Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks

Once and for all
Date June 27, 1988 (1988-06-27)
Title(s) on the line WBA/WBC/IBF/Ring/Lineal Heavyweight Championship
Mike Tyson vs.  Michael Spinks
Iron Mike Jinx
Tale of the tape
Catskill, New York, USA From St. Louis, Missouri, USA
34-0 (30 KO) Pre-fight record 31-0 (21 KO)
WBA/WBC/IBF Heavyweight Champion Recognition The Ring/Lineal Heavyweight Champion

Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks was a boxing match which took place on 27 June 1988. Both men were undefeated and each had a claim to being the legitimate heavyweight champion; Tyson held the WBA, WBC and IBF belts, while Spinks held the Ring Magazine belt and was considered the lineal champion.[1]

Held at the Atlantic City Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey and promoted as "once and for all",[2] it was the richest fight in boxing history to that point, grossing some $70 million,[3] of which Tyson earned a record purse of around $20 million and Spinks $13.5 million.[4] Tyson won the fight, knocking out Spinks in 91 seconds.[5]

Contents

History

Michael Spinks had been world light-heavyweight champion from 1981-85, going undefeated in the division and making 10 successful title defences. In 1985 he moved up to heavyweight and challenged long-reigning IBF and Ring champion Larry Holmes, winning by a close decision. In doing so Spinks became the first reigning light-heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight title.[6] Spinks defeated Holmes again in a rematch and then successfully defended his title against Steffen Tangstad and Gerry Cooney. He was stripped of his IBF belt for not facing Tony Tucker but as he held the lineal title and remained undefeated, some continued to recognise him as the true heavyweight champion.[5][7][1][8]

Mike Tyson turned professional in 1985 and won his first 19 fights by knockout, quickly garnering media attention and establishing an "aura of invincibility".[9] In November 1986 Tyson knocked out Trevor Berbick to win the WBC heavyweight title; at 20 years old, Tyson was the youngest heavyweight champion in history.[6] He followed up by beating WBA champion James 'Bonecrusher' Smith and IBF champion Tony Tucker to unify all three major belts. He also knocked out three other former world champions: Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tubbs and Larry Holmes. By 1988 Tyson had become "the most talked about - and marketable - heavyweight champion since Muhammad Ali".[2]

Build up

Interest in a showdown between Tyson and Spinks to settle the issue of who the real champion was grew, but negotiations were protracted because Tyson's co-managers Bill Cayton and Jimmy Jacobs and Spinks' manager Butch Lewis struggled to agree terms.[10] Negotiations temporarily broke down when Lewis insisted on a $15 million guarantee for his fighter.[11] Annoyed at constantly being asked about the fight, Tyson eventually demanded that his managers reach an agreement with Lewis.[12]

By April an agreement had been reached, although another problem arose when the IBF threatened to strip Tyson of their title if the fight was not scheduled for 15 rounds. IBF president Bob Lee then relented, not wanting his organisation to be absent from the biggest fight of the year, and agreed to a 12 round limit.[13] Donald Trump bid a record site fee of $11 million to stage the fight at the Atlantic City Convention Hall, adjacent to his own Trump Plaza.[14] Tyson would earn between $18 million and $22 million depending on fight revenues,[4][15] the highest purse received by a boxer until James 'Buster' Douglas made $25 million for fighting Evander Holyfield in 1990.[16] Spinks earned a flat $13.5 million, more than all his other fight purses combined.[17]

Billed as "Once and for All",[2] the fight was highly anticipated and earned comparisons with the 1971 Fight of the Century between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, who were also undefeated heavyweight champions when they met to decide the undisputed title.[7][18][8] Reports of Tyson's controversial personal life also increased interest in the bout.[19] In the days leading up to the fight, one or both men featured on the cover of TIME,[20] People,[21] Sports Illustrated[22] and Ring Magazine.[23] Celebrities such as Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone, Sean Penn, Madonna, Warren Beatty, Oprah Winfrey, Billy Crystal, George Steinbrenner, Carl Weathers, Jesse Jackson and Chuck Norris would all be in attendance.[24][25] A ringside ticket would cost a record $1,500.[26] Co-promoter Shelly Finkel predicted that the bout would surpass Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard and become the highest grossing fight in boxing history.[27]

The bout represented a contrast of styles, with Tyson's "speed and devastating power" up against "the unorthodox style of Spinks... who rarely looks impressive but has always found a way to win."[6] Opinions on the fight were mixed, although in general more pundits favoured Tyson. Larry Holmes, the only man to have faced both fighters, predicted a Tyson win.[28] Former world champions Jake LaMotta and Billy Conn and trainers Gil Clancy, Angelo Dundee and Richie Giachetti all picked Tyson to win by knockout,[28] as did Gerry Cooney and Dan Duva.[29] Ray Arcel thought Tyson would win on points.[30] James Smith, who had lost a decision to Tyson the previous year, said that for Spinks to win he would "need to take me in the ring with him."[28] Another former heavyweight champion, George Foreman, also predicted a Tyson win.[28]

Muhammad Ali, former middleweight champion Tony Zale and sportswriter Bert Sugar all backed Spinks to out-box Tyson.[29][31][28] Dave Anderson of the New York Times wrote that Spinks would win, "probably in a 12-round decision. But possibly in a late-round knockout."[18] Reigning WBA welterweight champion Marlon Starling, veteran announcer Don Dunphy and Tyson's former trainer Teddy Atlas also favoured Spinks.[28][29] 1940s middleweight champion Rocky Graziano predicted Spinks would "psych out Tyson, then knock the hell out of him."[32] Floyd Patterson, who like Tyson had been trained by Cus D'Amato, said "I originally picked him [Tyson], and I still do, but now I give Spinks a chance."[33] Spinks entered the ring as a 4-1 underdog.[34]

The fight

Minutes before the fighters were due to enter the ring, there was a commotion in Tyson's dressing room when Butch Lewis noticed a bump in Tyson's gloves and demanded his hands be re-wrapped. The commotion continued with Lewis insistent that he would not let the fight start until the bump was smoothed out. The matter was only resolved when Spinks' trainer Eddie Futch was called in, and he accepted that Tyson's gloves were fine.[35] Though he was trying to protect his fighter's interests, Lewis later admitted that he had also seen a chance to "pull a little psyche" on Tyson.[24] Instead, Tyson had just been angered by the delay. When Lewis had left and Tyson once again prepared to leave his dressing room, he told his trainer Kevin Rooney: "you know, I'm gonna hurt this guy."[35]

Tyson attacked Spinks from the opening bell, landing a solid left hook in the first ten seconds and forcing Spinks to cover up. Spinks clinched and was driven back to the ropes by another Tyson attack. He moved off the ropes but Tyson trapped him again; a left uppercut and a right hand to the body forced Spinks to take a knee after a minute, the first time Spinks had been knocked down in his professional career.[36] Spinks took a count of four before rising. As the two men moved towards each other Tyson turned away from a Spinks right hand and responded with a left-right combination to the head which put Spinks down again. This time he was unable to rise and referee Frank Cappuccino counted him out. The fight was over after 91 seconds,[5] presently the sixth shortest heavyweight title fight in history.[37] Just ten punches were landed, eight by Tyson, two by Spinks.[38] The round was named round of the year for 1988 by Ring Magazine.

Afterwards Spinks said: "I came to fight like I said I would. I just tried to do what I knew I had to do, and that was fight. Not that I stood toe to toe with him, but I tried to take the shot and I came up short." Futch opined that Spinks was undone because he abandoned his gameplan of boxing and moving early on and instead tried to win Tyson's respect.[39] Spinks later conceded that "fear was knocking at my door big time."[40] Tyson said "The first punch I threw, he wobbled a bit. I knew right there I had him,"[38] adding "my trainer told me before the fight that he bet both our purses that I would knock him out in the first round. So I went out and knocked him out in the first round."[41] Tyson dedicated the win to Jimmy Jacobs, who had died in March.[42]

Aftermath

Tyson vs. Spinks was the richest fight in boxing history up to that point, grossing around $70 million, $10 million more than the previous record holder, the Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard bout in 1987.[3] 600,000 households bought the fight on pay per view,[43] generating $21 million.[44] A further $12.3 million came from the 21,785 live gate,[3] almost double the previous live gate record of $6.8 million set by Hagler vs. Leonard.[45] The fight also surpassed the 1987 Super Bowl as the highest-grossing single day sporting event in history.[46] It is estimated to have generated $344 million in gambling revenues in Atlantic City, over $100 million more than a typical four day weekend in June.[47] The Trump Plaza casino achieved a record drop of $11.5 million on the day of the fight.[3]

Spinks never boxed again and announced his retirement from the sport a month later.[17] The Tyson fight was the only loss of his professional career. Tyson also spoke of retiring, hinting that "this may be my last fight."[3] The win over Spinks has been described as the pinnacle of Tyson's boxing career.[5] It was also his last fight under longtime trainer Kevin Rooney, who was dismissed by Tyson in December.[48] Tyson made two more successful title defences before losing to James 'Buster' Douglas in a major upset in 1990. He continued fighting until 2005, but was unable to replicate his earlier achievements. Tyson and Spinks have both been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

Undercard

Winner Result Opponent
Carl Williams UD12 Trevor Berbick
James Douglas TKO7 Mike Williams
Maurice Blocker TKO5 Orlando Orozco
Donovan Ruddock TKO2 Reggie Gross
Glenn Thomas MD8 John Herbert
Jerry Jones TKO3 Bill Melsop
Rodolfo Marin UD4 Bruce Johnson
Anthony Witherspoon TKO5 Alex Stanley

References

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