Cory Spinks: A Victim Forgotten

[GattiFan]

Yea.

It would suck to get all "Palmed" by Spinks when he finally decided to stop sprinting for a few seconds.

That looks like a vicious shot from the inside of spinks open hand. I wonder if he actually makes a fist inside that glove?

[EliteSoldier]

Yea.

It would suck to get all "Palmed" by Spinks when he finally decided to stop sprinting for a few seconds.

That looks like a vicious shot from the inside of spinks open hand. I wonder if he actually makes a fist inside that glove?

If it was calzaghe fighting him he'd have hurt Taylor. Who do you think wins Calzaghe or Taylor? My pick is obviously Calzaghe.

[roosterfarmer]

If it was calzaghe fighting him he'd have hurt Taylor. Who do you think wins Calzaghe or Taylor? My pick is obviously Calzaghe.

I completely agree... Really, just about anyone who throws a punch could have beat Taylor in that fight. What the heck was he doin? He spent 80% of the fight standing around, and the rest was spent resting in the corner between rounds. Calzaghe would absolutely rock his world... he would familiarize Taylor with "punishment". But if Pavlik fights him, he'd do it anyway.

[EliteSoldier]

What are taylors best punch stats? Compared to Calzaghes and Pavliks best punch stats? I want to know who throws the most punches on their best night.

[Dorian]

sayng Spinks won... it's just sad
he simply didn't do enough...

[EliteSoldier]

sayng Spinks won... it's just sad
he simply didn't do enough...

He made Taylor look like a tool though, can you admit that?

[Dorian]

He made Taylor look like a tool though, can you admit that?

I admit that Taylor did not fight well....
and Spinks could've won if he would've threw more punches,jabs anything

[mr.anthrax]

I just found this article on another boxing website I feel it is worth posting based on some of the opinions I have heard here.




By Ben Cohen: Last weekend, I wrote the fight report for the middleweight title fight between Jermain Taylor and Cory Spinks. Spinks clearly out boxed a lumbering Taylor, and should have been proclaimed the Middleweight champion of the world. Instead, the HBO star was gifted a ludicrous split decision and retained his title.

Having been subjected to the worst ringside commentary seen in many years, Spinks was not even dignified with a post fight interview by the HBO boxing team.

Instead, they ridiculed his performance, and ignored the fact that Jermain Taylor had done absolutely nothing for at least 8 of the 12 rounds they fought. Jim Lampley lambasted **** Flaherty, the only judge who scored the fight correctly (117-111 for Spinks), saying, “On the basis of that I would say he should never judge a major fight again — that was a complete travesty.”

Larry Merchant also stated that Spinks performance was ‘dreadful’, and criticised the much smaller man for not ‘taking the fight’ to Taylor.

Judges Gale Van Hoy and Michael Pernick scored the bout 115-113 and 117-111 for Taylor, apparently giving credit for moving forwards and looking mean. HBO’s unofficial judge Harold Lederman scored the bout 116-112 for Taylor.

Within hours of reporting on the fight, I began to receive emails from fans, and other journalist confiding in the fact that they had scored the fight the same way I did, but were embarrassed to say so given HBO’s take on the event.

Here are a few examples of some of the emails readers sent in:

Ben,
Thanks for your article on the Taylor/Spinks fight. I thought maybe I was seeing a completely different fight from the HBO crew as I had it 115-113 Spinks. I’ve noticed several other websites had Spinks winning the fight also. My confidence and self-esteem are no longer shattered! My confidence in HBO calling a fight without prejudice is diminishing, however.

Thanks again,

Scotty C.

Dear Mr. Cohen,
I am writing this to e-mail to thank you for the article you wrote on Taylor-Spinks on SecondsOut. I agree with 100% on the fight and the shameful announcing by the HBO team…..The HBO team blamed Spinks for the dullness of the fight only because Taylor is an HBO fighter and his success coincides with their best interests. Their bias was also evident in how they gushed over Oscar De La Hoya’s “gutsy” performance against Floyd Mayweather in which they awarded him any round in which he threw more than a dozen punches, whether they landed or not. That favoritism continued into the following week’s replay of the fight in which they focused 90% or their attention on De La Hoya and virtually ignored the winner of the fight who sat quietly and acknowledged the little praise that was thrown his way.
Jude Kaldi


Readers of Secondsout were not the only ones confused by HBO’s scoring of the bout.

“Cory Spinks fought the exact same fight Floyd fought against Oscar”, said Bernard Hopkins at a recent press conference for his fight with Winky Wright. “He just wasn’t the HBO boy, and he got robbed. He boxed Taylor’s head off”.

Doug Fischer of Maxboxing wrote:

’I think HBO’s commentators have a clear double standard regarding ’ring generalship’. It doesn’t count at all against Jermain Taylor in their eyes. The way they call it (and the way Harold Lederman often scores it) any middleweight who executes ring generalship vs. Taylor is either ’running’ or allowing the champ to be the ’aggressor’ even if the Arkansas native isn’t really doing much or being effective in any way.’

Said John Rawling of the Guardian:

’Many observers were convinced that Spinks’s superior boxing skills had been enough to get the verdict against Taylor.’

Cliff Rold of Boxingscene.com wrote:

“This was one of the worst scored fights in recent memory, but because a guy without much fan appeal got the shaft it’s being easily dismissed. Cory earned better than that. He earned himself a championship, was denied it, and few seem to care.”

I was personally appalled at HBO’s handling of the event, and think that Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Harold Lederman should be reprimanded for their lack of objectivity and professionalism. There should also be an investigation as to how and why Jermain Taylor was awarded the decision, with judges Gale Van Hoy and Michael Pernick brought before the Tennessee boxing board to explain themselves.

So, I am writing this to try and get some justice for Cory Spinks, who should have been recognised as the winner of this bout. If you believe Spinks was robbed, please email your complaints to Kerry Davis, the head of boxing at HBO, and Sara Luna of the Tennessee boxing board.

Kerry Davis can be reached at Kerry.davis@hbo.com

Sara Luna can be reached at Sara.Luna@state.tn.us

HBO has been extremely good for boxing over the years, but it seems to have let its guard down in recent times. Let’s try to help keep them in check. Boxing deserves better.

Ben Cohen can be reached at benfu1@yahoo.com

[crold1]

Brian Kenny also had it for Spinks

[Tha_Greatest]

Dude, he didn't run. He circled at mid-ring the whole fight. The guy who stood still all night was Taylor. Don't take my word for it...Steward repeatedly said "You can't wait thirty seconds bewteen punches."

You are correct, he didnt run, he came to fight, he was at war, not with taylor but everyone in boxing, he purposely tried to kill boxing by putting as aweful a performance so the sport will die. That was Coreys plan, Corey ,you the man, Corey Spinks sucks ass