Mike Tyson versus Michael Spinks

My prefight prediction even back then, as a teen who had followed both men, was Tyson within 2 rounds. Watch how an old, slowed down, past-it version of 36-year-old Holmes, who never was a big puncher, or that aggressive, manhandled Spinks in the 1st round of their rematch, and the early rounds, and Spinks still barely eeked him. Then combine that with the fact that a young 22-year-old Tyson was a very fast, explosive starter, with one of the fastest and most powerful punches in history, a la Jack Dempsey, 218-pounds of rock solid muscle, who stopped Holmes in 4, going up against a guy who was 175 most of his career and did seem a bit pudgy even in the low 200s, who had been relatively inactive since his two fights with Holmes, with only Tangstad and then the very inactive Cooney 9 months later, followed by a year of inactivity, whereas Tyson was fighting once every 3 to 4 months against the best in the division and very sharp (Spinks had 2 fights in '86 and 1 in '87, whereas Tyson had 13 fights in '86, 4 in '87, and 2 in '88 prior to the June '88 Spinks fight). I think several folks are simply being too hard on this version of 31-year-old Spinks who tried to give it what he had and catch a relentless Tyson with some well-timed right hands to get some early respect, but this version of Tyson simply was too strong, too fast, too relentless, and defense too good for that version of Spinks. Fear or not, he was going to get KO'd relatively quickly. I'd rather see a guy come out firing blows and trying to win but gets KO'd in 1 than a guy who isn't really trying to win but simply to survive and runs and grabs to get through 12 rounds.

 

Getting knocked out in the first round is never a good look for a fighter, especially in high profile fights. Max Schmeling, Jersey Joe Walcott, Floyd Patterson (twice), Sonny Liston, Michael Spinks. It has happened to some pretty good Heavyweights. A lot of good and great fighters go into the ring scared. That is almost the definition of Bravery.

 

I agree. I always thought the BS Michael got was bizarre. He didn't even have time to show what scared fighting is. He didn't even make it out of a feel-out round FFS. I don't know if it's because it became like a meme or because of trendy cool kid downplaying of Tyson's roster or what. Spinks is one of the p4p best to ever do it and showed incredible grit through his career. He gets it in a one-round KO and all of a sudden he's the fighting-scared type? Because...what? His eyes? It's unintelligible garbage that's been passed around like a 2-dollar...person.

 

I guess you think he fought brave, then. You may find yourself a little light on evidence.

 

If you read my comment and understood it, you'd understand that we're all light on evidence for how he fought. Because there was barely a fight. This is something everyone should be able to understand, frankly. This is a low bar. You should be able to lightly hop over it without any trouble. This is not beating the high jump record. It's very doable for all of us if we just buckle down and focus. Wisdom has chased us all of our lives and many on this thread have always been too quick for him.

 

Did you just assume wisdoms gender? Why would wisdom necessarily be male?

Is there a real rotten egg behind all those big words and tricky sentences?

 

So in order for a fighter to be scared...... he has to make it out of the first round?

 

We don't need to do the liberal tippy toe walk around anything here, Johnny. Wisdom is a man. With big, brass, balls. A man who can sell real estate like no other.

No, the point that went over your head can be lowered again, to say that in order to determine that a fighter who has no history of scared fighting has actually fought a scared fight, you have to have enough fighting take place from which you could reasonably make such a determination. In this instance, we don't have enough of a fight to say that. It's painfully obvious that we do not. But still it persists as fact. I mean, a fighter can say they were scared going into a fight, much like Foreman said his knees were knocking for Joe Frazier, but it's a different thing to be fighting a fight or failing to fight with winning in mind, based on fear, and it is really that different discussion that we normally see for Michael.

It's this judgment for him that he fought scared (not that he felt scared) which seems to be a black mark somehow on both fighters, based on him getting crushed in what every last damn one of us knows is a classically measured, careful round. It simply does not make sense to determine this and spout it as fact. If you suspect it, okay, fine. But people aren't claiming suspicion so much as acting like we all know it to be true, as it was caught on tape. He just got blown out too early to see anything untrue to form or unbecoming. I see nothing but lack of evidence for a commonly held assertion. But I came from a village that was essentially destroyed by a gymnast in the eighties doing a pommel horse routine and kicking us. Why listen to me? You won't. And that's sensible.

 

No one can show you Spinks fighting scared!!
Just watch it over and over, and if you still believe he was not shitting breaze blocks then you must be ****ing nuts.

 

You are obviously ****ing crackers mate.
Go and have another seance and get a second opinion.

 

No way.

Look at the way his head bounced off the canvas. Look at the look on his face as he tries to rise.

He was paralyzed. Classic KO

As for the questions whether he was scared

I think he was.

The look on his face during prefight intros is shows it.

But he tried his best

He tried to move and hold.

But Tyson was much faster of hand and foot than he was.

The KO sequence is simply prime Tyson being too fast and powerful for Spinks.

Spinks tries an upper cut off the ropes but Tyson beats him to the punch with a left hook that lands between his gloves. Tyson immediately lands a right to the body which drops Spinks.
Spinks rises and tries to catch Tyson coming in with a right hand but Tyson's right hands lands first, right on the button. Spinks falls straight down and hits his head hard on the canvas. He tries to move to begin to rise but he's short circuited. The look in his eyes is that of a conscused fighter.

There is nothing at all to detract from a peak Tyson's victory

He was absolute peak here

Spinks has nothing to be ashamed of.

 

Looking at his face during the second count, that looks distinctly frightened to me. He doesn’t look hurt, he looks terrified. Then that ‘fall’ into the ropes. I didn’t buy it, but like I said, some people do. I think he should be ashamed, personally.