The controversy has not been resolved. The fossil remains of each creature are limited and incomplete, so many of the estimates about average species size are speculative, and scientists know even less about characteristics like speed and agility. This inconclusiveness only fires the imagination of dinophiles, who often wonder which of these beasts would prevail in a one-on-one contest to the death. It is possible they fought, because their territories and times overlapped.
Piecing together the carcharodontosaurus has been difficult. The first find was two teeth in Algeria in 1923, followed by a few bone fragments that were subsequently destroyed during bombing in World War II. It wasn't until the latter 1990s that more partial remains were discovered, and most of what scientists think about carcharodontosaurus has been extrapolated from those remains. It's general body type resembled the T-Rex, albeit with a larger body and smaller brain. It lived in the Middle Cretaceous Period, and is estimated to have been between 26 and 44 feet long and weigh between six and eight tons.
Like the carcharodontosaurus, the spinosaurus' fossils that were collected in the early 20th Century were destroyed during Allied bombing of Germany. Since then, a few more fossils have been assembled, but like carcharodontosaurus, extrapolation from limited fossils has not left a definitive picture of the animal. The representation of the spine-sailed animal in Jurassic Park III was probably a good estimation, albeit somewhat larger than the actual dinosaur, given Hollywood's penchant for dramatic exaggeration. It lived in the Late Cretaceous Period, and its time likely overlapped with carcharodontosaurus, both perhaps also occupying regions that are now North Africa. Estimates of its length vary from 40 to 60 feet, with weight estimates from seven to nine tons.
These figures mean that each animal could have been 40 feet long and eight tons. The mean favors the spinosaurus, though these ranges are drawn from variable sources. In terms of the outcome of hypothetical combat, paleontologists know very little about these animals' behavior. While being formidable in size and armament, either or both may have wisely avoided direct combat with other predators, favoring avoidance or ritual combat like many predators today. Moreover, paleontologists do not know how fast or how agile these animals may have been. The question of combat between these two species will have to remain a matter for imagination.