Today's Ring Magazine Fight of the Year selection comes from 1978 and is our first real test of the definition of what makes a "Fight of the Year" -- we bring you the first matchup between Muhammad Ali, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, and Leon Spinks, Olympic gold medalist in 1976. Spinks had fought at light heavyweight in the Olympics, and while he started fast as a pro, he came into a title shot with Ali with a career record of just 6-0-1, with a split decision to Scott LeDoux on his record.
So the setup is already challenging to defend, wondering how a fighter with just six professional wins was getting a title shot in the first place. Who would take him that seriously? Certainly not Muhammad Ali, who, for all of his well-earned accolades throughout his career, is not going to have much to write home about after this bout, giving what is undoubtedly his worst performance in his career to that point, perhaps at any point, and suffering an undignifying split decision loss that can really only be chalked up to lack of effort on his part.
So, the question at hand is, does a massive upset by an undeserving fighter over an all-timer just phoning in his effort constitute a 'fight of the year'? Butch and Rob will give you THEIR opinion, see if it matches yours!
