Hey my friend, do you remember Muhammad Ali vs Larry Holmes on Oct 2 1980. Ali was spent as a fighter. A fight with Tommy Morrison would look like that stamina or not.
Ali's heart was no longer in boxing and he didn't have much punching power other than stopping C level journeyman Chuck Wepner in the final round and stopping Lyle after trailing on the score cards. I could definitely see Morrison doing at least as good as Lyle since they have comparable ability. He barely won decisions over Shavers, Norton, and Young (some consider the last 2 robberies, even Ali himself admitted Norton won the last fight). He was ballooning up to 240 between fights and even weighed 230 some thing for Young I believe. Obviously Ali had better stamina and experience than Morrison, but if he showed up like he did in his last few fights with that beer gut and flabby arms, it won't matter. Ali's work rate had plummeted by the late 70's and he spent a lot of time goofing off or just covering up. The Spinks loss was long overdue and the writing was on the wall. Unless Ali has an epiphany and takes the bout seriously like he did in the 2nd Spinks fight and gets himself in serious shape, I just don't see how he beats a strong prime fighter like Morrison at that stage of his career without a robbery or punchers chance. He just didn't throw enough and had leaky defense.
Ok, we'll just say if this goes the distance, Morrison is super sloppy and almost ready to go himself in the later rounds. I cannot imagine him lasting 15.
I actually vividly imagined all that unfold in my head....and at the end felt i had seen a real fight.great write up
I assuming you are directing this comment towards me? I am not a troll. If Ali can beat a prime Shavers in 77' who is arguably the hardest puncher in boxing history, he can beat morrison and yes, possibly stop him late. Morrison did not have the greatest of chins. The weird thing about boxing is I would favor Morrison to beat Spinks instead of Ali. Spinks was a swarmer in his prime that could overwhelm a pure outside fighter like Ali. A slugger like Morrison would find Spinks chin at somepoint and KO him. You are a good poster and I will talk boxing with you all day in a respectful manner but calling me a troll is out of line. My reasons listed for thinking an old Ali could beat Morrison are very well supported based on Ali's success against punchers like Shavers and Norton in the late 70's. Again, it's just my truth not the truth. Ali always did well against sluggers. It was the volume punchers that had the most success against him. By they way, watch how Ali won the rematch against Spinks. Pretty brilliant strategy. He knew Leon would outwork him so he would flurry and hold/tie him up instead of trading like he did in the first fight. Leon had no answer since he couldn't get free and work on the inside. Really smart fight by Ali. Too bad the drugs and booze got a hold of Leon. He really was a brilliant fighter as an amateur. Watch his gold medal win against that Russian. Great fight bu a young lion.
I think Ali just thought that he could play with Leon and then at time of his choosing deal with the young inexperienced whippersnapper, as the result showed he couldn't. Ok Spinks career was poor for much of rest of career after he lost the title, but on that Feb 1978 night, youth and vigour beat the man who beat the man. No one can ever take away the fact he was The Heavyweight Champion of the World. I must admit an abiding memory was that image of Spinks, being raised in the air by his team in the ring after his win was announced with his toothless grin and arms held aloft Against Morrison I don't think Ali would have fought that way, Morrison came with more pro credentials and was a bigger physical threat than Spinks, Ali knew he was not the physical specimen he once was, so would not have put that to test against Morrison, Ali would have approached things more business like from outset
What advantage does Spinks even have over Morrison? The best I could give is chin and even then Spinks had a very weak chin so it doesn’t even matter who has the worse chin Morrison has the advantage in every other physical department power, hand speed, foot speed he is also the better boxer he sets his attacks up better, he is better on the back foot he is the better counterpuncher better bodypuncher, throws better combinations better finisher, Leon Spinks fights in one way and that is going forward rushing people with fast punches and combinations, he isn’t even a puncher he has a weak chin and fighting that way against a much more physically superior fighter only ever ends one way Coming forward against a much more physically superior fighter who has the height reach weight power and speed over you is the worst thing you can do in a boxing ring and that is the only way Leon Spinks can fight
Leon is an incredibly difficult fighter to judge accurately. At his best he was a tough guy that threw very solid combinations with very good hand speed and was well schooled. My old coach (Kenny Loehr) who trained Leon and many world champions in both the amauter and professional ranks always said Leon was as talented as any fighter he ever saw or worked with. Kenny was an old school guy that knew his ****. Leon was his own worst enemy and had major addictions that greatly compromised his performances in the ring. Like I said, I like Morrison over Spinks in a head to head match although Leon did beat some very strong punchers like Mercado. I think Morrison would catch him eventually but with that said, I still think Leon was a much more difficult fight for Ali than Morrison would be based on style. Styles make fights and Morrison would be a rough go for Leon but Leon is hell for Ali. I believe Ali to be a tougher fight for Morrison than Spinks.
I do agree that Spinks chin was not the best, but it was far better than Morrison's. I agree that Morrison does have edges in power, and speed in hands and feet, but Spinks is pretty competent in all of those areas himself. Spinks had a helluva lot more stamina than Morrison though. I think the biggest issue was a heart issue though. Morrison was a quitter. He didn't make it in boxing because he had no heart. He lost to Mercer, and took a lay off. He came back, but eventually lost to Bentt, and took another layoff. He came back again, but lost to Lewis and then never amounted to anything from then on. Leon's career, I will readily admit was little more successful, but Leon always pushed himself to the limit of his physical abilities, win or lose. Also, Morrison was always so tense, Leon was much more relaxed.
I just think that Leon Spinks happened to be a fighter that was at the right place at the right time on Feb 15 1978.