Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks fight like I said I would. I just tried to do what I knew I had to do, and that was fight. Not that I stood toe to toe with him, but I tried to take the shot and I came up short." Futch opined that Spinks was undone because he abandoned his gameplan of boxing and moving early on and instead tried to win Tyson's respect. Spinks later conceded that "fear was knocking at my door big time." Tyson said "The first punch I threw, he wobbled a bit. I knew right there I had him," adding "my trainer
Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks if it ended in a knockout, but favoured Spinks if it went the distance. 1940s middleweight champion Rocky Graziano predicted Spinks would "psych out Tyson, then knock the hell out of him." Archie Moore gave Spinks "a wonderful chance" of winning. Floyd Patterson, who like Tyson had been trained by Cus D'Amato, said "I originally picked him [Tyson], and I still do, but now I give Spinks a chance." Spinks entered the ring as a 4–1 underdog. Minutes before the fighters were due to enter the ring, there was a commotion in Tyson's dressing room when Butch Lewis noticed a