamed against Holmes in 1983 out in Vegas......

    I still favored Ali and Holmes in '76 and '83 over Ken Norton and Tim Spoon bu **** hairs...

    MR.BILL:deal:bbb:rasta
     
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    #8
  9. EpsilonAxis

    EpsilonAxis HNIC Full Member

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    Spoon walked into my gym once a few years ago. It was the first bigtime pro fighter I ever saw. I was starstruck at the time.

    Couldn't believe how young the dude looked...he looked younger now than he did then!
     
    EpsilonAxis, Jun 10, 2011
    EpsilonAxis, Jun 10, 2011
    #9
  10. GazOC

    GazOC Guest Star for Team Taff Full Member

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    I met him a few years back, great bloke.
     
    GazOC, Jun 10, 2011
    GazOC, Jun 10, 2011
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  11. MRBILL

    MRBILL Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Are you sure it was Tim and not Chazz Spoon who walked in?:huh
     
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    #11
  12. MRBILL

    MRBILL Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Can someone paste the 9th round off Youtube? It was voted round of the year for 1983 by KO mag.....

    MR.BILL:deal:bbb
     
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    #12
  13. EpsilonAxis

    EpsilonAxis HNIC Full Member

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    :lol: it was Tim. I trained at the same gym as Chazz (nice guy) but once or twice Tim came in and he looked really healthy, like practically boxing condition.

    He was also one of the few fighters I've seen who were BIGGER in person...Tim is a pretty big dude.
     
    EpsilonAxis, Jun 10, 2011
    EpsilonAxis, Jun 10, 2011
    #13
  14. MRBILL

    MRBILL Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    ****in' A., Bro.....:good

    MR.BILL:hat
     
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    MRBILL, Jun 10, 2011
    #14
  15. cuchulain

    cuchulain Loyal Member Full Member

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    Watched it live.

    Scored it a close but CLEAR win for Tim.
     
    cuchulain, Jun 11, 2011
    cuchulain, Jun 11, 2011
    #15
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