Michael Spinks vs. Ingemar Johansson-Who Wins?

I just reviewed that amateur bout. Larry's really skinny in that one, too light for Duane. Ali, always partial to his own style, touts Larry very highly.

By comparison, Ron Lyle was a monster, who laid out Duane on camera for five minutes in their amateur rematch. If Ron decided to stick around for the Pan Am Games and Munich Olympics, he'd have virtually killed Stevenson both times the way he twice crushed Duane. Then, Foreman-Lyle would have also been Gold Medalist versus Gold Medalist.

 

I wonder how Lyle's career would've panned out had he gotten gold and delayed his pro debut. Coincidentally, he shared the same trainer in the pros as Foreman did in the Olympics in Bobby Lewis.
I do think that Bobick had quite the china chin, though, despite his extremely muscular appearance- Tate in 1, Norton in 1, Knoetze in 3. There must've been a curse surrounding the guys that Futch got his hands on.

 

Well keep in mind that Ron was already 30 when he turned professional, and by the end of the Munich Olympics in September 1972, Lyle had beaten Leroy Caldwell, Manuel Ramos, Jack O'Halloran and Vincente Rondon. The month of the Olympics, he retired Buster Mathis. He had no time to waste. By the time Duane turned professional, Ron had received his schooling by Jerry Quarry (who would've done the same thing to Duane that he did to Jack Bodell) and four days later would rebound from JQ by decisioning the extremely useful Bob Stallings. Lyle got his shot at Ali two years before Norton (In an extremely atypical fast start for Ken) blew Duane out.

Ron was already 20-1 when Duane started punch for pay. Lyle's last really good year was 1977, his last big win the dull 12 round SD over Bugner. Lyle's well remembered today. He was extraordinarily well publicized BEFORE the FOTC. Then, he got the first title shot on live network television against Ali and acquitted himself well in a tense and widely viewed bout. His wars with Earnie Shavers and George Foreman are immortal. By the time he fought Foreman, Duane's best win was over Randy Neumann, who was ready to retire after earning his business degree.

Back to the Olympics. The only American who won Gold in boxing was Sugar Ray Seales, but that didn't do much for his career, and here's a possible reason why. The Munich Massacre. Swimmer Mark Spitz won his seven Gold Medals BEFORE that massacre. Gymnast Olga Korbut became a legend before that disaster. Amid savage criticism, the Games proceeded, but nobody cared due to the massacre. Only Frank Shorter's marathon win on the final day made a major media and cultural splash after that slaughter. Seales was left in the shadows though, and I think Lyle may have been as well. (Spitz, a Jew, was hustled away from Munich to London before the closing ceremony for his own safety.)

I personally don't recall television coverage of anything else at the Munich Games from the moment news of the hostage taking broke. The, on ABC, Jim McKay mournfully intoned, "They're all gone." (Today's pro Palestinian protesters who can't even spell or pronounce it correctly would've been having orgasms over that pall.)

 

I was using knocked out interchangably with finished here which I think that many do.

Jimmy Young was noticeably more impressive than the other 2 given that was Norton and Lyles last real fight. Though LeDoux only got Norton at the very end of their fight. But I generally am defensive of Cooneys run here because 30s or not he took out half the top 6 70s HWs in less than 5 rounds. The main reason to criticize this run is they are Cooneys only notable wins.

 

Yes he did. But it was a fight Johnasson was winning 11-0 and London swung for the fences in the final seconds and landed. Johansson wasn't allowed to continue the fight ended before he could be counted out.

 

Then find me a fight in the real world where you are prepared to bet on a first round KO, and put your money where your mouth is.