Best five wins thread. Lineal / Ring Magazine heavyweight champions.

To my knowledge Spinks beat the following opponents at heavyweight:

Ramon Ranquello
David Conteh
Marvin Johnson
Larry Holmes
Steffen Tangstad
Gerry Cooney

There were probably others.

 

Spinks

My top 5 for Spinks

1. Holmes
2. Cooney
3. Tangstand
4. Johnson
5. Ranquello

Spinks is a top 5 atg light heavy but his heavyweight resume is poor

No Pinklon, no Witherspoon, not even someone like Berbick

I am wondering what his management was thinking when they put him in with a killer like Tyson.

 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

I wonder why Spinks choose to be so inactive following the second Holmes fight and fought no one of note barring Cooney.

Wins over Witherspoon, Thomas, a young Bruno etc. would have elevated his heavyweight status immensely. He also would have had more confidence going into the Tyson fight (still would have lost but perhaps would have put forth a better effort)

 

The first sanctioned cruiserweight fight that I can find was May 6, 1979 when Marvin Camel beat Bill Sharkey to win the NABF cruiserweight title.
Mate Parlov defeated Tony Mundine in a 12 round elimination for the WBC cruiserweight title on September 26, 1979.
The first cruiserweight title fight was a draw between Mate Parlov and Marvin Camel on December 8, 1979 for the WBC title.
The first officially recognized champion was Marvin Camel on March 31, 1980 when he outpointed Parlov in a rematch.

For the WBC, the cruiserweight division was in existance before Spinks became light-heavy champion. I think Carlos DeLeon was WBC champion when light-heavyweight Spinks jumped past the cruiserweight division to challenge Holmes.

Spinks' fights with Ranquello, Conteh, and Johnson came after the creation of the cruiserweight division by the WBC.

I feel strongly that any fight should count for a heavyweight as it is an unlimited and open division. You don't have to be any necessary weight to be heavyweight champion. You only have to be able to beat the champion. So Braddock should have gotten credit for beating Griffiths. But you vetoed that, so I don't see on what basis you reverse yourself to allow Spinks to have as heavyweight fights matches in which one guy comes in a few ounces over the light-heavyweight limit, fights now technically in the cruiserweight division. But all are really light-heavyweight fights. The difference is a trip to the bathroom.

As for Spinks, I am going to mull over how I rate Tangstad versus Cooney for a bit before posting my three.

 

I think in practice these wee catch weight fights, where two light heavyweights met, with nothing on the line.

Unless they were sanctioned as cruiser weight fights by the WBC, I see no reason to consider them as such.

 

If he had been more active, and fought his mandatories, then Tucker would have been up next.

 

Michael Spinks 5 best wins

1 Holmes - Their first fight since I think Holmes won the second
2 Cooney - Not a bad win but nothing special(except financially). Cooney was the favorite going in.
3 Tangstad - Fringe type of contender. I don’t think a strong enough case can be made to put him above a faded Cooney
4 Johnson - Good light heavyweight.
5 Ranquello - Poor for a top 5 spot

Not much if anything left to consider. Even the last two spots are kind of muddy when listing them as heavyweight fights. Would have been nice to see a couple more heavyweight fights from Spinks.

 

At 176lbs Ronquello was a lb over the lhvy limit. Johnson was 174lbs .

 

Michael Spinks

1-----Larry Holmes
2-----Gerry Cooney
3-----Steffan Tangstad

Comments--one of the best of all #1 wins, followed by two weak wins. Cooney was years past being a rated fighter. Tangstad was twice the European champion and had wins over Joe Bugner, Alfredo Evangilista, and Lucien Rodriguez. A blah contender but I don't think close to the worst to have gotten a title shot.

All technical arguments aside, that is it for heavyweight or even cruiserweight fights. All Spinks' other fights were at light-heavyweight and if the contestants had to make weight they could have by simply not drinking water that morning. They were rated as light-heavyweights and these fights were viewed as between light-heavyweights. 176 lbs was anyway in the cruiserweight, not the heavyweight, division, by this time.

If forced to say which fights are best for consideration in a heavyweight resume, I would say

Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Eddie Mustapha Muhammad

as both of them moved into the cruiserweight division and were ranked there. And Qawi also fought at heavyweight, including a match against Foreman.

So for me, three entries and two blanks, if you want to count my vote. A great #1 but the weakest 2 to 5 so far.

 

Spinks

Holmes
Cooney
Tangstad
?
?

 

Even though his opponent was inside the light heavyweight limit.Sure makes sense.lol