Was Michael Spinks no. 1 P4P after beating Holmes?

Yeah Spinks was a huge 6-1 underdog.

 

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And Gemini claims he was 2, 2, and 3 in 85, 86, and 87 as ranked by KO Magazine.

 

P4P has always been a fluid, intangible concept, without any clear set of rules and guidelines.

People probably looked at it differently in the mid 80s, and it wasn't an integral part of ongoing rankings in the same way some look at it now. There was the KO annual poll, but it generally wasn't something people looked at day to day or fixated over whether fighter x had moved up some mythical P4P ranking.

Memory may be slightly hazy, but as I recall it became a bigger thing during Tyson's incarceration as a marketing tool for Chavez. So when Chavez fought Whitaker it was billed heavily as being to determine the best pound for pound fighter in the world, whereas previous superfights like say Hagler-Hearns or Duran-Leonard hadn't.

Getting back to Spinks, notwithstanding the above I don't think he was universally seen as P4P king after beating Holmes, although obviously if someone was to do a list he'd be near the top. I think Hagler was generally seen as the best fighter in the world irrespective of weight class after beating Hearns, and the sports best non-heavyweight fighter (which is essentially what P4P is).

There was a perception as well that Spinks had caught an aging Holmes at the right time, in a styles make fights sense.

 

Alot of it has to do with personality. In general, if people like you, they'll more easily forgive what you do or put a positive spin on it.

Ali had a personality which endeared him to the public, so anything he said or did was interpreted more favorably. Holmes didn't have such a personality, so everything he did was nitpicked.

 

It also had a lot to do with the ducking, though.