1988 TYSON": Holmes (11 minutes 55 seconds) vs. Spinks (91 seconds)

In boxing half the battle is in the mind before you step into the ring. Spinks turned up as a formality but he didn't want to be there at all. He was not his usual funny self.

 

Agreed,

I hate to deprive Tyson of a great win while also making any negative implications about Spink's heart, but the fact is, Michael was not there to fight that evening. He hardly threw any shots and went down the first time he got hit by anything big. The multi million dollar purse was too much to resist which in my mind was the only thing that prompted him to sign that paper. The fact that he retired and never fought again despite only being 31 and still in good standing pretty much ads weight to this belief.

 

I did a thread on this a few years back.

Just dug it out, heres the link

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=265927

Actually, it seems the thread has vanished?

Im not typing up all that again.

Heres a small part where Tyson admitted he wanted to retire after Spinks

Thought i would just post this taken from the Autobiography by Peter Heller on some background on the Tyson-Spinks fight.

Full story behind the fight is on

This content is protected

Chapter 13. Tyson-Spinks. The Making Of A Fight

Tyson talked of retirement. He told Mike Marley of the New York post the day after the fight that it had definitely been his last appearnce in the ring. "Don King was laughing, but when he finds out im serious, he wont be laughing. I had fun, boxing was good to me, but nothing lasts forever, i decided its time to move on. Its time to call it a day, i dont like reading that my wife is a ***** and that my mother in law is a sneaky conniver. And then i read im an idiot. I know it goes with the territory, but its difficult".

Tyson, of course, would fight again. It was all he knew. That night in Atlantic City, he had shown that he truly was invincible in the ring. But outside the squared circle, his familiar world was crumbling around him.


End Chapter

 

This is the answer I'm leaning towards as well. Tyson didn't respect Spinks' punching power at all.