February 15 in the late ’70s: One heavyweight career begins and another appears to be over – Spinks-Ali, Gerry Cooney

February 15 in the late '70s: One heavyweight career begins and another appears to be over – Spinks-Ali, Gerry Cooney

It was forty years ago today when massive underdog Leon Spinks upset The Greatest, in defeating Muhammad Ali to take the world heavyweight crown. Spinks, a veritable novice, shocked the world by winning a fifteen-round split decision in Las Vegas. Was Ali finished, for good? It looked like it, but as we know, The Greatest came back and scored one last win – a revenge win over “Neon Leon.”

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Ali Vs. Tyson: “He never threw a body punch in his life. Nobody beats him”

Ali Vs. Tyson: “He never threw a body punch in his life. Nobody beats him”

It’s more than likely THE ultimate Dream Fight; the mythical match-up that really gets fans talking – and debating. Muhammad Ali, in his prime, against Mike Tyson, at his physical fighting peak: who wins?

The Daily Star has just unearthed a short Tyson interview where the youngest heavyweight ruler in history talks about what would have happened had he met “The Greatest.”

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Tyson Fury compares his ring exile with that of Muhammad Ali; comes out with a line borrowed straight from Larry Holmes

Tyson Fury compares his ring exile with that of Muhammad Ali; comes out with a line borrowed straight from Larry Holmes

Former heavyweight ruler Tyson Fury insists his time out of the ring, his exile if you like, is comparable to the enforced inactivity the great Muhammad Ali had to undergo back in the 1960s. As fight fans know, “The Greatest” was stripped of his world title, and prevented from earning a living by boxing, for a little over three and a half years.

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