Spinks Hung In There for About Half a Round

Never had a highly regarded fighter fallen so far, so quickly. Ninety-one seconds quickly.

That’s how long unbeaten challenger Michael Spinks lasted 11 years ago tonight at the Convention Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Mike Tyson, on the greatest night of his career, turned the 212-pound Spinks into a lightweight.

In 1988, as rapid as Tyson’s ascent in boxing had been, Spinks remained a formidable heavyweight, a quality fighter Tyson hadn’t met.

This was that rarest of fights: two heavyweights, in their prime, both undefeated.

Not only was Spinks undefeated and considered the division’s best defensive fighter, he’d beaten Larry Holmes twice.

And so 21,785 poured into Convention Hall that night, and millions more dialed it up on pay-per-view. If it wasn’t the biggest fight of the 1980s, it was the most expensive. Convention Hall tickets went from $1,500 ringside to $100 upstairs. The pay-per-view tab: $50.

Many ringsiders felt it was over before it started. Spinks entered the ring first, with an uncertain look on his face that seemed to say: “What in the world am I doing here?�

Spinks, supposed to be harder to hit than any heavyweight around, was hit often, very hard and with great cruelty by Tyson, who on that night reached the peak of his fighting powers. His balance and power in perfect sync, he took apart the challenger in sections.

Coldly and deliberately, he hammered Spinks’ body. When he bounced Spinks off the ropes with one body shot, he caught him on the rebound on the tip of his chin with a murderous right hand.

Years later, his former manager, Bill Cayton, remembered his protege that night.

“On that night, Mike Tyson was the greatest heavyweight who ever lived,� he said.

Also on this date: In 1980, Jerry Reuss of the Dodgers pitched a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants in an 8-0 victory at Candlestick Park. . . . In 1987, Oakland rookie slugger Mark McGwire, 23, hit three home runs in a 13-3 A’s win at Cleveland, and defending champion Rick Johnson won the Superbowl of Motocross before 45,074 at the Coliseum.