| |
|
Former Olympian and World Heavyweight Champion Leon Spinks Dies at 67
By Gabriel F. Cordero PhilBoxing.com Sun, 07 Feb 2021
 Leon Spinks.
Former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks has passed away at the age of 67. Spinks succumbed to cancer in Las Vegas on Friday. He is best known for defeating the legendary Muhammad Ali for the world title in February 1978. He became the WBC and WBA heavyweight champion in just his 8th fight. Ali regained the belt by unanimous decision in fifteen rounds seven months later. An estimated 90 million viewers watched Ali-Spinks II in the US, with 2 billion viewers worldwide. Spinks' overall professional record was 26-17-3 with 14 KOs.
He won the Olympic gold medal at light heavyweight in 1976 in Montreal, Canada alongside others like Sugar Ray Leonard, Leo Randolph, Howard Davis Jr and his Brother Michael.
In his career, he faced, among others: Muhammad Ali, Gerrie Cooetze, Larry Holmes, Carlos De Leon, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Randall Cobb and Alfredo Evangelista among others.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Gabriel F. Cordero.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Remembering Mr. Elorde: Still the Gold Standard By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT, , Wed, 25 Mar 2026House of Representatives say yes to the Boxing Revitalization Act and it is now sent to the Senate By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 25 Mar 2026Ryan ‘The Polish Prince’ Kielczweski To return after 4-year layoff to fight at home on Granite Chin’s ‘Rumble at the Rink II’ card , Wed, 25 Mar 2026Ellaine Summer Abanco wins silver medal on tiebreak By Marlon Bernardino, , Wed, 25 Mar 2026Catubig, McDowell win in DC Athletic 4 By Lito delos Reyes, , Wed, 25 Mar 2026Team Juna wins first competition in IRONMAN 70.3 Davao By Kim delos Reyes-Teves, , Wed, 25 Mar 2026Round 12: Without Promoters there is no Boxing By Mauricio Sulaimán, , Wed, 25 Mar 2026Mexican female IBF Champion Irma Garcia to defend on April 5 in England By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 25 Mar 202614-0 super middleweight prospect Tommy ‘The Governor’ Hyde to headline April 18th at home in Cork, Ireland , Wed, 25 Mar 2026MMA legend Jon Jones joins IBA Bare Knuckle as global ambassador , Wed, 25 Mar 2026GOLDEN BOY SIGNS NEW EXCLUSIVE MULTI-YEAR PARTNERSHIP EXTENSION WITH DAZN , Wed, 25 Mar 2026“The Takeover” Teofimo Lopez Confirmed for Ninth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Cinco De Mayo Weekend, Saturday May 2, in Las Vegas , Wed, 25 Mar 2026Boxlab Promotions Fighters Shine with Statement Victories in Orlando , Tue, 24 Mar 2026Red Owl Boxing Presents Box Fest XVII on Friday, April 3rd at The Archer Music Hall in Allentown, PA and LIVE on DAZN , Tue, 24 Mar 2026Boxing world fans waiting Isis Sio prompty recovery; Team Isis Sio statement By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Tue, 24 Mar 2026National Master Nika Juris Nicolas rules National Youth & Schools Chess Championships , Tue, 24 Mar 2026SD FIGHT NIGHT: FAMILY BUSINESS DOUBLE MAIN EVENTS SET AS JULIUS “JUJU” BALLO SQAURES OFF AGAINST ROMAN REYES AT FRONTWAVE ARENA ON SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2026 , Mon, 23 Mar 2026"I'M A MAN OF MY WORD": GEORGE LIDDARD COMPLETES MATCHROOM BRENTWOOD HALF MARATHON FOR CHARITY – HOURS AFTER DENNY WIN , Mon, 23 Mar 2026Lester Martinez Wins WBC Interim World Super Middleweight Championship with Unanimous Decision over Immanuwel Aleem , Sun, 22 Mar 2026IBF Pan Pacific champion Vince Paras set to face unbeaten OPBF champion Aoi Yokoyama in Kyrgyzstan , Sun, 22 Mar 2026King James sets NBA all-time record for most games played By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Sun, 22 Mar 2026Loaded boxing schedule By Joaquin Henson, , Sun, 22 Mar 2026WEIGHTS, IMAGES, RUNNING ORDER AND THE LAST WORDS AHEAD OF ADAMES VS. WILLIAMS IN ORLANDO , Sat, 21 Mar 2026COPPER BOX ARENA FIGHT NIGHT: WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND RUNNING ORDER CONFIRMED AS LIDDARD AND DENNY FACE-OFF FOR FINAL TIME , Sat, 21 Mar 2026Weights From ‘Martinez vs. Aleem’ Event from the NOS Event Center in San Bernardino and Broadcast live on ProBoxTV , Sat, 21 Mar 2026 |

|
|
|
|
|