Leon Spinks vs. Floyd Patterson 1978

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by sweetsci, Apr 12, 2020.


Leon Spinks vs. Floyd Patterson 1978

Poll closed Apr 19, 2020.

  1. Spinks by KO / TKO

    9 vote(s)
    45.0%

  2. Patterson by KO / TKO

    5 vote(s)
    25.0%

  3. Spinks by Decision

    1 vote(s)
    5.0%

  4. Patterson by Decision

    5 vote(s)
    25.0%

  5. Draw

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
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  1. swagdelfadeel

    swagdelfadeel Obsessed with Boxing

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    I thought the same thing. :lol:
     
    swagdelfadeel, Apr 13, 2020
    swagdelfadeel, Apr 13, 2020
    #16
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  2. steve1990

    steve1990 Active Member Full Member

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    Floyd was past his prime in 1972. In 1978 Leon would have destroyed him. Even the Ali 2 version of partying undertrained Spinks beats him.
     
    steve1990, Apr 13, 2020
    steve1990, Apr 13, 2020
    #17
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  3. mr. magoo

    mr. magoo VIP Member Full Member

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    Any heavyweight ranked in the top 25 in 1978 would have beaten Patterson by that point. I don’t even see why this is a question.
     
    mr. magoo, Apr 13, 2020
    mr. magoo, Apr 13, 2020
    #18
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  4. AwardedSteak863

    AwardedSteak863 Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Agreed. I can't believe we have multiple people voting that a 43 year old Patterson that had been retired for 6 years would beat a guy that just won Olympic gold two years earlier. Ali was faded in 78 but still a solid champ. He had just beat Shavers, Young and Norton (debatable) for God's sake. Spinks fought a good fight and never gets credit for it.
     
    AwardedSteak863, Apr 13, 2020
    AwardedSteak863, Apr 13, 2020
    #19
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  5. mr. magoo

    mr. magoo VIP Member Full Member

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    I know. There were journeyman in 78’ who likely would have beaten a comeback Patterson. Not even conversation worthy.
     
    mr. magoo, Apr 13, 2020
    mr. magoo, Apr 13, 2020
    #20
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  6. Jamal Perkins

    Jamal Perkins Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Positive imaginative thread...rather than senile drunk neanderthal origin crap like "The day the Petronelli"s outsmarted themselves" thread .....

    Floyd Patterson was still very fit well into the 1980"s.......Leon was undefeated...young and strong...but I give Floyd a chance!
     
    Jamal Perkins, Apr 13, 2020
    Jamal Perkins, Apr 13, 2020
    #21
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  7. swagdelfadeel

    swagdelfadeel Obsessed with Boxing

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    On a similar note, i heard prior to the Spinks fight Ali's team actually wanted and tried to get Patterson out of retirement to face Ali for the title for the 3rd time. Anyone know anything about this?
     
    swagdelfadeel, Apr 14, 2020
    swagdelfadeel, Apr 14, 2020
    #22
  8. Fergy

    Fergy Walking Dead Full Member

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    No, I don't see it. The 43 years old Paterson would be ragged about, unable to pull the trigger fast enough and Spinks would be all over him. If the fight did happen I'd say it's over in 3 rounds.
     
    Fergy, Apr 14, 2020
    Fergy, Apr 14, 2020
    #23
  9. sweetsci

    sweetsci Well-Known Member Full Member

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    I put up the question and poll because -

    a) The potential fight was discussed, at least a little, in 1978. It was a possibility, albeit a small one. Most fantasy fights on this forum would be impossible. I find fantasy fights that actually could have happened much more interesting.

    b) In the years following 1978 we've seen several fighters fight successfully into their forties. Patterson always kept himself in great shape and was constantly in the gym. Could he pull off a Foreman, Holmes, or Hopkins? We'll never know. Obviously, Floyd himself didn't pursue it.

    c) Yes, Spinks had a great performance against Ali in February. But four months before he drew with Scott LeDoux, who'd been stopped by Duane Bobick in his previous fight. After LeDoux, Leon squeaked by Alfio Righetti in Righetti's only fight outside of Italy. In the months following the first Ali fight, Leon was constantly in the news for bad behavior. Any self-discipline was out the window. The Ali rematch bore this out, as did the Coetzee fight the following year.

    d) When Patterson fought Ali the second time, he wasn't some old has-been ex-champ in it for one more payday. He was the number three contender in the world (by Ring, the WBA, and the WBC, and #4 by Boxing Illustrated) behind Ali and Foreman. He was on a nine-fight winning streak and hadn't lost since the debatable decision to Jimmy Ellis five years before. Immediately previous to Ali he'd decisioned Bonavena and stopped a 21-3 Pedro Agosto (okay, no great shakes, but Floyd did look good according to the press report). Even after the second Ali fight he hung in the lower part of the top ten in ratings by Ring, Boxing Illustrated, and World Boxing for nine more months.

    Maybe the guys who are saying that Leon would destroy an 43-year-old inactive Patterson in 1978 are correct. But given the circumstances noted above, I think Floyd has a chance.
     
    sweetsci, Apr 14, 2020
    sweetsci, Apr 14, 2020
    #24
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  10. Jamal Perkins

    Jamal Perkins Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Floyd would hurt leon with that left hook...of course there are assumptions here....but hell i saw floyd on a punchbag in 1996...he looked good....he looked damned good....if he had been on the comeback trail in say 1977/78 and had a couple of wins behind him...if he gets spinks..the partying...going crazy..leon spinks than....theres a chance there
     
    Jamal Perkins, Apr 14, 2020
    Jamal Perkins, Apr 14, 2020
    #25
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  11. steve21

    steve21 Well-Known Member

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    No, but it wouldn't surprise me; IIRC, they were even trying to get one of Ali's first pro opponents back in the ring - maybe the first one to knock him down? - even though he hadn't fought in years. At this point, obviously, they knew he was shot and were looking for a no or low risk novelty to create one more payday.
     
    steve21, Apr 14, 2020
    steve21, Apr 14, 2020
    #26
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  12. swagdelfadeel

    swagdelfadeel Obsessed with Boxing

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    Nope. I doubt it was the first one who knocked him down seeing as he got killed 3 years later by a quite literally murderous barrage. Granted he would have been "little risk". :sisi2:
     
    swagdelfadeel, Apr 14, 2020
    swagdelfadeel, Apr 14, 2020
    #27
  13. steve21

    steve21 Well-Known Member

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    I'm sure Don King would have found a way to make it happen ... ;)

    My memory being what it is, I looked it up; this was after Ali regained the title from Spinks. When Ali was sixteen-year old Cassius Clay, he was stopped in the second round of an amateur fight by a guy named Kent Green. He was never a great pro or even amateur, hadn't fought in years, but was the only guy to have KO'd Ali and seen as an opportunity for a revenge bout ... and another payday for the leeches.
     
    steve21, Apr 15, 2020
    steve21, Apr 15, 2020
    #28
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