If Michael and Howard had the pre-title schedule of Ray Leonard, could they have gotten their title shots sooner than they did?
There was some question about whether or not Howard got his first shot against Jim Watt too soon, but he felt the timing was just right. In the case of Mike Spinks, he had the example of big brother Leon to witness as an cautionary example of achieving too much success too quickly. Bear in mind that Mike managed himself, and has always had the closest boxer-promoter relationship with Butch Lewis of any boxer with any promoter in modern times. Considering the degree of career success Mike had in the ring, I think the timing of events in his case was about as perfect as could be. (I consider Mike, not SRL, as the greatest professional boxer to come out of the Montreal Olympics.)
Michael most definitely, but as far as Howard, something seemed a bit fragile about him, despite his skills.So, a ten or less chance of him doing what Ray did.
