Michael Spinks vs Buster Douglas

No, I won't good thread. But it speaks for itself, Spinks by a shutout. A good version of Douglas could make a good match of boxing out of this, but I have it Spinks by TKO 10. Buster leads but gases out fast, and Michael boxes him, then batters him. Pretty good scrap.

 

I don't see a difference in the Buster who fought Tyson and Holyfield. Not as big as people think. He was more out of shape and not as focused for Evander, but he was still Buster. Look how he went down in round 8 with Tyson and looked at his gloves the same way as he did with Evander. Holyfield had a plan and Mike did not fighting Buster. And Spinks would fight Buster more like Evander did. I think he would beat Buster by late TKO. Buster to me had skill, but I rarely have him doing well in head to head possible matchups. He was too inconsistent and when he was hit with a big punch he always thought about packing it in. Not the best thing to do when matched with great fight scenarios.

 

Stopped reading after this sentence. If you actually believe this, you're a clown.

 

Spinks wins. Choosing the Douglas who beat Tyson over the Spinks who lost to Tyson and making a judgment based on this is like eliminating virtually all of Douglas's mediocre performances and then eliminating Spinks's HOF career - pretty clear that is unrepresentative of both fighters.

Spinks was a better fighter so I don't think Douglas's size advantages would be a deciding factor - plus, Spinks wouldn't have folded or been overawed like he was against Tyson. The Spinks that beat Larry Holmes in their first fight is plenty good enough to beat any version of Buster.

 

I am not into the fighters reasons or excuses. He signs the contract he is responsible for what happens. He looked at his gloves the same way in round 8 with Tyson and round 3 with Holyfied. He quit with Tucker.

 

an in shape Buster would decision Spinks at heavyweight.... Buster was more fluid than Holmes at the time of Larry's title defenses against Spinks... and I dont feel that Spinks would bring enough heat to disrupt Buster's movement

 

Spinks every day of the week. Are people forgetting this man beat Larry Holmes?

Not trying to take anything away from Buster because what he did in Tokyo shocked the world but let's not get gassed.....!!! Mike Tyson hadn't put the work in during camp, wasn't entering the ring as the same animal he'd been in previous fights and was at the beginning of a downward spiral.

 

If you don't see a difference between the Douglas that fought Tyson and the one who fought Holyfield, I don't know what to say. Douglas was dreadfully out of shape for Holyfield. I am from Columbus. Everyone here knew he was out of shape. He had ballooned to about 275 pounds and just tried to sweat it out instead of training properly. He even ordered a pizza in the sauna for Christ's sake. I agree that Douglas was inconsistent. And, he often lacked motivation. But, against Tyson he was amazing. And, that version likely beats any version of Spinks.

 

I try to get into the excuses mode and see if I accept any of that and I have a hard time. Even with Hearns and the massage with Hagler or the 145 pounds. I just can't. So Hearns was 145 for Ray and yet for fights before that he was not and he won? And he is my favorite fighter. Excuses when you pay good money or there is a big fight cannot mean much. There is too much at stake and these guys fought their whole careers for this opportunity. So the one who was motivated and didn't have an excuse deserves the win even more.


I honestly don't see how it matters if I see a difference because you do or others do. I have some sort of a stubborn adversion to accepting this fighter was different in this fight than another because then it takes away from the winner, who came to fight. Then why should we order fights or get excited about them. There should be money given back to the fans in cases like that, or else no talk of excuses or lack of motivation or training. I really don't believe in fixes and I don't like excuses. This is not a big deal but for some reason people want to explain fights like this. Like they were different fighters. I cannot get into a fighters head and excuse a showing.I assume Douglas had a style matchup issue and not and excuse. If there is a slippage well then the fighter's career will go down after that and that will tell us the story. But if they win after , then it is more a case of styles.

Reasoning? Yeah fighters diminish and weights have to do with things as variables, but a 3rd round knockout? He didn't have time to show he was out of shape. To give him an excuse? Evander came to fight as always. In that I figure Buster is like all the fighters I watch like Hearns or Holmes who came to fight and gave it a great effort for the fans.. The Evander fight was the typical Buster showing and not the Tyson fight, so I don't see how an excuse really matters. This was the typical Buster. Let us be honest, he was the same guy who quit against Tucker and almost quit against Tyson and now he quit against Evander. I ordered that fight and paid for it, so he should have been in shape and focused I would hope. That was enough money in 1990. I don't understand why ordering a pizza and all this matters. I assume he was a professional and came to fight. Take a look at his reaction when Tyson knocked him down and then when Evander did. Look how he looks at his gloves. That was how he gauged how hurt he was. That didn't have to do with a pizza. He was amazing against Tyson but that was almost an 8th round knockout for Tyson. It was a very close count. I don't see him beating Spinks. I don't think Spinks would time a right like this, but I think he would stop him a little later.

 

Why would you assume that he came to fight when all of the objective evidence is to the contrary? I agree that Buster put in a shameful performance that did not merit full pay. But, that is not how professional boxing works. Instead of being paid less for his performance, he was paid more for one single night than any athlete in history up to that point. He had also tamed the "Baddest man on the planet" and fulfilled his father's dream of him becoming champion. Some people get better as champion. Many other fighters (especially ones that get enormous paydays) are no longer hungry to stay in such a rough sport as boxing. Buster clearly falls into the second category. It wasn't just against Holyfield....Buster never had a single win of any significance after defeating Tyson.

 

If I assume a professional fighter is coming to fight in a PPV event that is not the normal thing? I cannot accept excuses, with pizza or anything. The sport is too important for that. It is not about individual fighters. Well that is how I see boxing and professional sports. I cannot accept excuses or talk of fixes or the sport will not be worth following. The story was great when he won, but the fact is we cannot match up Buster in great fighter scenarios much. His biggest fights other than Tyson were almost disasters. We almost have to discount the Tyson fight and figure Mike was the one who had an excuse. And I don't even like to do that, but he did decline gradually. Not because of eating a pizza but because he was training less and getting rid of guys who knew how he got to the top like Rooney.