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During the first two rounds Holmes was able to control the pace using his jab. As the bout went on, Spinks was able to use unpredictable movement to throw flurries of punches from unexpected angles which scored points but never troubled the champion. By the last few rounds, pattern had formed, with
447:
contradicted by other doctors who said that chance that he would get paralyzed were "practically nil." Nevertheless, Holmes said that the specialist's comments affected his performance, "I found that not only was I flat and listless, I was reluctant to pull the trigger on the right hand."
446:
In his 1998 autobiography
Against The Odds, Holmes would recount that after suffering a pinched nerve in training, a nerve specialist told him that he had a slipped disc in his fifth vertebra and that he might be paralyzed for life any time I threw a punch with a right hand. This would be
416:
Holmes coming forward, loading up, scoring with hard punches but never landing anything that looked like hurting Spinks. Spinks using movement to fight on the back foot, landing the odd flurry, before moving out of range. After 15 rounds, Lawrence
Wallace scored it 145–142 while
443:'s record Holmes said "I'm 35 fighting young men and Rocky was 25 fighting old men. To be technical, Rocky couldn't carry my jockstrap." The comment would cause some controversy and Holmes subsequently apologized.
1372:
385:. No current or former Light Heavyweight champion had ever won the Heavyweight title, despite 13 having attempted to over the years. The last person to hold titles in both divisions was
431:
The victory made Spinks the first ever Light
Heavyweight champion to win the Heavyweight title, as well as one of the first pair of brothers to hold versions of the heavyweight title.
407:
Despite many boxing experts expecting Spinks to face a near 50 pound weight disparity against the champion, at the weigh-in he came in at 200 pounds, a meer 21½ Ib difference.
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400:, who had trained both fighters since 1981, opted to sit out the bout rather be in the corner of one or the other of them. As a result Holmes brought back former trainer
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the Light
Heavyweight division and was looking to move up to Heavyweight. In June 1985 the two of them came to terms to meet in September.
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and Dave
Moretti had it 143–142, all three in favour of Spinks, giving him a unanimous decision victory. The
1250:
382:
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Holmes, who was 6 to 1 favourite entering the bout, had previously beaten
Michael's brother Leon in
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who won the Light
Heavyweight title nearly seven years after he lost the Heavyweight title to
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Speaking in the post fight press conference when asked about missing the chance to tie
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had made 19th successful defenses of the
Heavyweight championship he won against
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867:"Larry Holmes-Michael Spinks 1: When The Jinx Shot Down The Easton Assassin"
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1111:
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343:
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318:, was a professional boxing match contested on 21 September 1985, for the
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International Boxing
Federation heavyweight championship matches
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603:
557:
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404:, while Spinks' assistant trainer Nelson Brison led his team.
894:"Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks both will be without..."
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1001:"Spinks Gains Piece Of Boxing History By Beating Holmes"
1052:
1348:September 1985 sports events in the United States
864:
1329:
1059:(1st ed.). St Martin's Press. p. 235.
998:
971:
899:. Las Vegas, Nevada: United Press International
812:"Larry Holmes vs. Michael Spinks (1st meeting)"
1211:
943:
297:Spinks defeated Holmes by Unanimous Decision
1053:Larry Holmes; Phil Berger (November 1998).
1218:
1204:
1025:
891:
865:Bernard Fernandez (21 September 2021).
1353:Boxing matches in the Las Vegas Valley
1330:
467:Weight division/title belt(s) disputed
366:. He was also one win away from tying
1358:Boxing matches involving Larry Holmes
1199:
999:Ed Schuyler Jr. (22 September 1985).
972:Michael Carbert (21 September 2023).
974:"Sept. 21, 1985: Holmes vs Spinks I"
424:scored it 144–141 for Holmes while
13:
944:Peter Alfano (21 September 1985).
919:"Michael Spinks Faces Big Problem"
14:
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177:6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
1225:
1026:Pat Putnam (30 September 1985).
892:Dave Raffo (18 September 1985).
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500:World Super Featherweight Title
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315:History: A September to Remember
104:
94:
25:
20:History: A September to Remember
1080:
1046:
946:"Spinks at 200 for Title Fight"
925:. Chicago Tribune. 24 June 1985
838:"Holmes Agrees To Fight Spinks"
660:
1056:Larry Holmes: Against the Odds
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911:
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593:Super Welterweight (6 rounds)
565:Super Lightweight (10 rounds)
1:
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370:'s record of 49–0. Meanwhile
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166:35 years, 10 months
670:
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450:
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169:29 years, 2 months
7:
428:had it 146–141 for Holmes.
10:
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1028:"Michael Played The Heavy"
426:United Press International
334:heavyweight championship.
283:Light Heavyweight Champion
46:Riviera Hotel & Casino
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358:title in order to have a
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1343:1985 in sports in Nevada
537:WBC World Cruiser Title
350:in June 1978, following
218:200 lb (91 kg)
1271:M. Spinks vs. Holmes II
651:Heavyweight (4 rounds)
1261:Holmes vs. Witherspoon
215: lb (100 kg)
194: in (189 cm)
1005:The Victoria Advocate
118:"The Easton Assassin"
1286:Holyfield vs. Holmes
1266:Holmes vs. M. Spinks
1251:Holmes vs. L. Spinks
1034:. Sports Illustrated
624:Unanimous decision.
540:Unanimous decision.
503:Unanimous decision.
253:Heavyweight Champion
130:Easton, Pennsylvania
57:Title(s) on the line
135:St. Louis, Missouri
21:
1143:21 September 1985
1117:21 September 1985
1007:. Associated Press
951:The New York Times
923:chicagotribune.com
843:The New York Times
562:Benjamin Quintero
483:Julio Cesar Chavez
76:heavyweight titles
19:
1325:
1324:
1291:McCall vs. Holmes
1281:Mercer vs. Holmes
1256:Holmes vs. Cooney
1241:Norton vs. Holmes
1194:
1193:
1189:
1179:Succeeded by
1172:Upset of the Year
1163:
1132:vs. Jim MacDonald
1120:Succeeded by
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658:
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494:Dwight Pratchett
455:Confirmed bouts:
391:James J. Jeffries
374:had successfully
301:
300:
287:
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50:Las Vegas, Nevada
37:21 September 1985
1380:
1307:Richie Giachetti
1276:Tyson vs. Holmes
1220:
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1153:Preceded by
1130:Preceded by
1101:Preceded by
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1088:"BoxRec - event"
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980:. The Fight City
978:thefightcity.com
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422:Associated Press
402:Richie Giachetti
396:Veteran trainer
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152:Pre-fight record
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873:. Ring Magazine
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654:2nd round TKO.
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637:James Pritchard
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596:1st round TKO.
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533:Alfonso Ratliff
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418:Harold Lederman
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1246:Holmes vs. Ali
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1161:Johnny Bumphus
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1138:Michael Spinks
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846:. 16 June 1985
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618:Jose Enriquez
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568:4th round KO.
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521:Bernard Benton
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441:Rocky Marciano
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372:Michael Spinks
368:Rocky Marciano
354:' vacating of
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309:Michael Spinks
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1227:Larry Holmes
1183:Donald Curry
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1157:Gene Hatcher
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1112:Larry Holmes
1110:
1082:
1070:. Retrieved
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1036:. Retrieved
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1009:. Retrieved
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982:. Retrieved
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875:. Retrieved
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848:. Retrieved
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820:. Retrieved
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710:Superchannel
690:Nine Network
671:Broadcaster
661:Broadcasting
454:
445:
438:
430:
414:
406:
395:
380:
364:Muhammad Ali
344:Larry Holmes
341:
330:
324:
314:
313:
312:, billed as
305:Larry Holmes
303:
302:
275:
269:
248:
242:
158:27–0 (19 KO)
155:48–0 (34 KO)
100:Larry Holmes
72:
66:
16:Boxing match
1312:Eddie Futch
816:boxrec.com/
745:Philippines
590:Ron Morgan
398:Eddie Futch
352:Leon Spinks
234:Recognition
144:$ 3,000,000
1332:Categories
871:ringtv.com
798:References
348:Ken Norton
338:Background
280:Undisputed
180:6 ft
1140:'s bouts
1114:'s bouts
685:Australia
451:Undercard
435:Aftermath
411:The fight
383:June 1981
147:$ 900,000
1317:Don King
1170:The Ring
1072:27 March
1038:27 March
1011:27 March
984:27 March
957:27 March
929:27 March
903:27 March
877:27 March
850:27 March
822:26 March
818:. BoxRec
730:Televisa
668:Country
362:against
325:The Ring
270:The Ring
243:The Ring
229:Orthodox
226:Orthodox
126:Hometown
115:Nickname
67:The Ring
1148:Awards
1123:Rematch
897:upi.com
470:Result
376:unified
360:rematch
210:⁄
189:⁄
1234:Fights
1063:
1032:si.com
782:
762:
742:
725:Mexico
722:
705:Canada
702:
682:
461:Winner
331:Lineal
292:Result
276:Lineal
249:Lineal
199:Weight
174:Height
121:"Jinx"
73:Lineal
1176:1985
750:MBS 4
464:Loser
223:Style
141:Purse
90:Boxer
42:Venue
1300:Team
1185:vs.
1159:vs.
1103:vs.
1074:2024
1061:ISBN
1040:2024
1013:2024
986:2024
959:2024
931:2024
905:2024
879:2024
852:2024
824:2024
328:and
307:vs.
273:and
246:and
70:and
34:Date
790:HBO
770:ITV
498:WBC
356:WBC
320:IBF
265:IBF
261:WBC
257:WBA
238:IBF
203:221
163:Age
62:IBF
1334::
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187:1
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182:2
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
