How good could Leon Spinks have been?

I'd say yes to all the above had he been properly trained, brought along and stayed serious and clean outside the ring... Leon was a gold medalist and while Muhammad Ali was beyond past it, beating him over 15 rounds with only 7 fights under Leon's belt was still a great feat.. Problem is he was brought along too fast and needed some time to develop against some more middle of the road opposition.. He should have taken a step back after the ali fights rather than jumping right back into the WBA elimination mix.. ad to that the drugs and whatever other nonsense and derailed what otherwise might have been a great career..

 

I think if he had been moved more slowly, never fought at heavyweight, and improved his defense he could have been a very solid Cruiserweight contender.

However, I don't think he ever could have beaten prime DeLeon or Qawi. They were too well rounded for him.

He may have had a longer prime, but wouldn't be known. He would not have ever become a dominant champion.

 

He was a bit small imho. I remember seeing him against Coetzee and couldn't understand how he could be seen as such a huge threat to Gerrie. Obviously one fight doesn't define Spinks but it seems to me his lack of size would have told against him in the long run.

 

Could have given Larry a rougher night if he had been more dedicated.came from nowhere and won the title so didn't get any experience had learn in the deep end not great for a long career.plus he was a nutter and had a crazy private life.

 

He is lucky he got as far as he did. He caught an old champ badly out of shape and should have fought Norton next. Ken would have cleaned his clock in 8.

 

If he was on point, he would have been remembered as a very good fighter. If brought up properly, taken Holmes to the brink, beaten Deleon and Qawi, and possibly beaten an aging Norton in 1978.

 

It is funny that lots of people criticise his management for bringing him on too quickly. chances are if 99% of people on this forum managed him, he would have fallen off the rails and never amounted to anything.

It is also forgotten that the version of Ali he faced was a better version of Ali than the one that drew with the number 1 contender Trevor Berbick.

 

Exactly as good as he was.

 

You mean a nothing a fighter who was at one point considered the best fighter in the world, and who earned an awful lot of money from his career?

As opposed to a guy who had to struggle his whole career train the house down, go through wars and generally earn a tenth of what he actually did. I would say that is pretty good management isnt it?

It isnt really his managements fault that he fell off the rails and couldnt dedicate himself properly to his training.

 

Many today forget the sensation Leon was during the 76 Olympics. He was a well trained, super aggressive fighter with ko power in his right hand.

Then he turned pro and was rushed along for a championship shot. Because fame and fortune came so quickly he did not handle it well and his fall from grace was catastrophic.

I tend to believe with the right management he could have done much better for himself. Certainly not an ATG but instead a respectable boxing career.

 

You're right. People forget what a beast Leon was in the amateurs. He was "feared" by light heavyweights around the globe before the 1976 Olympics like Tyson was coming up as a young pro.

And he beat Ali in a spectacular 15-rounder (the fight of the year) just 13 months after turning pro. It was just amazing.

After Ali lost, he went on every TV show he could trying to drum up support for a rematch. But I believed at the time, and believe now, that Spinks' career may have gone a lot better if he'd faced Norton first.

I think I'm one of the few people who believe Leon Spinks would've beaten Norton over 15 rounds in 1978. Norton was coming off a squeaker against Jimmy Young - which he arguably could've lost. And he lost his next fight to Holmes, even though Holmes had a torn bicep and probably shouldn't have even been fighting.

With his aggression, I think Spinks would've done just fine against Norton and maybe even could've worn Ken down over the distance - like Ledoux would do in just 10 rounds in 1979.

Then, giving Ali a rematch in 1979, when Ali was even worse off, he'd (Leon) have likely have done much better.

Also, if he'd have faced Norton, he might have never faced Coetzee at all. Kalie Knoetze was the #1 WBA contender in 1979, and Leon would've likely faced him. And Knoetze wasn't very good.

With three defenses under his belt, his next major opponent would've probably been either Holmes or John Tate (his Olympic teammate - who I also think he could've gotten past).

Yes, if he'd just taken Norton first, I think things would've turned out much better, and Leon could've gotten more experience with the title ... until he eventually ran into Holmes.

Or ... maybe Larry never gets a fight with Spinks at all.

 

Leon was a drug addict and alcoholic from a young age, this from the biography recently written about him. He was out of control most of the time.

Sober, as a cruiser, with good management, he could have been something in this lighter division. At heavy, I think he went about as far as he could have gone.

 

Everyone achieves exactly what their potential allows, mental, physical, psychological factors involved.

Otherwise, you are creating a fictional, non-existent Leon Spinks. I assumed we are discussing the actual Leon Spinks.

 

The fictional Leon Spinks shoots deadly laser beams through the space in his teeth.