How far could Michael Spinks have gone as heavyweight champion before meeting Tyson ?

I don’t think he would have done that well to be honest. He was already past his prime, injured, and enjoyed layoffs. I can see him getting some decent wins but I doubt he’ll have a long title reign

 

He'd probably beat the 3 you mentioned, if his knee holds out but he'd fall to Tucker.

 

If he came across Witherspoon first, then that's game over imo.
He'd be leading way out to the tenth, then the old legs start to go.
Spoon catches up with him and batters him to the floor.

 

I'm with Fergy here, but imo Witherspoon knocks the daylights out of him in 6 at the very outside.

Coetzee, same as above but it might take 9.

Berbick gets foozled early on, but clobbers him in 11.

Page has trouble too, but MS is done in 12.

Weaver would have caught up to him.

Bruno is trickier...Michael might be slippery enough to get a decision. I don't know, Bruno could really punch.

 

This. Spinks was better than any 80s fighter with the exception of Holmes and Tyson, but if he did meet Spoon, Berbick, and Bruno for instance, that would be a lot of brain damage, and he would probably lose the next fight he took.

 

I actually see most of the heavyweight s around mid to late 80 s thumping Spinks down.
Maybe one or two, his style and awkwardness beats em, but the majority of the club batter him. He did well to beat Larry, beat the washed out Cooney and Tangsted?? Think that's the right spelling, and then of course 91 seconds with Tyson.
A decent alphabet boy kos him imo.

 

To be honest I don't think Spinks wanted to go that route. He got beaucoup $$ to fight Cooney for not much risk.

That said he could have beaten the guys Tyson beat. But I don't think he had that many fights in him. He may have lost before getting to Tyson.

Spinks really cashed in fighting only Cooney and then getting a big payday against Tyson for the unified title.

 

I think Witherspoon and Page beats him. Especially Page. Tucker would too. Too big, to good. There was a slim chance Trevor beats Michael, but Michael wins on decision.

 

As usual with those guys, it all depends on which version of them shows up. The best version of any of the top fighters of that era (Witherspoon, Page, Tucker) is a difficult prospect for Spinks. They're all skilled and naturally bigger. if he gets the obese and/or druggie versions of any of them, he should have no trouble.

 

Witherspoon would knock him out.

Don King and Butch Lewis DID agree terms, and those terms had Spinks bypass the 'semi final' stage of the unification and go straight to the final, and could fight anyone they wanted in the interim (which was always known to be preferably Cooney for a big payday, but someone easy if not ).
But then when they saw Tyson obliterate Berbick they were looking for much bigger money and a more relaxed schedule. That's when Don King got the IBF to put pressure on them to fight Tony Tucker, which of course they had no intention of doing, and stripped Spinks of that title.

Spinks beat a tired old Holmes (who was coming off a tough and disputed 15 rounder with Carl Williams) and really didn't beat him in the rematch, and Tangstad and Cooney. There's no evidence that he was better than the likes of Witherspoon, Tubbs, Thomas, Berbick, Williams, etc. .... even on an average day for them. He'd do well to go 50-50 with the top 10 of that time, who were no great crop, and he'd likely do less well than that.

 

Michael was without question a sensational light heavyweight...to me he was an ok heavyweight. It's pretty impressive he clowned around and kept changing his style to just barely befuddle Holmes and take the crown (even I, the biggest Holmes fan here, had Michael ahead by a point), but that second fight was Holmes by a football field, and just how impressive were his other heavyweight wins after? Big deal.

Page, Coetzee, Weaver, Witherspoon...all of them would have stopped him imo. And not been terribly bothered in doing so. More like weirded out by his bizarre tactics (such a change from his boxer-with- wrecking-machine skills at light heavy).