tyson v spinks myth?

Indeed,

but don't forget that Walcott was previously beaten twice by the former middleweight Charles, before finally beating him in I believe their 3rd fight? In addition, Walcott had failed on 2 attemps against Joe Louis. Walcott lost in 4 attempts to gain the heavyweight title before finally winning it. In a more modern era, its unlikely that he would have recieved so many chances and so close together. By the time he fought Marciano, he was 37 years old, and had lost 16 times.

Holmes at 35, was barely defeated by a 28 year old undefeated all time great light heavyweight, who some felt was gifted a decision in the rematch. At 28 years old, standing 6'3" and weighing 199 Lbs, I doubt Spinks would have been a nobody in the early to mid 1950's. In fact, he might have been one of the Rock's best opponents.

 

He was robbed against Louis, and against Charles, who was also at HW great, it´s no shame to lose their first fights IMO. Walcott was a rare fighter, with the age he ripened like a good wine, when he beat Charles twice it were 2 stellar performances. But of course this version of Holmes would be also a tough fight for Marciano (against everyone IMO)...

 

Agreed...

And good points about Walcott vs Louis. The first fight was clearly a robbery, but Louis won the rematch decisively.

 

:thumbsup


Nice to see I can normally discuss with someone!

 

You've nailed it, Ironchamp.

There has never been anything, ever, like the fear Tyson instilled in his prime. Foreman was fearsome, but he was bigger than his foes. So was Sonny Liston. This short, young kid with a lisp struck terror in the most seasoned professional fighters, who, once in the ring with him, felt a dread akin to having to deal with the darkest, most terrifying elements in nature. And he did it strictly by what he could do in the ring.

 

Whenever Tyson-Spinks is brought up, people always comment on how scared Spinks seemed, how was only teir for the money etc. Maybe Spinks was scared, but that should diminsh such a great performance by Tyson.

I wonder how many people actually felt the fight would end in first? Hardly anyone in my view. Sure, there were plenty that may have picked Tyson to win by KO, but not as quick as he did.

In my view, it's a testament to Mike's ability as a fighter at tht time, that he was able to do the business in such devestatin fashion, ni such a quick period.

Lastly, it's a shame Spinks is remembered mostly for his losing effort against Tyson. Spinks was one of the best LHW fighters in history & add to this that he moved up to HW & won the title. He was a very high calibre boxer at HW aswell.

 

well stated :good

 

thanks

 

Another thing that didn't go in Spinks' favour was that he was often a slow starter. This, combined with being a natural light-heavy and Tyson on fire early on, was always going to result in a blowout. But, hey, he had bad knees that was the main reason. :dead

 

Many? Like who? About 1 in every 10.

 

Not necessarily. In terms of all-time ratings, he doesn't compare (except with possibly Tunney, who really spent the bulk of his career at, or around LH). In terms of talent, Spinks as a heavyweight...even at that time, was probably at, or near the level of those aforementioned fighters.