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),
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