Comparing today to 1988

It's a bit itchy in picky these, for two reasons: first of all, we don't know exactly how good or bad the current fighters are going to be, and second, fighter's stock always grows after they retire. That said, my picks are these:

1. Tyson vs. Wlad => Tyson by TKO. No explanation necessary.


2. Spinks vs. Peter => Peter by TKO. Spinks was good and a fantastic light heavyweight, but as a heavyweight i think he wasn't all that. Holmes seemed undertrained and he took that one fair and square, but i thought he lost the rematch. Cooney was done and coked up for a few years. Spinks may also have been a bit less in 1988 than he was when he beat Holmes in '85. I know Tyson was an animal back then, but he did get stopped very easy.

3. Chageav vs. Holyfield => Holyfield hard fought decision. Chagaev is skilled and heavy handed, but i think Holyfield's workrate, determination and also exceptional skillset will make the difference and see him to a decision win. No knockdowns.

4. Tucker vs. Valuev => Valuev decision, Tucker has the tools but lacks the desire and the fire to win like he did throghout his entire career. It's true that Tucker only lost to a prime Tyson and Lewis, but what are his best wins? It seemed to be more Douglas' loss in gassing than Tucker's win. Fair is fair, he did beat him, but Valuev, while not half as fast or athletic (unless we compensate for size), has a very steady punch output and an iron chin.


5. Povetkin vs. Witherspoon => 88's Witherspoon wasn't the same as the driven fighter that pushed Holmes to the edge. The Russian threw 71 punches a round over 12 against Chambers to pick up a decision win, after a slow start. I think in the end, his workrate and quick combinations will make the difference. Povetkin UD.

6. Ibragimov vs. Thomas => Thomas was shot after the Tyson fight (watch the Holyfield fight) and i'd pick Sultan (and basically the entire top10) to beat him convincingly. However, by the time these ratings were made, the assumption was he was as good as he was against Tyson. So i'd call this one even.

7. Maskaev vs. Williams (I don't understand why Oleg is so high either) => I'd take Williams by TKO or decision win. Maskaev is too far past his best and even in his prime he'd probably lose to Williams, though he'd have more of a puncher's chance back then.

8. Virchis vs. Berbick => I'd go with Berbick by decision, although Virchis hits ****ing hard. He's got a puncher's chance, but he's very limited technically. You could say he's Foreman with even less skill.


9. Rodrigues vs. Thompson => I have to admit i've never seen Rodrigues. His record is extremely padded and he folded early against Holyfield in the days Evander seemed to lack power and against old Foreman. His win resume is rather thin, the most notable being a split decision over an erratic Smith. Thompson's record is not exactly filled with big wins either however, i'd call this one even since i haven't seen Adilson.


10. Ruiz vs. Biggs => Ruiz by decision.


That would make it 4-4-2 on my card.

Wise words. Tyson and Holyfield are a notch above Wladimir and Chagaev/Valuev/Peter/Povetkin/whoever is #2, while i think Wlad/Chagaev/Valuev/Peter/Povetkin today as a group are better than Tyson/Holyfield/Thomas '88/Witherspoon '88/Spinks '88. The wildcard here is Povetkin, though. He has a lot of potential, although that is by no means any guarantee.

 

Spinks would dominate Peter in my opinion.

 

It would be a cool idea to do this with all the weightclasses, not just heavy.

 

Spinks was a weak fighter in 1988. He lacked movement, and was a sitting suck vs Tyson. I'd pick Peter over Spinks.

 

I was referring to more of the best version of Spinks at HW.

 

Here's the thing. While the 88 crew might have bigger names, many of them were past their primes by 1988, while the 2008 has many fighters in their prime or approaching their prime.

With this thought in mind, here are my picks:

1. Tyson vs. Wlad >> Tyson

2. Spinks vs. Peter >>Peter

3. Chageav vs. Holyfield >>> Chagaev, Holy wasn't at his best at heavy yet, and had his hands full with cursiers and past their prime heavies such as Dokes around this time.

4. Tucker vs. Valuev >>> Hard to call. Tucker was better but he lacked fire at times. I go Tucker via SD.

5. Povetkin vs. Witherspoon >>Povetkin via SD

6. Ibragimov vs. Thomas >>Ibragimov via TKO. Thomas was done after Tyson.

7. Maskeav vs. Williams >> Williams via UD

8. Virchis vs. Berbick >>> Berbick via UD

9. Rodrigues vs. Thompson >>Thompson via UD. Rodrigues was beyond over rated.

10. Ruiz vs. Biggs >>Ruiz via UD.

Score

1988 - 4
2008 - 6

 

wheres tony tubbs and razor ruddock????

 

The post says the 1988 version of Spinks. That version of Spinks lasted less than 2 mintues with Mike Tyson.

 

god I cannot believe people are actually picking slow robotic one dimension limited skill sam peter over a great fighter like michael spinx.


Look what 38 year old obese middleweight did to sam peter in the first fight with those counter right hands, spinx jinx would land at will on peter. peter is WAYYY to slow and un accurate to have a prayer at catching elusive spinx.




anyone who picks ibragimov over pinklon thomas who fought mike tyson needs to lay off the crack pipe


anyone who picks chagaev over 1988 holyfield deserves to be beaten with a stick, holyfields speed reflexes were as sharp and fast as ever in 88, and i dont care how small holyfield was then.....the blubbery arm punching chagaev will be outclassed




Considering top 1988 guys like tubbs and ruddock were left off, i think this is a improper way of doing things.

 

1980s heavyweight big men were hands down far more talented and skilled than todays crop, although think todays crop is improving with young talent FINALLY.