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Leon Spinks (born July 11, 1953 in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
) is an American former boxer
Boxing

Boxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar human weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds....
. He had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins. While still an amateur, he also became a member of the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing Military power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver Marine Air-Ground Task Force....
. Spinks went from being heavyweight champion of the world to being homeless in little more than a decade.

He won the gold medal in the light heavyweight division during the 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976....
 in Montreal
Montreal

Montreal, or Montr?al, is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada of Quebec and the List of largest cities and second largest cities by country List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population....
, alongside brother Michael Spinks
Michael Spinks

Michael Spinks a native of St. Louis, Missouri, Missouri, is a former boxing who was champion in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight division....
, who also won a gold medal in those games.






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Encyclopedia


Leon Spinks (born July 11, 1953 in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
) is an American former boxer
Boxing

Boxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar human weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds....
. He had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins. While still an amateur, he also became a member of the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing Military power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver Marine Air-Ground Task Force....
. Spinks went from being heavyweight champion of the world to being homeless in little more than a decade.

He won the gold medal in the light heavyweight division during the 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976....
 in Montreal
Montreal

Montreal, or Montr?al, is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada of Quebec and the List of largest cities and second largest cities by country List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population....
, alongside brother Michael Spinks
Michael Spinks

Michael Spinks a native of St. Louis, Missouri, Missouri, is a former boxing who was champion in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight division....
, who also won a gold medal in those games. Two years earlier, at the inaugural 1974 World Amateur Boxing Championships
1974 World Amateur Boxing Championships

The World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Havana, Cuba from August 17 to August 30. The first edition of this competition, held two years before the Boxing at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, was organised by the world governing body for amateur boxing AIBA....
 in Havana, Cuba, he captured the bronze medal. His other teammates included Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard

Ray Charles Leonard is a retired American professional boxing. Named Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s, he is widely considered to be one of the best boxers of all time, winning world titles at multiple weights and engaging in contests with such celebrated opponents as Wilfred Benitez, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler....
, Leo Randolph
Leo Randolph

Leo Randolph was an United States boxing, who won the Olympic medalists in boxing at the 1976 Summer Olympics....
 and Howard Davis Jr.
Howard Davis Jr.

Howard Davis Jr. was a world class United States amateur and professional boxing....
.

Professional career

He debuted professionally on January 15, 1977 in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, Nevada, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and entertainment....
, beating Bob Smith by a knockout
Knockout

A knockout is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving strike ....
 in five rounds. His next fight, his debut abroad, was in Liverpool, England where he beat Scotty Child by a knockout in the first round. A couple of fights later, he saw a slight improvement in opposition quality, when he fought Pedro Agosto of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a Autonomy Territories of the United States of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands....
 and knocked him out in the first. He then drew with Scott LeDoux
Scott LeDoux

Alan Scott LeDoux, "The Fighting Frenchman," is a retired professional heavyweight boxer. In August 2006 LeDoux was named Boxing Commissioner for the state of Minnesota....
 and beat Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 champion Alfio Riguetti by a decision.

Spinks then ranked number one among the world's heavyweight challengers. He made history in only his eighth fight, on February 15, 1978, when he beat an aged and out-of-shape Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is a retired United States boxing and former three-time List of heavyweight boxing champions.As an amateur, Ali won a gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in the light heavyweight division gold medal....
 in a 15-round decision in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, Nevada, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and entertainment....
. Spinks became the fastest man ever to win the world heavyweight title when he became champion in only his eighth fight. Ali, who had not been the same since his last fight with Joe Frazier, expected this to be an easy fight, but he was out-hustled by Spinks who never seemed to tire in the bout. The victory over Ali was the peak of Spinks's career. After it, he never again was as efficient as he was against Ali in the first time they fought.

Spinks was known to be a party animal during his period as world heavyweight champion, always enjoying the night life and in the company of multiple women. He even hired a young Mr. T
Mr. T

Mr. T is an United States actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxing Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler....
 to be one of his bodyguards during that time.

Spinks was stripped of his world title by the WBC for refusing to defend his title against their #1 ranked contender, Ken Norton
Ken Norton

Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. is a former multi-time world champion heavyweight boxer....
. Spinks instead agreed to fight a return bout against Ali for the WBA
World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title, at the professional level....
 crown. The WBC subsequently named Norton its champion, marking the first time a boxer had been awarded the heavyweight title without winning it in the ring. (The WBC declared Norton's recent victory over Jimmy Young to be a retroactive title fight) Because of the WBC's action, Spinks was the last undisputed heavyweight champion until the emergence of Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson, also known as Malik Abdul, is a retired United States Boxing. He was the List of undisputed boxing champions#Heavyweight and remains the youngest man ever to win a world heavyweight title at just 20 years old....
.

The second Ali fight was different from the first; Spinks lost the title to Ali in New Orleans at the Louisiana Superdome
Louisiana Superdome

The Louisiana Superdome, often informally referred to simply as the Superdome, The Dome or the New Orleans Superdome is a large, multi-purpose sports and exhibition facility located in the Central Business District, New Orleans of New Orleans, Louisiana....
 on September 15, 1978 by a unanimous 15-round decision. This time it was Spinks who did not train hard enough. Ali, despite his declining skills, gave every ounce of himself in this fight and did everything he could to out-smart and out-box the much younger Spinks. By regaining the title, Ali became the first three-time heavyweight champion. Spinks continued to come into fights out of shape and was never as effective as he was in the first Ali fight.

In his next fight, his only bout of 1979, he went to Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo is one of Monaco's various administrative areas, sometimes erroneously believed to be a town or the country's capital. The official capital is Monaco-Ville and covers all quarters of the territory....
, where he was knocked out in the first round by future WBA world heavyweight champion Gerrie Coetzee
Gerrie Coetzee

Gerhardus Christian Coetzee , better known as Gerrie Coetzee, is a South African former boxer. He made history twice: he was the first boxer from the African continent ever to fight for the world Heavyweight title, and the first to win the world Heavyweight title....
. In 1980, Spinks beat former world title challenger Alfredo Evangelista
Alfredo Evangelista

Alfredo Evangelista is a former Uruguayan-Spain boxer. He was born Montevideo, Uruguay.Evangelista faced Muhammad Ali in 1977, losing by unanimous decision in 15 rounds....
 by a knockout in five, boxed to a draw in ten with Eddie The Animal Lopez, and beat the WBC's number one ranked challenger Bernardo Mercado
Bernardo Mercado

Bernardo Mercado was a heavyweight boxing briefly ranked as the top contender for the title of champion in 1980 by the World Boxing Council.Born in Monter?a, Colombia on July 16, 1953, Mercado was once a sparring partner for Argentina heavyweight Oscar Bonavena, before turning professional on November 15, 1975....
 by a knockout in nine. The Mercado fight took place on the night that Ali challenged WBC World champion Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes

Larry Holmes is a former world heavyweight boxing champion. Holmes has spent the majority of his adult life in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the state's Lehigh Valley region, giving rise to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
 to try to become the first boxer to win the world heavyweight title four times.

After the win over Mercado, Spinks challenged for the WBC world heavyweight championship once again. In his only fight in 1981, he faced Holmes in Detroit on June 12. Spinks was knocked out in the third round. In 1982, Spinks decided to go down in weight and competed in the Cruiserweights. He beat fringe contender Ivy Brown by a decision in ten rounds, and former and future title challenger Jesse Burnett
Jesse Burnett

Jesse Burnett of Los Angeles, California, was a light heavyweight and cruiserweight professional. His professional record was 23-18-2 with 11 Knockouts....
 by decision in twelve rounds.

Spinks boxed on and off from 1981 to 1985, in both heavyweight and cruiserweight
Cruiserweight

Cruiserweight is a Boxing weight classes in boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight. Before the advent of the current cruiserweight class, "light heavyweight" and "cruiserweight" were sometimes used interchangeably in Great Britain....
 divisions. When his brother Michael beat Holmes on September 21, 1985, the Spinks became the first pair of brothers to be world Heavyweight champions. With this victory, Leon was vindicated by his younger brother Michael, as Michael beat Holmes and Leon had been defeated by Larry Holmes (by TKO in the third round).

Spinks performed in several boxer vs. wrestler matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling

is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan and is a member of the National Wrestling Alliance, founded by Antonio Inoki in 1972. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it is the largest wrestling promotion in Japan and one of the largest in the world....
 in the 1980s, including losing by submission to Antonio Inoki
Antonio Inoki

, real name , born February 20, 1943) is a professional wrestling promoter and retired Japanese professional wrestler and Mixed martial arts who now resides in New York City....
. In 1986 Spinks lost to the WBA's world cruiserweight champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi

Dwight Muhammad Qawi is a former world boxing champion in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004....
 by a knockout in six rounds, his second attempt at being a two-time world champion.

Spinks boxed for eight more years, with mixed results. In 1994 he lost a bout by KO to John Carlo, noteworthy for being the first time a former heavyweight champion had ever lost to a boxer making his pro debut. This humiliation was increased by the fact that Spinks lost by KO and was unable to land a single punch. He retired after losing by decision in eight to Fred Houpe in 1995. He was 42 years old, out of shape and way past his prime.

Professional boxing record

|- |align="center" colspan=8|26 Wins (14 knockouts, 11 decisions, 1 disqualification), 17 Losses (9 knockouts, 8 decisions), 3 Draws |- | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Result | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd., Time | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes |-align=center |Win |Ray Kipping |Decision |8 |June 19, 1995 |align=left| St. Louis, Missouri | |-align=center |Loss |John Carlo |KO |1 |October 22, 1994 |align=left| Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
 | |-align=center |Loss |Shane Sutcliffe
Shane Sutcliffe

Canadian boxing Shane Sutcliffe is a former Canadian boxing champion. He is referred to as "Kid Thunder" by his fans....
 |Decision |8 |October 1, 1994 |align=left| Nanaimo, British Columbia | |-align=center |Win |Eddie Curry |Disqualification |9 |June 22, 1994 |align=left| Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the Capital of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats of Wake County, North Carolina. Raleigh is known as the ?City of Oaks? for its many oaks....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Loss |James Wilder |Decision |10 |February 27, 1993 |align=left| Davenport, Iowa
Davenport, Iowa

Davenport is a city in Scott County, Iowa, Iowa, United States, along the Mississippi River. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a population of 98,359 and an area of ....
 | |-align=center |Win |Kevin Poindexter |KO |1 |December 11, 1992 |align=left| Countryside, Illinois
Countryside, Illinois

Countryside is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,991 at the 2000 census....
 | |-align=center |Loss |Kevin Porter |Decision |10 |September 26, 1992 |align=left| Lansing, Michigan
Lansing, Michigan

Lansing is the List of U.S. state capitals of the U.S. state of Michigan, and the state's sixth largest city. It is located about 80 miles west-northwest of Detroit, Michigan and is mostly in Ingham County, Michigan, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan....
 | |-align=center |Win |Jack Jackson |KO |3 |July 24, 1992 |align=left| Countryside, Illinois | |-align=center |Win |Kenneth Bentley |Decision |10 |June 17, 1992 |align=left| Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the Capital and most populous city in Georgia , as well as the 33rd largest city in the United States of America with a population of 519,145....
 | |-align=center |Win |Rick Myers |Decision |10 |March 20, 1992 |align=left| St. Louis, Missouri | |-align=center |Win |Andre Crowder |Decision |10 |February 28, 1992 |align=left| Countryside, Illinois | |-align=center |Win |Lupe Guerra |KO |3 |November 15, 1991 |align=left| Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana

Gary is the largest city in Lake County, Indiana, Indiana, United States. The city is located in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is approximately 25 miles from downtown Chicago....
 | |-align=center |Loss |Tony Morrison |TKO |1 |May 30, 1988 |align=left| Trumbull, Connecticut
Trumbull, Connecticut

Trumbull is a New England town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Connecticut, United States. The population was 34,243 at the 2000 United States Census....
 | |-align=center |Loss |Randall Cobb |Decision |10 |March 18, 1988 |align=left| Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the Capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis, Tennessee....
 | |-align=center |Loss |Ladislao Mijangos |Decision |10 |December 20, 1987 |align=left| San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population. Located in , the city is a cultural and geographical gateway into the ....
 | |-align=center |Loss |Terry Mims |Decision |10 |October 20, 1987 |align=left| Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border....
 | |-align=center |style="background: #dae2f1"|Draw |Jim Ashard |Draw |10 |August 29, 1987 |align=left| Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon

The city of Eugene is the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, Oregon, United States. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie River and Willamette River rivers, about 60 miles east of the Oregon Coast....
 | |-align=center |Loss |Angelo Musone
Angelo Musone

Angelo Musone is an Italy former boxing, who won the Olympic medalists in boxing at the 1984 Summer Olympics....
 |KO |7 |May 22, 1987 |align=left| Jesi, Italy
Jesi

Jesi is a town and comune of the province of Ancona in the Marche, Italy....
 | |-align=center |Win |Jeff Jordan |Decision |12 |April 28, 1987 |align=left| Nagoya, Japan |align=left| |-align=center |Loss |Jose Ribalta |TKO |1 , 2:10 |January 17, 1987 |align=left| Coconut Grove, Florida
Coconut Grove, Florida

Coconut Grove, , is a neighborhoods of Miami located in the City of Miami, Florida in Miami-Dade County, United States. The area is defined as southeast of US 1, from N....
 | |-align=center |Loss |Rocky Sekorski
Rocky Sekorski

Rick Sekorski, alias Rocky Sekorski, is a retired heavyweight professional boxing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minnesota.*25 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time...
 |TKO |6 |August 2, 1986 |align=left| Detroit Lks., Minnesota
Detroit Lakes, Minnesota

Detroit Lakes is the largest city in and the county seat of Becker County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The city's official population was estimated at 8,030 in 2007 by the United States Census Bureau....
 | |-align=center |Loss |Dwight Muhammad
Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi

Dwight Muhammad Qawi is a former world boxing champion in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004....
 |TKO |6 , 2:56 |March 22, 1986 |align=left| Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada

Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, Nevada, United States. A 2006 estimate indicated that the city's population had increased to 214,853, but ranked Reno as the third largest city in the state following Las Vegas, Nevada, and Henderson, Nevada....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |Kip Kane |TKO |8 , 1:37 |December 13, 1985 |align=left| New York City, New York
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |Tom Franco Thomas |Decision |10 |June 29, 1985 |align=left| Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa, California

Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. As of January 1, 2007, the population of Santa Rosa was approximately 157,985 residents....
 | |-align=center |Win |Tom Fischer |Decision |10 |May 9, 1985 |align=left| Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Wayne County, Michigan. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwestern United States of the United States....
 | |-align=center |Win |Rick Kellar |TKO |2 |April 9, 1985 |align=left| Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu is the Capital and most populous census-designated place in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Although Honolulu refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and the county are consolidated, known as the Honolulu County, Hawaii, and the city and county is designated as the entire island....
 | |-align=center |Loss |Lupe Guerra |TKO |4 , 0:43 |February 21, 1985 |align=left| Detroit, Michigan | |-align=center |Loss |Carlos De León
Carlos De Leon

Carlos De Le?n, also known as?"Sugar" De Leon, is a Puerto Rico former boxing who made history by becoming the first Cruiserweight to win the world title twice.? Subsequently, he kept breaking his own record for the most times as Cruiserweight champion by regaining it twice more....
 |Decision |6 |March 6, 1983 |align=left| Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City is a City in Atlantic County, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States. Famous for its boardwalk, casino, sandy beaches, shopping centers, spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean, and as the inspiration for the board game Monopoly , Atlantic City is a resort community located on Absecon Island on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |Jesse Burnett
Jesse Burnett

Jesse Burnett of Los Angeles, California, was a light heavyweight and cruiserweight professional. His professional record was 23-18-2 with 11 Knockouts....
 |Decision |12 |October 31, 1982 |align=left| McAfee, New Jersey
McAfee, New Jersey

McAfee is an unincorporated area within Vernon Township, New Jersey in Sussex County, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07428....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |Ivy Brown |Decision |10 |February 24, 1982 |align=left| Atlantic City, New Jersey | |-align=center |Loss |Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes

Larry Holmes is a former world heavyweight boxing champion. Holmes has spent the majority of his adult life in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the state's Lehigh Valley region, giving rise to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
 |TKO |3 |June 12, 1981 |align=left| Detroit, Michigan |align=left| |-align=center |Win |Bernardo Mercado
Bernardo Mercado

Bernardo Mercado was a heavyweight boxing briefly ranked as the top contender for the title of champion in 1980 by the World Boxing Council.Born in Monter?a, Colombia on July 16, 1953, Mercado was once a sparring partner for Argentina heavyweight Oscar Bonavena, before turning professional on November 15, 1975....
 |TKO |9 |October 2, 1980 |align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, Nevada, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and entertainment....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |Kevin Isaac |TKO |8 , 0:52 |May 3, 1980 |align=left| Redwood City, California
Redwood City, California

Redwood City is a suburb located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. Redwood City is the county seat of San Mateo County, California....
 | |-align=center |style="background: #dae2f1"|Draw |Eddie López
Eddie López (boxer)

Eddie "the Animal" Lopez is a former United States heavyweight boxing champion from East Los Angeles. As of September , he has recently been paroled from State prison....
 |Draw |10 |March 8, 1980 |align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada | |-align=center |Win |Alfredo Evangelista
Alfredo Evangelista

Alfredo Evangelista is a former Uruguayan-Spain boxer. He was born Montevideo, Uruguay.Evangelista faced Muhammad Ali in 1977, losing by unanimous decision in 15 rounds....
 |KO |5 , 2:43 |January 12, 1980 |align=left| Atlantic City, New Jersey | |-align=center |Loss |Gerrie Coetzee
Gerrie Coetzee

Gerhardus Christian Coetzee , better known as Gerrie Coetzee, is a South African former boxer. He made history twice: he was the first boxer from the African continent ever to fight for the world Heavyweight title, and the first to win the world Heavyweight title....
 |TKO |1 , 2:03 |June 24, 1979 |align=left| Monte Carlo, Monaco
Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo is one of Monaco's various administrative areas, sometimes erroneously believed to be a town or the country's capital. The official capital is Monaco-Ville and covers all quarters of the territory....
 | |-align=center |Loss |Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is a retired United States boxing and former three-time List of heavyweight boxing champions.As an amateur, Ali won a gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in the light heavyweight division gold medal....
 |Decision |15 |September 15, 1978 |align=left| New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans metropolitan area metropolitan area, the largest metro area in the state....
 |align=left| |-align=center |style="background: #dddddd" colspan=7| |-align=center |Win |Muhammad Ali |Decision |15 |February 15, 1978 |align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |-align=center |Win |Alfio Righetti |Decision |10 |November 18, 1977 |align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada | |-align=center |style="background: #dae2f1"|Draw |Scott LeDoux
Scott LeDoux

Alan Scott LeDoux, "The Fighting Frenchman," is a retired professional heavyweight boxer. In August 2006 LeDoux was named Boxing Commissioner for the state of Minnesota....
 |Draw |10 |October 22, 1977 |align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada | |-align=center |Win |Bruce Scott |KO |3 |June 1, 1977 |align=left| Montreal, Quebec
Montreal

Montreal, or Montr?al, is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada of Quebec and the List of largest cities and second largest cities by country List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population....
 | |-align=center |Win |Pedro Agosto |KO |1 , 1:55 |May 7, 1977 |align=left| St. Louis, Missouri | |-align=center |Win |Jerry McIntyre |KO |1 , 0:35 |March 20, 1977 |align=left| Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is Kentucky's largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Kentucky. The city's estimated population as of 2006 is listed as 557,789, with a population of 1,233,733 in the Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area....
 | |-align=center |Win |Peter Freeman |KO |1 |March 5, 1977 |align=left| Liverpool, England
Liverpool

Liverpool [] is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a History of borough status in England and Wales in 1207 and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1880....
 | |-align=center |Win |Bob Smith |TKO |5 , 0:20 |January 15, 1977 |align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada |

After boxing

During the 1990s, Spinks worked for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling was a revolutionary Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 1989 by Atsushi Onita. It specialized in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire....
, winning its world title
FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship

The FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship was a premiere championship in the Professional wrestling promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, or FMW....
 in 1992. In the late 1990s, Spinks was picked up by Tri Star Sports Promotions to become a headliner on their year-round, touring autograph
Autograph

An autograph is a document written entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typesetting document or one transcribed by an amanuensis or a allography; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph....
s shows.

As of 2005 Spinks lived in Columbus, Nebraska
Columbus, Nebraska

Columbus is a city in Platte County, Nebraska, Nebraska, United States, 80 miles west by north of Omaha, Nebraska on the Loup River, a short distance above the confluence with the Platte River....
, worked at a local YMCA
YMCA

The Young Men's Christian Association was founded on June 6, 1844 in London, United Kingdom, by George Williams . The original intention of the organization was to put Christian principles into practice....
 and McDonald's
McDonald's

McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving nearly 58 million customers daily. McDonald's primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken products, French fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts....
, and volunteered at an after-school program for youth. He told a reporter his life is "comfortable", and that he keeps a low profile.

His son, Cory Spinks
Cory Spinks

Cory Spinks is a professional boxing. He's the son of former heavyweight champion of the world Leon Spinks. Cory was born five days after his dad defeated Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight world title in 1978....
, held the undisputed welterweight
Welterweight

Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system....
 title and was the International Boxing Federation
International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation, or IBF, is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council and WBO....
 Junior Middleweight champion.

Amateur career

  • 1974, 1975, and 1976 National AAU Light Heavyweight champion


Olympic results

  • Defeated Abellatif Fatihi (Morocco) KO 1
  • Defeated Anatoly Klimanov (Soviet Union) 5-0
  • Defeated Ottomar Sachse (East Germany) 5-0
  • Defeated Janusz Gortat
    Janusz Gortat

    Janusz Gortat is a retired boxing from Poland, who represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in Boxing at the 1972 Summer Olympics....
     (Poland) 5-0
  • Defeated Sixto Soria
    Sixto Soria

    Sixto Soria Savigne is a Cuban boxing, who won the silver medal in the men's Light Heavyweight category at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal....
     (Cuba) RSC 3


See also

  • List of heavyweight boxing champions
    List of heavyweight boxing champions

    This is a chronological list of world heavyweight boxing champions since the introduction of the Marquess of Queensberry rules:...
  • List of WBC world champions
    List of WBC world champions

    List of WBC world champions is a table showing the world champions certificated by World Boxing Council ....
  • Notable boxing families
    Notable boxing families

    This is a list of boxing families with two or more notable boxers. Many families have had multiple members become famous in the sport of boxing with some having had multiple world champions....


External links