Let's say Holmes knocked out Spinks in the 14th round of the rematch. Then they have a third match, and Holmes wins that one. This sets up a Tyson-Holmes showdown.
Tyson knocks him out in as easy fashion as he did in the first fight. Prime for prime Tyson would do near enough the same thing, but it would take him twice the time to finish of Larry.
Given that Holmes enjoyed the money he was making, I think the temptation to continue would have been overwhelming for him, as long as he still had the title. Holmes was not the type to call it quits while he was ahead. I really thought that Tyson had retired him for good. Four years later, he would lose to Holyfield, leaving me to think that this was finally his last hurrah. He fought on to challenge oliver McCall, and didn't stop there either. Boxing was something Larry just couldn't let go.
It would have helped is legacy a little, but people really do not think much about the Spinks fight when thinking about Holmes anymore. It helps Spinks more than it hurts Holmes.
Larry retires after the 'third bout' if it had happened. The 'third bout' would have netted Larry 'Mucho Millions', and he wouldn't have comeback versus Mike Tyson for the paltry 'Mini-Millions'. Larry may have come back to take on Buster Douglas (after Buster KO'd Iron Mike), pushing Evander Holyfield further back in the pack.
There probably would have been another Cooney fight that could have sold easily to the boxing public at the time. It's a Vegas or Madison Square Garden fight and for a lot of $$$. And still an easy night's work for Larry.
A Tyson-Holmes match for late 1986 would have been inevitable. Holmes was way passed his best,but not as much as he was when they actually fought two years later. Tyson still knocks Holmes out,albeit later in the bout.
I'm not sure it would have taken longer. The moment Holmes begins to open up is when he got caught then eventually KO'd. An active Holmes that never would have retired would definitely have opened up sooner instead of holding continiously and likely would have been caught much sooner. Prime for Prime is a different story.
