Michael Spinks vs. Larry Holmes II, billed as Vindication in Vegas, was a professional boxing match contested on 19 April 1986, for the IBF and The Ring heavyweight championship.[1]
In October 1985, shortly after Michael Spinks defeated Larry Holmes to win the heavyweight title, promotor Don King pitched to HBO Sports president Seth Abraham a World Series style competition to unify the heavyweight division which had been without an undisputed champion since Leon Spinks in 1978. By mid January 1986 negotiations between King and the other promoters (including Spinks' promoter Butch Lewis) were completed and the Heavyweight unification series was set to began in March with Pinklon Thomas vs. Trevor Berbick.[2] Spinks' first bout in this series would be a rematch with Holmes a month late.[3][4]
In the build up the bout, Holmes sent a letter to IBF president Bob Lee listing the Judges he didn't want to officiate the rematch, Lee however declined to take Holmes' advice.[2] Holmes would later described the judges from the first fight "must have been drunk" when they scored Spinks the winner.
Holmes was a 7½ to 5 betting favourite.
The fightedit
Holmes would start the fight strong, throwing many hard shots and left jabs while Spinks was focused on dodging punches and keeping out of range. As the rounds went on, Spinks would start using his jab and left hook to wear down Holmes.
The 14th round would start with Spinks scoring with a series of jabs and head punches, however with about a minute left in the round, Holmes suddenly badly hurt Spinks with a right high to the head. Spinks bent at the knee and almost went down. Holmes would land a couple more punches but he couldn't finish off Spinks, who as the round drew to a close threw a series of head shots that backed Holmes across the ring. Holmes would again hurt Spinks in the final round, with a right that had the champion backing into the ropes.
Judge Joe Cortez scored the contest 144–141 in favour of Holmes, but the other two judges Frank Brunette and Jerry Roth scored it for Spinks 144–141 and 144–142 respectively, giving the champion a split decision victory.[5][6][7]
HBO's unofficial scorer Harold Lederman (who had been one of the three judges for the first bout) had it 144–141 for Holmes. The Associated Press also scored the bout for Holmes, 143–142.
Aftermathedit
Speaking in the ring afterwards Spinks said "I had to stay cool and calm, then break his morale, Larry proved to be one hell of a champion. He was a die-hard out there tonight." In a post-fight interview with HBO, Holmes said, "the judges, the referees and promoters can kiss me where the sun don't shine—and because we're on HBO, that's my big black behind.[8]
Holmes was taken to Valley Hospital, after breaking his right thumb in the third round. He would announce his retirement in November 1986.[9]
^"Larry Holmes vs. Michael Spinks (2nd meeting)". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
^ abJohn Florio; Ouisie Shapiro (2013). One Punch from the Promised Land: Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks, and the Myth of the Heavyweight Title. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 172–173.
^Richard Hoffer (March 22, 1986). "It's tournament time—in boxing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
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Michael Spinks vs Larry Holmes II billed as Vindication in Vegas was a professional boxing match contested on 19 April 1986 for the IBF and The Ring heavyweight championship 1 Vindication in VegasDate19 April 1986VenueLas Vegas Hilton Las Vegas NevadaTitle s on the lineIBF and The Ring heavyweight titlesTale of the tapeBoxerMichael SpinksLarry HolmesNickname Jinx The Easton Assassin HometownSt Louis MissouriEaston PennsylvaniaPurse 2 000 000 1 125 000Pre fight record28 0 19 KO 48 1 34 KO Age29 years 9 months36 years 5 monthsHeight6 ft 2 1 2 in 189 cm 6 ft 3 in 191 cm Weight205 lb 93 kg 223 lb 101 kg StyleOrthodoxOrthodoxRecognitionIBF and The RingHeavyweight ChampionFormer Heavyweight ChampionResultSpinks defeated Holmes by Split Decision Contents 1 Background 2 The fight 3 Aftermath 4 Undercard 5 Broadcasting 6 ReferencesBackground editIn October 1985 shortly after Michael Spinks defeated Larry Holmes to win the heavyweight title promotor Don King pitched to HBO Sports president Seth Abraham a World Series style competition to unify the heavyweight division which had been without an undisputed champion since Leon Spinks in 1978 By mid January 1986 negotiations between King and the other promoters including Spinks promoter Butch Lewis were completed and the Heavyweight unification series was set to began in March with Pinklon Thomas vs Trevor Berbick 2 Spinks first bout in this series would be a rematch with Holmes a month late 3 4 In the build up the bout Holmes sent a letter to IBF president Bob Lee listing the Judges he didn t want to officiate the rematch Lee however declined to take Holmes advice 2 Holmes would later described the judges from the first fight must have been drunk when they scored Spinks the winner Holmes was a 7 to 5 betting favourite The fight editHolmes would start the fight strong throwing many hard shots and left jabs while Spinks was focused on dodging punches and keeping out of range As the rounds went on Spinks would start using his jab and left hook to wear down Holmes The 14th round would start with Spinks scoring with a series of jabs and head punches however with about a minute left in the round Holmes suddenly badly hurt Spinks with a right high to the head Spinks bent at the knee and almost went down Holmes would land a couple more punches but he couldn t finish off Spinks who as the round drew to a close threw a series of head shots that backed Holmes across the ring Holmes would again hurt Spinks in the final round with a right that had the champion backing into the ropes Judge Joe Cortez scored the contest 144 141 in favour of Holmes but the other two judges Frank Brunette and Jerry Roth scored it for Spinks 144 141 and 144 142 respectively giving the champion a split decision victory 5 6 7 HBO s unofficial scorer Harold Lederman who had been one of the three judges for the first bout had it 144 141 for Holmes The Associated Press also scored the bout for Holmes 143 142 Aftermath editSpeaking in the ring afterwards Spinks said I had to stay cool and calm then break his morale Larry proved to be one hell of a champion He was a die hard out there tonight In a post fight interview with HBO Holmes said the judges the referees and promoters can kiss me where the sun don t shine and because we re on HBO that s my big black behind 8 Holmes was taken to Valley Hospital after breaking his right thumb in the third round He would announce his retirement in November 1986 9 Undercard editConfirmed bouts 10 Broadcasting editCountry Broadcaster nbsp United States HBOReferences edit Larry Holmes vs Michael Spinks 2nd meeting boxrec com BoxRec Retrieved 27 March 2024 a b John Florio Ouisie Shapiro 2013 One Punch from the Promised Land Leon Spinks Michael Spinks and the Myth of the Heavyweight Title Rowman amp Littlefield pp 172 173 Richard Hoffer March 22 1986 It s tournament time in boxing Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2018 10 09 Matt Bennett March 22 1986 Unification bouts begin Columbus Dispatch via NewsBank Ed Schuyler Jr April 20 1986 Spinks beats Holmes again to keep title Lexington Herald Leader AP via NewsBank Dave Raffo 19 April 1986 Michael Spinks fighting the way Larry Holmes did when upi com United Press International Retrieved 27 March 2024 Ed Schuyler Jr 19 April 1986 Spinks beats Holmes again with a split decision Gainesville Sun Associated Press Retrieved 27 March 2024 Pat Putnam 28 April 1986 Battle Of The Ballot si com Sports Illustrated Retrieved 27 March 2024 SPORTS PEOPLE Holmes Retires The New York Times November 7 1986 Retrieved February 26 2015 BoxRec event Preceded byFirst Fight Michael Spinks s bouts19 April 1986 Succeeded byvs Steffen TangstadLarry Holmes s bouts19 April 1986 Succeeded byvs Mike Tyson Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michael Spinks vs Larry Holmes II amp oldid 1218395597, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,