THE FREE PASS
It has been 40 years since the fight. Tangstad is no longer with us, but he and Spinks developed a bond that was for eternity. It was one of the best performances of Spinks’ career. It is a fight he understandably enjoys reminiscing about but wants to make sure we celebrate his opponent as much as we do him. The following excerpt is chapter 11 of my book Michael “Jinx” Spinks: An Authorized Biography . It was published in March and is on sale now. A lthough Steffen Tangstad had a very respectable 24-1-2 (14 KOs) record heading into his match against Michael Spinks, few thought him worthy of the opportunity. You could say that he was drafted by Team Spinks, who, after two grueling and emotional outings against Larry Holmes, were in need of an easier fight. Tangstad seemed the perfect opponent to provide that. The 27-year-old Norwegian had a few recognizable names on his record, having fought a draw with Buster Douglas and defeating former title challengers Alfredo Evangelista, Lucien Rodriguez and Joe Bugner. On paper, it looked impressive, but at the time of the matches, Douglas was seven years away from shocking Mike Tyson, Bugner was far past his prime, and the other two were faded, on top of not being formidable to begin with. Tangstad, as is the nature of the business, got to where he was through some very careful matchmaking. What Spinks was doing was biding time. As the reigning IBF and lineal heavyweight champion, Spinks had the clout to get Tangstad green-lighted into the HBO tournament. In facing Tangstad, Spinks, age 30, was doing what a long line of heavyweight champions had done before him, carefully selecting an opponent with minimal risk involved. This was no worse than Pete Rademacher, an Olympic gold medalist, challenging Floyd Patterson for the world heavyweight championship in
his professional debut; Joe Frazier after the “Fight of the Century” versus Muhammad Ali, making his next two title defenses against Terry Daniels and Ron Stander; and Ali, defending the title against Jean Pierre Coopman. Let’s not forget Michael’s brother Leon had only seven matches on his ledger when he was given the opportunity to dethrone Ali. Of course, selling Tangstad to the public would not be easy. To convince them he had a chance of dethroning Spinks, memories were conjured up of when Ingemar Johansson shocked the boxing world by stopping Patterson in three rounds to win the title back in 1959. It was wishful thinking. Johansson had an amateur pedigree, having won a silver medal in the [1952 Helsinki Olympics]. For those backing Tangstad, the best they could hang their hat on was him being the European heavyweight champion. It was a fancy title that carried prestige in Europe but none in America. Although things are radically different now, at that time, American heavyweights nearly always dominated their European counterparts. A case in point would be in 1971, when heavyweight contender Jerry Quarry traveled to England to take on European champion Jack Bodell. After Quarry dispatched Bodell in one round, he met with the British press who were gently trying to goad him into saying some complimentary things about their man. Quarry wanted to do so, but was struggling to come up with the right words. That is, until a reporter asked him if he found Bodell to be awkward. “Well, he fell awkwardly,” said Quarry in response. If Tangstad were to win, he would return home to Norway a national hero. To get ready for Spinks, Tangstad trained in the USA. When Spinks entered the ring at the Las Vegas Hilton on September 6, 1986, he was close to an 8-1 favorite. His payday would be $1 million. Tangstad reportedly would only be paid $50,000 plus Scandinavian film and TV rights, a small amount even by the standards of
that day. For Spinks, it was about the money; Tangstad, the opportunity and recognition. As an interesting side note, [strength and conditioning coach] Mackie Shilstone was not with Spinks for this contest. The training that made him stronger for the Holmes rematch had also slowed him down to an extent, Spinks felt. Tangstad was levels below Holmes. Tangstad was an opponent whom Spinks felt he could get the job done against by training the way boxers traditionally did. Regardless, Spinks was in superb shape as always. Spinks’ weight was where he wanted it to be, coming in at 201 pounds. The challenger scaled 214¾ pounds. Tangstad looked extremely nervous as he took the walk from his dressing room into the ring. The pressure and magnitude of the moment were clearly affecting him. At ringside was his mentor and idol, Johansson, who was now residing in Florida, but was temporarily back in the news because of this fight. Spinks was the picture of confidence walking down the aisle, waving to the crowd, a smile on his face. Also in attendance among the 5,832 [was] Johansson’s old rival Floyd Patterson. Ali was seated next to Don King, who co-promoted the show along with Butch Lewis. Sylvester Stallone was in the crowd. Spinks was on another level. He was superior to Tangstad in all departments. Because Spinks was a slow starter, Tangstad used the best strategy available to him, which was to go all out early and hope to land a fight- altering punch. Spinks was too smart and skilled to let that happen. Spinks had a brace on his left knee, but his mobility was not impaired in any way. He deftly avoided Tangstad’s rushes and ponderous blows over the first two rounds, content to outbox the Norwegian. Tangstad’s attack was slowing, something Eddie Futch, now back with Spinks after having been away for his previous two matches, noticed. “Back him up,” said Futch in
fight to the end no matter what,” said the late Arthur Mercante Sr., arguably the most famous referee in boxing history. “Many times they want the referee to stop the fight but don’t tell him because they don’t want to be branded as a quitter. They want to be pulled out of a match with their dignity intact.” But Tangstad knew he was done. Very quietly and in barely a whisper, he responded to Steele’s command, “That’s enough,” he said. It was then officially terminated at 58 seconds of the round. Tangstad never boxed again, sadly passing away in 2024, at the age of 65. Tangstad’s legacy in boxing is traced to this match more than all of his victories combined. “I don’t think he was too confident,” says Spinks in his recollections all these years later. “I could sense that Tangstad did not think he could beat me. I tried to never get overconfident, but knew this was more of a stay-busy fight than it was a competitive one. I got to give Tangstad credit. He was better than people realized. A real tough guy who hit pretty hard. I was never hurt or shaken, but I did feel Tangstad’s power. If he had connected regularly, then he could have hurt me. I fought a good fight, a smart fight. I respected Steffen Tangstad and what he brought into the ring. I was simply more talented, and it showed.” At that point, both Spinks and Lewis had no idea their next fight would be against a reemerging big name in the division who was looking to fulfill his destiny.
Spinks was all smiles following an easy night’s work.
hook dropped Tangstad again. When Tangstad got to his feet, referee Richard Steele asked if he wanted to continue. There was no visible reply, which Steele apparently took as a yes. When another left hook dropped Tangstad a moment later, the scenario repeated itself. Up at five and bleeding from the bridge of his nose, Steele asked Tangstad, “Do you want to continue?” It’s a question that a referee should never ask. “Fighters by nature are taught to be valiant, to
the corner before round three. Spinks went to work. Two minutes into the third, a double jab followed by an overhand right dropped Tangstad. He survived the round but looked tired and beaten as he trudged back to his corner. Early in the fourth, a short left
Jack Hirsch is a former six-term president of the Boxing Writers Association of America and is president of the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame.
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