Former world heavyweight champ Spinks dead at 67
Print Edition
Boxer Leon Spinks, who won an Olympic gold medal and then beat Muhammad Ali to become the undisputed heavyweight champion, has died after a long battle with cancer, his publicist said on Saturday.
Spinks, 67, passed away on Friday with only a few close friends and family present due to COVID-19 restrictions. “Leon fought his battle with numerous illnesses resiliently, never losing his trademark smile,” The Firm PR said in a statement. “Showing true Spinks determination, he never threw in the towel.” Spinks, recognizable by his gap-toothed grin, rose to fame winning the light-heavyweight gold medal for the United States at the 1976 Montreal Olympics but shocked the boxing world just two years later when in only his eighth professional bout defeated Ali in a split decision. That would be the highlight of Spinks’ career as Ali would get his revenge in the rematch seven months later in New Orleans. Spinks would fight for a heavyweight crown only on one other occasion, losing to Larry Holmes in 1981. He would retire at the age of 42 with an unremarkable record of 26-17-3. Spinks’s son, Cory, was an undisputed welterweight champion from 2003-2005. Spinks’s younger brother Michael was a 1976 Olympic middleweight champion who was the undisputed light heavyweight champion from 1983-1985 and a heavyweight champion from 1985-1986.
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