Michael Spinks Weight and Win regarding Holmes. Who else under 200 could beat Holmes?

Holmes was robbed in both fights though

 

Dempsey, Langford, Marciano...to just name 3 quickly off the top of my head...in my opinion, of course. :hi:

 

In the second one, sure. I thought the first fight was a squeaker, but I gave it to Spinks.

 

To answer the question I can see no name fighter under 199 lbs beating Holmes. Not Dempsey. Not Marciano. Not Charles.

Spinks was a tricky fighter. He would have given most heavyweights fits.

 

At that stage of his career quite a few sub 200 lb fighters could have taken Holmes.

His best days were behind him and he was ready to be taken.

 

Most of the great ones from the 30's and up. See I mean great, IE Louis, Marciano Dempsey.


Holmes was ready to be taking by that point imo. I thought the first fight was scored fine, I had Spinks ahead.

I think Holmes should have won fight 2.

 

Lol how amusing you people think Holmes would lose to Rocky Marciano and Dempsey but think Holmes could beat Foreman though. Holmes is a highly overrated fighter but there is no way he loses to Marciano or Dempsey but various smaller men could give him trouble. A fighter like Bob Foster would probably trouble Holmes

 

Foreman never wanted any piece of Larry.

 

The September 1985 version of Holmes.
He looked a bit stale and faded to me.

I'd favour sub-200 pound versions of these men to beat him, for starters :

Jack Dempsey
Joe Louis
Gene Tunney
Ezzard Charles
Rocky Marciano
Jersey Joe Walcott
Ernie Terrell
Tommy Loughran
Billy Conn
Jimmy Ellis
Jerry Quarry
Floyd Patterson
Leon Spinks
Eddie Machen
Jack Sharkey
Evander Holyfield

 

Spinks caugt Holmes just as Holmes turned old. In his prime, Holmes would have stopped Spinks and I think Spinks was a top 3 LHW of all time.

 

Agreed,

It's not unreasonable to think that Roy Jones may have squeaked by against a 35 year old, complacent Holmes.

 

Because Bob Foster was so much more proven against heavyweights than Marciano and Dempsey were?

 

Holyfield ?
I can also imagine O'neil Bell , slightly or more behind on points , feeling urgency , closing the distance , landing a bomb/barage and stopping holmes. tyson did. i know , holmes wasn't peak anymore , and when he was peak , he survived shavers. but if there was a 200 division on shavers' days , he could have fit in there also if he wanted , the same about tyson , whom the cruiser division was 190 (and not 200) in his days.
Qawi is another idea - i am not so sure that holmes was mobile enough to run from him like spinks did. holmes was heavier (especially fatter) than spinks after all , who knows what would have happenned when qawi keeps it close for a long time. qawi's chin could withstand holmes' power (he could take foremans').
i do consider holmes the favorite against both qawi and bell , but these are just ideas.
also , who knows what would have happenned to holmes after a sustained close range atack from marciano.

 

Leon Spinks? The worst Spinks fighter when Holmes almost beat the better Spinks figther...