It Was Twenty Years Ago - Mike Tyson KO 1 Michael Spinks!

26.06.08 - by James Slater: As hard as it may be to believe, the Mike Tyson-Michael Spinks "One and For All" heavyweight unification showdown took place exactly twenty years ago today (June 27th). How time flies! I can Clearly remember this fight as though it were yesterday.

How Spinks was considered the biggest threat to "Iron Mike's" continued dominance in the heavyweight division. How much turmoil the soon-to-be 22-year-old heavyweight champion had going on in his no longer private life. And, come the pre-fight instructions, how absolutely frozen stiff the gifted Spinks appeared to be.

Why Spinks, a proven great, was so terrified of Tyson puzzled me back then. Sure, Mike had awesome power and was fast and came at you like a man possessed. But Spinks had been in with killers like Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and Marvin Johnson - taming them all. Not only that, but Spinks had made an audaciously brave, yet successful move up to heavyweight after cleaning up at 175 pounds. Beating an ageing, but still great and much bigger Larry Holmes, along with the fierce punching Gerry Cooney, Spinks, with his "Jinx" had proven himself as a heavyweight.

But in against Tyson, when not even wanting to part with his robe, the former Olympian looked like a fighter with absolutely no self belief whatsoever. Twenty years ago, I truly felt Spinks would give Tyson a good fight - until the two men got into the ring.

Spinks did come out for round one in something of an aggressive manner, despite his fear, but he was soon blown away. A body shot folded him in half firstly, then a thunderous shot upstairs sent him down and out for good. I can still recall the shivers that went up my spine as Tyson annihilated his most talented fighter to date. "No-one's EVER gonna beat this man," my friend bellowed while he was sat next to me. I had to agree with him. Going even further, this same person even stated that Tyson would have done the exact same thing to greats before him such as Ali. I didn't - COULDN'T - agree with that, but at the same time I remember thinking Tyson had nothing at all to fear from anyone occupying his division.

As it turned out, of course, the fight with Spinks was Tyson's peak performance and it could be argued that things went rapidly downhill soon afterwards. Mike was now the undisputed and linear heavyweight king, but just two more wins would follow before he was sensationally and illogically KO'd by James Douglas. If anyone had even suggested the possibility of this result seconds after Tyson had finished Spinks off in mere seconds, there would have been nothing but laughter in the room. But it happened.

The Mike Tyson that beat Michael Spinks, however, twenty years ago today, I'm sure would never have lost to a James Douglas. That Tyson was one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time. How we could use him today!