Post by Admin on Feb 7, 2021 1:36:48 GMT
Leon Spinks, who beat Muhammad Ali in historic upset in 1978, dies at 67
Leon Spinks, right, fighiing Muhammad Ali on Feb. 15, 1978.
Leon Spinks, right, fighiing Muhammad Ali on Feb. 15, 1978. (AP)
By
Matt Schudel
Feb. 6, 2021 at 7:24 p.m. GMT-5
Leon Spinks, who unexpectedly defeated Muhammad Ali to win the world heavyweight boxing championship in 1978, only to lose his title seven months later and become something of a cautionary tale for the dangers of his sport, died Feb. 5. He was 67.
The death was announced by his publicity company, Firm PR. Complete details were not immediately available. He had battled prostate cancer and other ailments for several years.
During the seven glorious months that he held the heavyweight crown, Mr. Spinks tasted the greatest success his brutal sport had to offer. He had fought in the Marine Corps, he had won a gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1976, but he was not considered a leading contender for the heavyweight title when he stepped into the ring against Ali in Las Vegas on Feb. 15, 1978. It was only his eighth professional fight.
Leon Spinks after defeating Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight championship in 1978.
Leon Spinks after defeating Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight championship in 1978. (AP)
Mr. Spinks was 24 at the time and had grown up in poverty in St. Louis idolizing the man he was fighting for the title. Ali was 36 and already a legend in the sport.
That night in the ring, Ali was sluggish and, at 224 pounds, a little overweight. But no one expected the reigning champion to have much trouble with the unproven and unpolished Mr. Spinks, whose smile outside the boxing ring revealed a huge gap where his front teeth had once been.
Ali was careless in the early rounds as the lean, 197-pound Mr. Spinks built an early lead. Later in the fight, Ali tried to knock out his inexperienced challenger, but Mr. Spinks summoned an inner determination. Amid the punches he was absorbing and delivering, he said he had a momentary flashback to his childhood.
“My dad had gone around and told people I would never be anything,” he told Sports Illustrated after the fight. “It hurt me. I’ve never forgotten it. I made up my mind that I was going to be somebody in this world. That, whatever price I had to pay, I was going to succeed at something.”
Leon Spinks celebrating his 1978 victory over Muhammad Ali.
Leon Spinks celebrating his 1978 victory over Muhammad Ali. (AP)
AD