Folley was a HW, but a small one compared to modern day heavies. How do you think Spinks would have stacked up against him. An ATG light heavyweight vs a solid HW contender who was on the smaller side.
Zora was a decent sized heavy for his day,Good boxer with a fair dig on him,average chin and average speed.This match could go either way imo. Good pairing!
Cant forget that bomb of a right hand! He was even out of prime able to catch a 60s Ali with that punch many times.
Close? More like Folley by decision and maybe knockout. Folley fought way better fighters and is a very good all around fighter. Underrated IQ as well. He was able to drop Doug Jones whilst already past his best, stagger Liston to the ropes and beat the technically excellent Eddie Machen. He just simply beat better fighters than Spinks such as George Chuvalo, Doug Jones, Bob Cleroux, Henry Cooper and Mike DeJohn. I pick Folley to win by knockout, one straight hand shot could knock Spinks out. Does he possess the skill to land the right hand? And my answer is yes. Definitely and confidently..
Just because Spinks was knocked out by a peak Mike Tyson doesn’t mean Folley could do it. Spinks showed a solid chin up to that point. Qawi, Eddie Muhammad and Larry Holmes aren't shabby names to have on a resume. Holmes was past his prime but still formidable.
Don't think it's fair to say Spinks "showed a sold chin up to that point", as Tyson was the only person to really test it, and Spinks failed miserably. It obviously wasn't glass, or he wouldn't have gotten nearly as far as he did, but to say it was unproven (along with his hw career) is an understatement. Anyways, my gut says Folley would win, but logic says Spinks should win. To close to call.
