Could Michael Spinks vs Mustafa Muhammad been different if…..

Eddie was an excellent fighter; at the time I thought he was on his way to ATG. I imagine things might have gone better against Michael had he not so radically lost the weight.

That said, Spinks was on fire that night. I would have picked him 2 out of 3 fights.

 

I think Mustafa would've had a good shot on that night, as Spinks was still a bit raw & short on experience @ the world class level. As it is, I thought Mustafa was winning @the halfway mark, fighting mostly on guile, before Spinks made adjustments & the fight rapidly turned in his favor.

But in a hypo where each man is @ his best, I think Spinks still wins.

 

Ah man, how many times did i used to bang on about this one. There's a lot to unpack here.

The excuse is legit, the dates are there and the pundage as well.

The actual poundage lost is just one part of the story tho. Inclusive but over and above the figure is that Mustafa had to lose 1 3/4 pounds the morning of the fight. This told later in the fight.

As for the fight itself, Mustafa was comfortably outboxing Spinks for the first 7 rounds. The weight loss reared it's ugly head in the second half of the fight as Mustafa was pretty listless.........but on top of this Eddie's right eye closed rapidly after the 8th round, caused by either a combination or a well placed elbow depending on who you listened to. Spinks had the most educated elbows in the game. Between being quite blinded and having no energy Eddie had plenty of trouble defending himself after that point let alone winning rounds and he hung in gamely. How he got up and continued from that late KD i'll never know.

I think Eddie would have been a solid chance of winning myself. He was a huge puncher himself and quite sharp. Spinks was a slow starter tho and would have been trying to come on in the second half as he knows how to win. Spinks was however still a bit raw and inexperienced at this point as Bolo said. Best for best I'd have Spinks favorite, absolutely, but i wouldn't count Mustafa out, personally. Spinks could get in those lulls and usually pulled himself out of them by knocking out his opponent but that's not happening against Eddie. He's an awkward match for Michael.

 

Fine thread Goo, i haven't seen much about this one for a long time. Good stuff mate.

 

If I remember rightly Spinks decked Muhammad with a right hand late on in the fight and pummelled him. And I really don't know how Muhammad got through the round it's to his credit and durability that he did.

But that big round for Spinks seemed to turn the fight on its head and Spinks was in control from that point on. I don't think the weight issues had anything to do with that it was just a perfect right hand from Spinks.

I personally think Spinks would always beat Muhammad I think he was better at going through the gears and winning competitive close fights.

 

Great post John I have been meaning to rewatch and score Spinks vs Muhammad I haven't seen it for over a decade when I was in my early teens.

 

Cheers DP.