Michael Spinks vs the Klitschkos

In all seriousness, Cooper could knockout Spinks and it wouldnt suprise me.

 

Nah, Spinks by devastating destruction.

I'm the first one to admit that he never proved himself to be a great Heavyweight, but I think he gets a lot of flack considering he outboxed an undefeated Holmes, and decimated Cooney, an albeit past prime version. The return Holmes bout, who performed very well, was still a close and competitive fight.

Spinks was a good Heavyweight, he just ran into a freight train at full speed when he faced Tyson. Many good Heavyweights would have faced the same fate that night.

 

Although I wouldn't bet money on it, it certainly isn't out of the question.. Even though there was a universe of difference between how good Tyson and Cooper were, I can definitely see some similarities in their styles and punching ability, that Spinks would have always been troubled with. Furthermore, looking at the incredible wars that Cooper had with Holyfield, Moorer and Mercer, one could reasonably conclude that this is an opponent for Spinks to take very seriously.

 

Im just saying if he connected Spinks could be in trouble, Cooper hit hard. Spinks was ten times the fighter yes, but Cooper could hurt anyone who engaged him.

 

Agreed, and Spinks was not just going to get Cooper out of there with a few hard shots...Bert slugged life and death with many guys who could crack, and still managed to return fire.... Any reasonable boxing fan would always favor Spinks to beat Burt Cooper, but the more I think about, the more I'm starting to feel that he'd have to be at his best to do it.. A 1985-1986 version would have my confidence, but the one from 1987-1988 might leave some doubts.

 

Spinks wasn't as offensive and careless as the likes of Holyfield and Moorer. He was always on his guard, back pedaling, and looking to counter. I could actually see Spinks ending it early. I take your point though, Cooper hit hard.

 

Depends what version turned up.

Bowe had Cooper out there in double quick time, and although a big guy, he was not a concussive puncher.

 

Bowe punche a lot harder than Spinks. I think he has a better chin too. Check this out. Holyfield fought stupid and got clocked. You box Cooper at distance, hes an easy fight, you engage him and hes going to hurt you.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uo5NPJ5R2E[/ame]

 

What differences did you see in Spinks in 87 and 88?

He didn't change, the opposition did.

 

I think there are few to almost no similarities between Riddick Bowe and Michael Spinks. Bowe was much larger, had more power and an inside fighting game that Spinks did not have.. Furthermore, Cooper rocked the hell out of Riddick in the first round of that bout, and while Bowe had the heavy weight chin to withstand it, I'm not so sure that Spinks would have. To conclude, Spinks should be heavily favored to beat Cooper, but I'm not about to write it off as a given without looking at styles, and certainly not on the basis of Cooper's loss to Riddick Bowe.

 

Yeah, I'd post Spinks vs Holmes and Spinks vs Cooney at this point but that'd be pointless considering I know you've watched both fights.

I think, if anything, Spinks was super measured and calculated at Heavyweight because he didn't want his chin to get tested against these big guys. I don't see him engaging Cooper, who was known for his punching ability.

 

Yeah if you watch the Bowe fight, he fought stupid in the first round. THe second round he starting pumping his jab and establishing his range, and he quickly setup the finish on Cooper.
Holyfield in the early 90's was flawed, it didnt matter who he fought, he was going to engage them. It was his tremendous heart that bailed him out of a lot of sticky situations, thats why I think had he been in with a better finisher, Holy would be toast.

 

Of course. I was merely providing an example of Bert Cooper being taken out early. Riddick Bowe was not George Foreman, and Bert Cooper was not George Chuvalo. Truth be told, I was only kidding with the "devastating destruction" comment. Cooper always has a punchers chance, but Spinks would be less likely to present him one, whereas Holyfield and Moorer were very offensive minded in their respective fights with Cooper.

 

Cooper was the best of the worst of these type of fighters. Theres been a lot of them out there. Garring Lane, Lionel Butler, a are a couple more. Both were used as sparring partners often for a fighter preparing for Tyson.

 

By the time that he faced Tyson and Cooney ( 1987 - 1988 ), he was wearing pads around his legs, due to defective knees.. He showed up at career high weights for both of these fights, and was not well suited for carrying more than perhaps 200 lbs. He was over 30 years of age, and for a light heavy weight who wasn't well designed to compete at heavy weight, that makes a difference. His illusiveness had faded some by the Cooney fight, as he was actually eating up quite a bit of leather, and against an opponent who by that point was less than mobile. I will also speculate that after beating Holmes for the title, and becoming very wealthy and renowned, his love for the sport had diminished as had his will to win..