Could Anthony Joshua have smashed Michael Spinks (1988) out cold in round 1?

You can't seriously be comparing Cooney to Joshua. smh

Cooney came out of a 2 year retirement. And literally got 1 round in before fighting Spinks.

It's clear Spinks didn't want anything to do with the far more dangerous Tucker.

Plus Spinks literally retired following that fight.

 

Cooney hit harder than Joshua. Do you dispute that?

 

I dispute the inference you made that Joshua is a fighter of the same level as Cooney who to quote Holmes:
"He's the Great White Dope. Who's he ever beaten. He ain't never fought anybody."

 

I never said Cooney was at the level that Joshua is at. I said Cooney hit harder than Joshua and he did. I said Joshua isn’t 1/3 the boxer that Holmes was and he isn’t.

 

You left out "You need more than being a heavy puncher to beat Spinks."

I can acknowledge that Cooney hit extremely hard. How much harder than Joshua, I couldn't say. But I can with confidence that Joshua hits hard enough to stop the much smaller man in Spinks, and Joshua wouldn't have achieved what he has by being just a heavy puncher.

 

Well no, it is young for a strapping heavy, but not for a blown up LHW, and you completely ignored the fact that his knees were shot.

 

It's not likely. Spinks was actually a really good fighter. The Tyson loss really did his reputation a lot of harm.
AJ doesn't usually go in for an early kill anyway.

 

When is the last time you saw AJ "Smash" anybody out early?

 

Correct without a shadow of doubt.

 

People thought Spinks might be too slick for Tyson...he would win a lopsided decision against AJ

 

Spinks never faced a guy as big as AJ that had his jabs or combo`s, AJ`s power would be too much for Spinks.

 

Holmes had slowed down, he was in his mid 30`s when he fought Spinks.

 

He was coming into the fight off of the back of taking Larry Holme's 0 don't make out like he was this completely shot to bits over the hill fighter....

 

AJ's obviously not nearly as good as '88 Tyson, but I'd still back him to comfortably dispatch '88 Spinks - past his best and never really a heavyweight [certainly not a 2010s/2020s heavyweight] anyway.

 

No