N.Y. Judge Lifts Ban on Spinks-Cooney Fight

A New York state Supreme Court judge Thursday lifted an injunction that had blocked a heavyweight fight between Michael Spinks, former International Boxing Federation champion, and Gerry Cooney.

The action cleared the way for a Spinks-Cooney bout, possibly June 15, in either Atlantic City, N.J., or Las Vegas.

Home Box Office had tried to stop the fight, claiming it would interfere with the cable network’s heavyweight unification series. But Supreme Court Judge Elliott Wilk said the argument was no longer valid because the IBF had recently stripped Spinks of his heavyweight title.

Wilk also rejected HBO’s request for a contempt citation against Butch Lewis, who is promoting the Spinks-Cooney fight. HBO claimed that Lewis and others conspired to get Spinks’ title taken away so that Spinks could fight Cooney in a big-money match.