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Leon Spinks

Spinks vs. Ray Kipping, 1995

Statistics

Nickname(s)

Neon

Rated at

Cruiserweight
Heavyweight

Height

6 ft 1 in

Reach

76 in

Born

July 11, 1953
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.

Died

February 5, 2021 (aged 67)
Henderson, Nevada, U.S.

Stance

Orthodox

Boxing record

Total fights

Wins

Wins by KO

Losses

Draws

Medal record

Men's amateur boxing

Representing United States
Olympic Games
Gold	1976 Montreal	Light heavyweight
Pan American Games
Silver	1975 Mexico City	Light heavyweight
World Championships
Bronze	1974 Havana	Light heavyweight

Leon Spinks (born July 11, 1953 – died February 5, 2021) was an American professional boxer. He competed from 1977 to 1995. He is best known for winning the undisputed heavyweight boxing championship in 1978. This happened in only his eighth professional fight.

He defeated the famous Muhammad Ali in a very close match. This win is still seen as one of the biggest surprises in boxing history. Spinks later lost his title in a rematch with Ali.

Before becoming a professional, Spinks was a very successful amateur boxer. He won many medals, including a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. His brother, Michael Spinks, also won a gold medal at the same Olympics. Leon Spinks also served in the United States Marine Corps.

Amateur Career Highlights
- Olympic Success
Professional Boxing Journey
Professional Wrestling Career
Life After Boxing
Personal Life and Health
Professional boxing record
See also

Amateur Career Highlights

Leon Spinks was a top amateur boxer. He won the national light heavyweight championships three times in a row. This was from 1974 to 1976. He was a member of the Marine Corps Boxing Team during this time.

Olympic Success

Spinks won the gold medal in light heavyweight boxing at the 1976 Summer Olympics. These games were held in Montreal, Canada. He beat several strong opponents to reach the final. In the final match, he defeated Sixto Soria to claim the gold.

Leon Spinks had an impressive amateur record. He won 178 fights and lost only 7. He also had 133 knockouts.

Professional Boxing Journey

Spinks started his professional boxing career on January 15, 1977. His first fight was in Las Vegas, Nevada. He won by knockout in the fifth round. He quickly gained attention by winning his early fights. He also fought a draw with Scott LeDoux and beat Italian champion Alfio Righetti.

The Big Fight: Spinks vs. Ali

On February 15, 1978, Leon Spinks made history. He fought Muhammad Ali in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ali was a boxing legend, but Spinks was a lesser-known fighter at the time. Spinks won the fight after 15 rounds. It was a split decision, meaning the judges had different opinions, but many felt Spinks clearly out-boxed Ali.

This victory made Spinks the world heavyweight champion. He achieved this in only his eighth professional fight. This was the fastest anyone had ever won the heavyweight title. Ali was older and expected an easy fight. But Spinks kept fighting hard and surprised everyone. This win was the highlight of Spinks' career. He was the only boxer to take a title from Muhammad Ali inside the boxing ring.

The Rematch with Ali

After his big win, Spinks faced a challenge. He was stripped of his WBC title. This happened because he chose to fight Ali again instead of defending his title against Ken Norton. The WBC then gave the title to Norton.

The rematch with Muhammad Ali happened on September 15, 1978. It took place in the Louisiana Superdome. This time, Ali was in much better shape and used smarter tactics. Ali won back his title by a unanimous decision after 15 rounds. He became the first boxer to win the lineal heavyweight title three times. Leon Spinks never got another chance to fight Ali.

Later Career Fights

After losing to Ali, Spinks continued his boxing career. In 1979, he lost to Gerrie Coetzee. But he soon bounced back, beating Alfredo Evangelista by knockout. He also fought to a draw with Eddie López and defeated Bernardo Mercado.

His strong performance against Mercado led to a title match against Larry Holmes in 1981. This was his last chance to win the heavyweight title. However, the referee stopped the fight in the third round.

Moving to Cruiserweight

After the Holmes fight, Leon Spinks moved to the cruiserweight division. This division is for boxers who weigh less than heavyweights. He won fights against Ivy Brown and Jesse Burnett.

In 1985, his brother Michael Spinks defeated Larry Holmes. This made Leon and Michael the only brothers to both hold world heavyweight championships. This record stood for two decades.

In 1986, Leon Spinks had one more chance to win a championship. He fought Dwight Muhammad Qawi for the WBA cruiserweight title. But he lost the fight in the sixth round. Spinks continued to box for another eight years. He retired from boxing in 1995 at the age of 42.

Spinks defeated Ray Kipping on June 19, 1995, in St. Louis

Spinks during his final victory held at the "Little Bit of Texas" in St. Louis

Professional Wrestling Career

Leon Spinks also had a short career in professional wrestling. In 1986, he lost a mixed martial arts fight to Japanese legend Antonio Inoki. He also appeared for the United States Wrestling Association in 1990.

In 1991, Spinks began wrestling in Japan for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW). He even won the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship in 1992. He held this title for a short time before losing it. He retired from wrestling in 1993.

Life After Boxing

After his boxing and wrestling careers, Spinks worked for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. He won their world title in 1992. This made him one of the few people to hold titles in both boxing and professional wrestling.

In the late 1990s, Spinks often appeared at autograph shows. In 2009, he was part of a documentary called Facing Ali. This film featured boxers who had fought Muhammad Ali.

Leon Spinks lived in Las Vegas, Nevada, later in his life. He said he kept a low profile and was comfortable. In 2017, he and his brother Michael were inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.

Personal Life and Health

Leon Spinks was born and grew up in St. Louis. His son, Cory Spinks, also became a very successful boxer. Cory held the undisputed welterweight title and was a junior middleweight champion twice. Leon's grandson, Leon Spinks III, is also an aspiring boxer.

Later in his life, Leon Spinks faced some health challenges. He was diagnosed with a brain condition in 2012. Doctors believed this was likely caused by the many punches he took during his boxing career. In 2019, it was announced that Spinks had advanced prostate cancer. He passed away on February 5, 2021, at the age of 67.

Professional boxing record

Professional record summary
46 fights	26 wins	17 losses
By knockout	14	9
By decision	11	8
By disqualification	1	0
Draws	3

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
46	Loss	26–17–3	Fred Houpe	UD	8	Dec 4, 1995	A Little Bit of Texas, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
45	Win	26–16–3	Ray Kipping	UD	8	Jun 19, 1995	A Little Bit of Texas, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
44	Loss	25–16–3	John Carlo	KO	1, 1:09	Oct 22, 1994	Convention Center, Washington, D.C., U.S.
43	Loss	25–15–3	Shane Sutcliffe	UD	8	Oct 1, 1994	Civic Arena, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
42	Win	25–14–3	Eddie Curry	DQ	9 (10)	Jun 22, 1994	Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.	Curry disqualified after refusing to answer the bell for round 9, believing the fight was scheduled for 8 rounds
41	Loss	24–14–3	James Wilder	PTS	10	Feb 27, 1993	Davenport, Iowa, U.S.
40	Win	24–13–3	Kevin Poindexter	KO	1 (10), 2:37	Dec 11, 1992	Union Hall, Countryside, Illinois, U.S.
39	Loss	23–13–3	Kevin Porter	PTS	10	Sep 26, 1992	Lansing, Michigan, U.S.
38	Win	23–12–3	Jack Jackson	KO	3 (10), 2:52	Jul 24, 1992	Union Hall, Countryside, Illinois, U.S.
37	Win	22–12–3	Rocky Bentley	PTS	10	Jun 17, 1992	World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
36	Win	21–12–3	Rick Myers	UD	10	Mar 20, 1992	Clarion Hotel Ballroom, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
35	Win	20–12–3	Andre Crowder	SD	10	Feb 28, 1992	Union Hall, Countryside, Illinois, U.S.
34	Win	19–12–3	Lupe Guerra	KO	3 (10), 2:13	Nov 15, 1991	Genesis Convention Center, Gary, Indiana, U.S.
33	Loss	18–12–3	Tony Morrison	TKO	1 (10), 0:33	May 30, 1988	Marriott Hotel, Trumbull, Connecticut, U.S.
32	Loss	18–11–3	Randall Cobb	MD	10	Mar 18, 1988	Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
31	Loss	18–10–3	Ladislao Mijangos	SD	10	Dec 20, 1987	Convention Center Arena, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
30	Loss	18–9–3	Terry Mims	SD	10	Oct 20, 1987	Swingos, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
29	Draw	18–8–3	Jim Ashard	SD	10	Aug 29, 1987	Lane County Fair grounds, Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
28	Loss	18–8–2	Angelo Musone	KO	7 (10)	May 22, 1987	Iesi, Italy
27	Win	18–7–2	Jeff Jordan	SD	12	Apr 28, 1987	Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, Japan	Won vacant WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title
26	Loss	17–7–2	José Ribalta	TKO	1 (10), 2:10	Jan 17, 1987	Coconut Grove Convention Center, Miami, Florida, U.S.
25	Loss	17–6–2	Rocky Sekorski	TKO	6 (10), 1:43	Aug 2, 1986	Port Authority, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, U.S.
24	Loss	17–5–2	Dwight Muhammad Qawi	TKO	6 (15), 2:56	Mar 22, 1986	Lawlor Events Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.	For WBA cruiserweight title
23	Win	17–4–2	Kip Kane	TKO	8 (12), 1:37	Dec 13, 1985	Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.	Won vacant WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title
22	Win	16–4–2	Tom Franco Thomas	UD	10	Jun 29, 1985	Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa, California, U.S.
21	Win	15–4–2	Tom Fischer	UD	10	May 9, 1985	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
20	Win	14–4–2	Rick Kellar	TKO	2 (10), 2:47	Apr 9, 1985	Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
19	Win	13–4–2	Lupe Guerra	TKO	4 (10), 0:43	Feb 21, 1985	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
18	Loss	12–4–2	Carlos de León	RTD	6 (10), 3:00	Mar 6, 1983	Broadway by the Bay Theater, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
17	Win	12–3–2	Jesse Burnett	UD	12	Oct 31, 1982	Great Gorge Resort, McAfee, New Jersey, U.S.	Won vacant NABF cruiserweight title
16	Win	11–3–2	Ivy Brown	UD	10	Feb 24, 1982	Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
15	Loss	10–3–2	Larry Holmes	TKO	3 (15), 2:34	Jun 12, 1981	Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.	For WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles
14	Win	10–2–2	Bernardo Mercado	TKO	9 (12), 2:52	Oct 2, 1980	Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
13	Win	9–2–2	Kevin Isaac	TKO	8 (10), 2:11	May 3, 1980	Circle Star Theater, San Carlos, California, U.S.
12	Draw	8–2–2	Eddie López	SD	10	Mar 8, 1980	The Aladdin, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
11	Win	8–2–1	Alfredo Evangelista	KO	5 (10), 2:43	Jan 12, 1980	Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
10	Loss	7–2–1	Gerrie Coetzee	TKO	1 (12), 2:03	Jun 24, 1979	Le Chapiteau de l'Espace, Fontvieille, Monaco
9	Loss	7–1–1	Muhammad Ali	UD	15	Sep 15, 1978	Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.	Lost WBA and The Ring heavyweight titles
8	Win	7–0–1	Muhammad Ali	SD	15	Feb 15, 1978	Las Vegas Hilton, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.	Won WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight titles
7	Win	6–0–1	Alfio Righetti	UD	10	Nov 18, 1977	Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
6	Draw	5–0–1	Scott LeDoux	SD	10	Oct 22, 1977	The Aladdin, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
5	Win	5–0	Bruce Scott	KO	3 (8), 3:02	Jun 1, 1977	Forum, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
4	Win	4–0	Pedro Agosto	KO	1 (8), 1:55	May 7, 1977	Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	Jerry McIntyre	KO	1 (6), 0:35	Mar 20, 1977	Exposition Center, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Peter Freeman	KO	1 (6), 1:26	Mar 5, 1977	Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, England
1	Win	1–0	Bob Smith	TKO	5 (6), 0:20	Jan 15, 1977	The Aladdin, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.