i believe patterson would catch spinks cold like tyson did .. that peak aboo angled shots seemed to catch spinks once you got passed the jab and sneaky right hand leads spinks didn't have **** .. he wasn't very physical
In terms of size and athleticism, I think both men faced a fair number of fighters who were comparable in height and weight. The heavyweights that Patterson fought during the 50's and 60's were generally not much larger than the lightheavyweights that Spinks fought in the 70's and 80's, and in fact, Spinks during his heavyweight run was quite a bit bigger than Patterson. Floyd fought some big hitters, but was floored regularly, and some of those knockdowns were not always against devastating sluggers. Michael was only decked by one man, who is a concencus all time great puncher in his prime, and Spinks was arguably past his best, plus did not look especially pumped up for that fight. Fundamentally, it is hard to say who was superior, but I'm inclined to thinking that Michael was generally the more scientific of the two. He fought a very awkward style that few ever figured out, and could adapt to fight differently to meet the needs of a given challenge. Patterson was a great technician as well, but his style failed him on several occasions. As for competition, well I think Floyd shared the ring with better fighters, but lost to the best men he faced. Sure, Ali, Liston, Johanson, Quarry and a few others were better than many of the fighters Michael fought, but Floyd lost most of those fights, so we really can't credit him for beating better men. A 35 year old Holmes, a weary Cooney, and a number of good lightheavyweights such as Marvin Johnson, Dwight Qawi, and Mustafa Muhammad were at least comparable or perhaps higher in quality than a 39 year old Moore, Roy Harris, Pete Rademacher, Oscar Bonavena, or even Johanson who beat Floyd one out of three. This may not be the best predicition, but I'd likely pick Spinks to take a decision over Floyd, perhaps even stop him late, under the pretense that he had a better record, was floored far fewer times, beat comparable or better fighters, and was likely a slightly better technician.
This fight is very interesting, considering it's one of the few times you could actually put them H2H at Heavyweight or Light-Heavyweight. This is because Floyd Patterson did fight at Light-Heavyweight, and was on the smaller side of the Heavyweight division, even for his time. Either way, I think Floyd Patterson had a style that would present problems for Michael Spinks from the outset. He would keep his hands up and throw double-jabs to dicatate the pace. Michael would use his awkward boxing style and monsterous punch to create openings, probably dropping Patterson at some point early. But, as always, Floyd would get up, and I see him outworking Spinks, especially in the Championship rounds, winning a close decision. Floyd Patterson UD12 (or 15, either way) Michael Spinks
