Again, Spinks Wins, Holmes Bitter : Champion Rocked but Keeps IBF Title on Split Decision

Larry Holmes did not go gently into that good night, although he certainly went. Presumably retired following his failure to win back his heavyweight title Saturday night, Holmes calmly blasted the officials who scored a strange and unsatisfying split 15-round decision in favor of Michael Spinks.

“There is no such thing as fairness,” he told cable television’s HBO in his only immediate postfight interview, before going to the hospital for a splint for his broken right thumb. Then he added, resuming an old theme: “The referees, judges and promoters can kiss me where the sun don’t shine.”

To be fair to Holmes, whose bitterness may become a bigger part of his legend than his seven-year reign as heavyweight champion, he even had to smile. What had he said just before? “The whole thing is, I got a big mouth.”

Well, sure he does, always has. But whether his comments concerning the integrity of local judges after his first fight with Spinks last year had any bearing on Saturday night’s decision at the Hilton Hotel is anybody else’s guess. Certainly, Holmes believes the real Vindication in Las Vegas, the handle for the International Boxing Federation rematch, belonged to the judges, whom he had accused of on-the-job drinking and the taking of payoffs.

His apology--simply that he didn’t mean any offense--was evidently just not enough in their eyes. Revenge had been had. “Once you think you’re there,” he said of his effort, “somebody pulls you back.”

To be sure, it is possible to quarrel over the scoring, and not just because the judges’ cards didn’t agree with those at ringside but because they didn’t agree with one another. In a fight when the only real damage was to Spinks--he was stunned and wobbled at least twice--judge Frank Brunette of New Jersey curiously scored it 144-141 for Spinks, and Jerry Roth of Nevada had it 144-142 for the undefeated champion.

But Joe Cortez had it 144-141 for Holmes. “As a boxing fan,” said Duane Ford, the vice chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, “I’m disappointed in the decision, in the gap in the scoring. Two of the judges had a six-round turnaround, and that bothers me.”

The Times scored it 144-141 for Holmes. Truly it was a difficult fight to score, with Spinks, 29, having moved up from his light-heavyweight rule to stay, letting the elder Holmes have the first five rounds and then trying to steal the remainder with his darting, in-and-out style.

That style earned him a unanimous decision in his upset of a strangely passive Holmes last year and set the former champion, who had been trying for Rocky Marciano’s record of 49-0 awash in a sea of bile. Holmes had said afterward that Marciano “couldn’t carry my jockstrap,” and the resulting uproar apparently cemented his reputation for bitterness and paranoia.

For this fight, Holmes intended to take punches, if he had to, and work the elusive Spinks over good. Although he hoped for a knockout, to remove the conspiratorial element, he obviously felt that if he was more the aggressor this time, he would sway even the prejudiced judges.

Certainly he was the aggressor--going so far as to rush after introductions and pick Spinks up and throw him down--and certainly he was the more damaging puncher. In the second round, Holmes hit a ducking Spinks right on top of his head and Spinks’ knees did a dance independent of his feet. Then in the 14th, Holmes hit him with a big right and Spinks appeared to squat to the canvas, finally pulling himself up on splayed legs.

Spinks, who insisted the judging was fair (what else would he insist?) did admit to some hurt in that round. “All I knew was that I was stationary. I told myself, ‘I must be dazed. Let’s get the hell outta here.’ ” Later he described his condition thusly: “I was in one place too long. I said, ‘Hey, I’m here too long. Things went hazy. But I wasn’t going anywhere without my luggage.”’

Spinks, 205 to Holmes’ 223, did hit Holmes a few licks, and once in the eighth round he hit Holmes with seven straight jabs. None were damaging, but the judges were sufficiently impressed to give Spinks the round and a number of others. He puffed up Holmes’ right eye a bit with his left hook but otherwise never really hurt him.

Spinks, however, said it was all according to plan. “The first five rounds I had to let Larry calm down,” he said. I figured he’d be a little fast starting out so you give him the early rounds. But by the end of the fifth round it was time to get busy. And then I out-hustled him.”

Holmes believes he was hurt less by Spinks’ dipping and diving and planning than by his own out-spokeness. For several years now the 36-year-old Holmes has referred to himself as the Boxing Executive, doing all his own business. This independence, he is certain, puts him out of the mainstream, especially when he is in the awkward role of challenger. “When I speak out,” he said, “I’ll be penalized.”

Holmes, 48-2 with his only losses coming to Spinks (29-0), may not be appreciated to the extent he hoped, though his long reign may one day seem impressive when judged alongside the in-and-out champions of today. But he’s going to see how people respond to him outside the ring now. “I gave it all I had,” he said. “I hope I left a lasting impression on the fans. But there’s no sense me chasing ghosts. I’ll be punch drunk, I’ll be shuffling around if I try to keep it up. I can’t win no more.” And then he went into the night.

THE SCORECARDS

Official scorecards of the Larry Holmes-Michael Spinks IBF heavyweight title fight at Las Vegas Saturday night.

JUDGE JERRY ROTH HOLMES 10 10 10 10 9 9 10 9 10 9 9 9 9 10 9--142

SPINKS 9 9 9 9 10 10 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 10--144

JUDGE FRANK BRUNETTE HOLMES 10 10 10 10 9 9 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 9--141

SPINKS 9 9 9 9 10 10 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 10--144

JUDGE JOE CORTEZ HOLMES 10 10 10 10 10 9 10 9 10 9 9 9 9 10 10--144

SPINKS 9 9 9 9 9 10 9 10 9 10 10 10 10 8 10--141