Spinks, Leon, Jr.
1953-2021, American boxer, b. St. Louis, Mo. Spinks began boxing at age 13,
dropping out of high school in his junior year to join the Marines where he
continued to box. He won the Olympic light-heavyweight gold medal at the
1976 Montreal Games. Two years later, in Feb. 1978, he defeated Muhammad
Ali to win the
W.B.A. heavyweight championship, after only having fought professionally
seven times. However, the following September, Ali defeated Spinks to
reclaim his heavyweight title. Spinks subsequently failed in bids to take
the heavyweight crown from Larry Holmes (1981) and the W.B.A. cruiser title
from Dwight Muhammad Qawi (1986). Spinks retired in 1995, having a career
record of 26 victories (14 knockouts), 17 losses, and three draws.
See B. Spinks, Leon Spinks and Me (2008), J. Florio and O.
Shapiro, One Punch from the Promised Land (2013),
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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