If the 70s are the supposed Golden Heavyweight age....

Wlad and vitali stop him.

Pov could be just as naturally talented as pre-drugs leon so he'd have likely beaten him also.

Prime chag also has a chance. But after that noone would I expect.

Leon, for all his faults was a gold medalist and went 1-1 with ali. Before the drugs and fame got to him he wouldn't have been anyone's pick for worst hw champ in history.

 

That is another factor of course.

Perhaps Spinks had the potential to be much more than he was.

 

The thread is a weak argument, Ali was pretty much shot against Spinks and Spinks wasn't that bad

I wouldn't outright pick him but I'd give him at least 50-50s with Adamek (I'd make him a solid favourite here), Fury, Helenius, Thompson, Dimitrenko and I haven't seen Pulev so I don't know. Chambers I think is better. Povetkin I'm not sure, he's bigger and stronger though. Haye most likely beats him, Chisora is another close call

 

In answer to that question, I would have strongly backed both Norton & Holmes to beat the 1978 Ali, probably Young, quite possibly Shavers in a rematch. Possibly Gerrie Coetzee, although Coetzee may have been a little too green at that point. Ron Lyle in 1978? The Lyle who beat Bugner (March 1977) is a possibilty to beat Ali of Spimks 1, but not Ali of Spinks 2, imo.

Foreman was retired by then, so he can't be considered part of the equation...I wonder if, looking back, big George regrets retiring after the Young fight, with the way things panned out in '78?

 

It's a tough question to ask so i'll answer I the only way I think is fair.

The ali who fought leon was very very undertrained and was highly underestimating his opponent.

That ali loses to shavers, norton, young, foreman, holmes, ocassio and of course leon himself.

I don't have a top ten handy for that particular year but an undertrained ali who is underestimating his opponent whilst being very battle weary and suffering from early onset of parkinson's is not a very strong champion nor h2h pick.

 

Mercado could be mentioned, massive hitter who ko'd a developing Berbick in no time and stopped Shavers. No great shakes tho.

 

I cant see spinks beating any of them, I'd also pick Boytsov, Mitchell, Ustinov arreola, cunningham and hernandez over him.

 

I the think its pretty obvious why Spinks became champ. He managed to catch an Ali who was well past his prime and battle worn, and earn a decision against him. Ali then quickly won back in his title in his last good perfomance. the fact Leon was only a champ for a few month should tell how much of an impact he made on the heavyweight division of that era.

 

Yes, although spinks became champ he wasn't the best around in 1978. But if you look at the top ten in 1978, it was crap. There's only larry holmes, nobody else there is anything special. The best boxer in the world at this time was Teofilo Stevenson.

Muhammad Ali, Champion
Larry Holmes
Ken Norton
Leon Spinks
Ron Lyle
Jimmy Young
Kallie Knoetze
Alfredo Evangelista
Gerrie Coetzee
Ossie Ocasio
Domingo D'Elia

 

1978 wasnt a strong time at all for heavyweights. early 70s probably was a strong time but i dont get caught up in 'golden era' hypebole. im old enough to remember it.
anyway leon spinks even at 7 fights was better than many will give him credit for. the kid had a ton of potential but blew it puttin that nasty candy up his nose

 

leon Spinks as he was in february 1978 would beat chisora and probably dimitrenko and fury who is rubbish. eddie chambers isnt looking too hot lately either.

 

For a very brief time Leon was a good fighter. But as you said he and his habits blew it, just like many of the other guys of the late 70s through the 80s. A lot of talent was lost due to partying and drugs in that 10-12 year span.

 

Fury 6th in the World!!!!!!!!



atsch

 

It wasn't - that's just a revisionist myth.

The '70s had a few standout ATG/HOFers - which, in itself, is probably enough to make it a notch or two better than most other HW eras - but the remainder of the division consisted of decent-but-unspectacular contenders typical of almost any other HW era.

IMO, almost any decade in which the typical HWs were really natural CWs, just as Spinks was - in other words, any decade prior to his own.

Spinks was a pretty good fighter in and of himself, but he was basically a bulked-up CW who had the misfortune of coming around just as the division was transitioning into the "big HW" phase, and he simply couldn't handle a big HW's punch (ie: Coetzee). If he could've been matched more consistently with fighters closer to his own natural size, I think he might've been more successful and remembered more fondly today.