Michael Spinks vs Conteh, Galindez, Saad?

Michael would have his share of problems against all three, but he would probably beat Saad the easiest, then Galindez, then Conteh in a nailbiter.All three would be by UD's.

 

Saad did make a habit of coming back from the brink....But spinks is the type that if he puts you to the brink...he is not going to let you recover, wounded prey gets dealt with..even Murray Sutherland "Ïnconvenianced" Saad , The Spinks Jinks probably finishes the Job the Left Hook Starts...

Galindez did rely on those closing bursts to scrap past Lopez, Kates and Gregory..Spinks i feel is too athletic and combative to Drift like Gregory, his pace and Venom will have Victor burning concentration energy..even in the quiter periods..looking for the Spinks strike, Barring cuts Spinks on points...too unwilling to be sucked into Victors "Cruise Ruse" !

Conteh, on form will undoubtedly present problems, his ability to switch from Boxing mode to Attack Mode, in an instant will present problems, but Mike has this "Sudden Impact" ability as well,, Mike has an "Herky-Jerky" style, but when he unleashes his shots a marvelous co-heision is employed, Mike did have trouble with Gregory and his skills when winning the title, also Eddie Davis, So Conteh, a Conteh not handicappred by hand or management problems, has every chance of making the fight a Chess-Match, and that would be his best option as trying to be too aggressive against Mike would probably lead to him getting caught by something nasty, with Conteh's Cobraésque head movement perhaps frustrating Mike at Boxing, i think at some stage Mike would land something of impact and Put Conteh into defensive boxing Mode, I can see Mike getting a close decision in a very entertainingboxing match. Mike brings two guns to this match, Conteh a Gun and a rapier, - he is foiled !

 

Personally, I think Eddie G. is better than all of them if he'd had his head screwed on straight (a big if mind you)

IMO I think Michael may be a tad overrated among the ATG Lt. Heavies.
Maybe because of his bouts with Holmes who was IMO a bit complacent and approaching 'long in the tooth' status when he fought Spinks.

All that said, Spinks against all 3 would be great scraps.

Many on board don't appreciate Galindez having seeing only most of his late 70's efforts after his wars.

Eddie had to lose tons after his ridiculous heavyweight effort. Stepping into the ring looking like a shriveled pear against Mike he had a big early lead only to fade (obviously) and get nailed with the "Jinx" late and...still got up and finished the fight.
If you think Saad had a better set of whiskers than Eddie then perhaps a Saad-Spinks scrap wouldn't be the one-sided bout many are suggesting.

Conteh is an interesting discussion.
Boxer-puncher and, again, many on board saw him only after the repeated right-hand fractures and complacency.

I was around when the one and true champ in all divisions gave way to the alphabet titles.

The great, tho declining, Bob Foster defended against Jorge Ahumada in June 74 (my late friend and I were at a theater closed circuit to watch it after the Frazier-Quarry re-(mis)-match. Jorge managed a draw in Bob's hometown, not an easy task. After Foster's inactivity, both 'bodies' WBA/WBC set up elimination matches for the title. Victor vs. Len Hutchins and Conteh vs. Ahumada. If Ahumada had been born a few years later he would be right in the mix of the late-70's bad asses. Victor wore down the slick Hutchings stopping him on his stool at the end of the 13th.
My late friend and I wasted countless hours in late-74/75 debating a Conteh/Galindez matchup for the outright title. But it was never to be and that was sad.
I'm out...my $0.02

 

Spinks TKO 10 Saad

Matthew absorbs a ton of punishment, and gets waxed when he tries to turn it up for one of his patent comebacks. As noted, too easy to hit for a sharpshooter like Spinks.

Spinks W15 Galindez
Unless Michael cuts him up to get the stoppage, stubborn Galindez hangs in but doesn't win many rounds. Bad matchup stylistically for Victor.

Spinks W15 Conteh
Yes, Conteh gives people fits stylistically but he doesn't have the firepower and fades in the championship rounds. Maybe its even after 8 or 10, but Spinks all the way after that. Take a closer look at Conteh's record -- Yaqui Lopez is the only world-class fighter he ever beat.

 

Some people say the world is flat

 

I see Spinks beating all three of these guys.

 

Spinks KOs Muhammad inside of 10 -- too much firepower against a guy with suspect defense, despite Saad's durability. Probably an entertaining scrap, however.

Spinks jabs Galindez silly and likely stops him on cuts in the late rounds. Victor gives him a few rough moments but can't sustain it.

I believe Spinks has an easier time with Conteh than most here seem to think. Conteh was a joy to watch but lacked firepower and was lucky to get a hometown draw with Jesse Burnett -- a skilled boxer but nowhere near Spinks' class in that category. I'd say 11-4 in rounds, thereabout.

 

Conteh was coked up and out of shape against Burnett(which was indeed a hometown call)and ivy brown.on the way out due to his lifestyle.It's why he was chosen as an easy "name" opponent for saad.

He only lacked firepower after ruining his right hand and adopting a more safety-first approach at the end of his career against saad to hide the fact he'd lost a lot.He carried very good power in both hands and was vicious with his punches.napoles,Dejesus sort of smooth heavy handedness.

 

I shall have to investigate further. I was always under the impression that Burnett was robbed from everything I had read but never seen any footage.

 

This is all true, but I do agree with Saintpat's argument that Conteh gets a bit overrated. He's remembered largely for his famously "one-handed" performances against Lopez and Saad, but often overlooked is the fact that he fell short against Parlov when fighting very vigorously and with both hands. He also had a titanic struggle with Ahumada - again, fighting with both hands - in which he took a lot of punishment and had to call on all his resolves to pull it out toward the end.

 

No, the Parlov fight was mostly fought using one hand.His right hand was already badly damaged, not often used and clearly not the same as it was.It was the left hooks to the body that allowed him to take charge late and make that fight a very controversial decision.

besides that was after a year long-layoff, one journeyman tuneup fight then another four months to Parlov and now well into the poor lifestyle that ruined his career.

You can basically split his career into two or three segments in the ring

1. Up to Willie Taylor where he badly broke his hand.He was consistently improving up to this point and probably just coming into his peak.

Ahumada fight here was full of back and forth yeah, but i don't see it as a criticism of him unless you're arguing he was already an all-time great by that point or something, which i certainly never have.Ahumada was an excellent, more experienced fighter and at his peak, remember he was actually favoured by many to win the fight as Conteh was only 3 years into his career, but being matched tough and properly developed; this being his first fight against the noted argentinian boxer-brawler style of the time.It was one of the more skilled light heavy fights of that whole generation and Ahumada was sent right into decline by it.Not really a fight to criticise in context imo.

-brief interlude including long 14 month layoff and return against Lopez, which imo was an understandably rusty performance, but one that showcased the potential he had.HArdly throws a right hand all fight.Destroys Hutchins in a sharp performance a few months later and actually seems to be trying to work the right again there.

2.Another year layoff where the wheels come off.Dedication falls to bits, eventually ruins his hand in a car crash, gets further embroiled in disputes with Duff, bbofC and doesn't turn in a single strong performance until Saad 1, which was a brief hint at potential wasted after looking an essentially prematurely washed up fighter.

Conteh was finished as a potential great after the Hutchins fight.

btw i'm not trying to argue Conteh was an all-time light heavy or would beat Spinks here, i tend to shy away from comparing him to greater light-heavies that weren't potential matchups or even calling him a great fighter himself, because i feel he was a wasted talent that we never really saw have a proper peak.I was just providing some context on his career to saint, somewhat inspired by never being able to understand why he gets criticised for lacking power on here.Too many Americans saw the later version and thought he was always like that

 

I'm sorry, but I just can't agree with your assessment of the Parlov fight. I see him using the right hand right from the outset, and even loading up and swinging for the fences at times. He wasn't boxing conservatively and holding back the right hand, as he clearly did against Lopez and Saad. If he was less effective with the right hand against Parlov, I would credit that more to Parlov's awkward style of leaning away from the right hand. Besides, I always felt the left hook was Conteh's better punch even when his right hand was still fine.

I also don't agree with your argument that he "doesn't turn in a single strong performance until Saad 1." I don't claim to know everything that goes on behind the scenes or in a fighter's training camp, but it seemed to me that Conteh got himself in shape and turned in a very determined effort against Parlov. I would argue that it was the discouragement of losing a close, debatable decision after such hard work and effort - and perhaps believing that he would be shut out of the title picture after that - that caused him to lose motivation and contributed to his clearly subpar performance against Bennett.

 

Fell short against Parlov?!? I uploaded the fight to YouTube it's a hometown decision, and clear to see. Also, how were his hands miraculously recovered?!? They weren't, he had to fight through it.

Ahumada, Hutchins, Lopez, all top, top contenders.

Yes, the Burnett fight was a robbery, no doubt. Conteh was clearly done.

Then how did he bring forth the Herculean effort against Saad in his next fight?

Also, AREA 53; none of the above was directed at you but watch the first Spinks-Sutherland fight; Mike had to put in some real effort in that one.

 

As to your last paragraph; I guess Spinks won 15-0 against Davis then?

 

I'm also not making the case that Conteh would beat Spinks. What a beautiful matching of varied left hands though. For all the talk of the Spinx Jinx and Conteh's damaged right hand both men had left hooks the equal of their supposed power shot and maximum variety in despatching the jab and left hand to all manner of targets.