Louis by KO but he works for his money. Also, that Spinks jinx might ring Louis bell but Louis gets past it and stop Spinks late.
Joe Louis would beat Michael Spinks. Between knocking out Primo Carnera and Joe Walcott is Louis who would beat Michael Spinks. Or at least he'd win the trilogy.
Spinks would give Louis some problems early on with his awkwardness and movement. But I see Louis eventually catching up to him and stopping him sometime in the 2nd half of the fight. Might be more competitive early on than some might believe.
Spinks wasn't as fast as Billy Conn but it would be his akward, herky style that troubles Louis. But Joe's stalking would eventually pay off and get a chance to land those devastating shots of his. This won't be a Tyson type ko of Spinks but a slower, catch up type beating. Spinks was brave and tough, but that could actually work against him here. Louis gets him around the tenth.
Spinks beats Louis. UD. Mythical bouts it’s Louis. But in reality Spinks would pose too many problems for Louis who boxes all nights. And if he gets a good right in down goes Louis. Now if Louis gets a good shot in Spinks can hold move box if that one shot doesn’t get the job done. Everyone forgets Louis wasn’t invincible. They look at ATG status instead of head to head.
To be more specific, he's betting on Spinks not getting hit with a clean power punch. IMO he's more than capable of taking glancing blows. And the usefulness of Spinks awkwardness was proven during his fights with Holmes.
I like Louis by eventual ko. Spinks' awkwardness would cause Louis some issues early. But the difference between old Holmes, a burnt out alcoholic Cooney , and the other opponent he faced at heavy is prime Louis's unique hand speed and power, also his technical prowess. Louis was a serious threat with either hand. Holmes had Spinks hurt multiple times. His age and lack of conditioning he couldn't finish him. But I believe Louis would've finished the job. Spinks possibly is the greatest Lt.heavy in history, but he was a very average heavy that happened to catch Holmes, the best heavy he faced at the very tail end of his career. Holmes who was old, slow, never a serious threat with power ,and really if the truth is told arrogantly took Spinks lightly in the 1st fight wasn't properly prepared to fight. Prime Louis was a quite a few steps better than that version of Holmes. Louis by ko with in 8-9rds .
My mind keeps telling me Spinks would box Louis and that Louis would have huge troubles finding Spinks. Spinks was very crafty and honestly, very tough, fast jab and diverse combinations to the head and body. He was a hell of a fighter, and would be able to fight with Louis as well. Louis would not shuffle him to the ropes and unload. Watching Michael Spinks vs. Qawi recently, I've noticed he piled up rounds then was punched out toward the end of the fight and a bit tired and resort to hanging on and letting his opponent go so he could rest. This is where Louis would have to shine to win. For this to happen, the fight would have to be 15 rounds. Holmes was tagging him in between his beautiful combinations and stunned him late as well. Spinks was really tough, though. I think Joe Louis would probably be target practice for Spinks, and could be dropped and stopped. If he withstands that, and Spinks tires or hangs out in the pocket after his combinations, Louis could tag him and potentially finish Spinks with a devastating vintage KO. I really favor Spinks though.
I've changed my view over the years about this one. I still say Louis would win and by stoppage but Spinks would probably last around ten rounds or so.
Spinks defeating Louis? Everything is possible in the twilight zone of Classic Boxing Forum, but that would be highly improbable: a sort of black swan event. In order to defeat Louis, a lot of things would have to go perfectly for Spinks: If Louis is unable to decipher Spinks' awkwardness. If Spinks moves around and stays elusive the whole fight. If Louis is unable to catch Spinks with a clear shot. If Spinks is able to consistently hit Louis back. If, if, If .. yeah, in that case Spinks beats Louis. It is not impossible. But my money is still on Louis by late stoppage.