Reign as champion is not the only criteria especialy in the light heavyweight division. Arguably the three greatest fighters of that weight did not hold the title because the curent champion was sh1ting their pants when their name was mentioned. Ezzard Charles Sam Langford Harry Greb If the champions didnt give them a chance then you do. At least look at who they beat.
Great fighter who only problem (if you consider it that) was that he didn't have more fights, maybe he could've fought and beaten Rossman, Saad Muhammad, and Jerry Martin.
LH wasn't actually that weak in the 80's. Eddie Mustapha Muhammad was considered a legit p4p candidate when he fought Spinks, and was considered, in many ways, to really be coming into his own. Dwight Muhammad Qawi was just a scary mofo at 175lbs, and his demolitions of Saad proved that point. Yaqui Lopez was past his best, but he was still a damned tough contender who had given Saad all he could handle in his previous fight/ Marvin Johnson was a legit threat at 175lbs, who would go on to win a title after Spinks moved up. Eddie Davis was a good solid contender who would have been a good solid contender in pretty much every era. Even some of the also-rans that Spinks fought were decent fighters. Murray Sutherland won a title at 168lbs. Jerry Celestine, Johnny Davis, Mustapha Wassaja and Vonzell Johnson were all decent fighters in their own right, and as a whole, comprised a better body of work than, sayb Foster's list of contenders...or RJJ's list, too. It was a good era. And Spinks dominanted it. Can't ask for anything more than that.
Someone can correct me if I am wrong about the opponent, but here is my definition of Micheal Spinks. He lifted Jerry Celestine's feet a good two inches off the canvass with an uppercut! Fight Over!
Look I'm new here and can say there are a lot of guys that know their stuff. Some have one niche, some have others. I like the message boards to debate, express opinion and definately to learn. While many are guilty of getting hot at one time or other (myself included), what separates the best boards from the low rent is when the guys give one another the benefit of the doubt, show a little give and take and try to avoid sarcastic remarks or mean spirited attacks. That is the strong point of the CBZ . Eastside Boxing has lots of fresh ideas, much more activity, some very sharp fans but is also raw at times. Simply a different flavor. Still lots of fun.
