Leon Spinks (pictured) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1995. He was born on July 11, 1953, in St. Louis, Missouri.
In only his eighth professional fight, Spinks won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978. He earned his title after defeating Muhammad Ali in a split decision. This was considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. Spinks was later stripped of the WBC title for facing Ali in an unapproved rematch seven months later. In this fight, Spinks lost by unanimous decision.
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Besides being a heavyweight champion with a characteristic gap-toothed grin (due to losing two and later all four of his front teeth), Spinks gained notoriety for disaster. This befell his career following the loss to Ali. However, he did challenge once more for the WBC heavyweight title in 1981. In this bout, he lost to Larry Holmes by TKO in the third round. After contending for the WBA cruiserweight title in 1986, he lost to Dwight Muhammad Qawi by TKO in the sixth round.
As an amateur, Spinks won numerous medals in the light heavyweight division. The first was bronze at the inaugural 1974 World Championships. Spinks won a silver medal at the 1975 Pan American Games. He finally won gold at the 1976 Summer Olympics. He won this top medal alongside his brother Michael Spinks, who won middleweight gold. Leon served in the United States Marine Corps from 1973 to 1976 (Campbell, 2021).
Spinks also had a brief career as a professional wrestler in the 1990s. He worked for the Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling association (FMW). He held the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship in 1992. Spinks died on February 5, 2021, in Henderson, Nevada at the age of 67 after a long battle with prostate cancer.
Source: Leon Spinks, Former Undisputed Heavyweight Boxing Champion Dead at 67
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