Leon Spinks, Who Defeated Muhammad Ali in His Eighth Professional Fight, Passes Away at 67

Former heavyweight world champion Leon Spinks has breathed his last at the age of 67 on Friday night, after battling against prostate cancer for several years. The boxing icon was taken to Nevada hospital after his condition worsened.

He was given extensive medical attention. Nevertheless, that didn’t revive Spinks into life. According to reports, a family friend of the boxer, Joe Bernal, detailed it to the media. The unfortunate news has saddened the entire boxing sphere, especially the fans of old-age boxing.

Well, Spinks never really had an extremely extraordinary record, as he hung up his gloves with a resume of 26-17-3. However, his outer-ring contributions and a few in-ring accomplishments had turned Leon Spinks into a global superstar. He served in the US Marines briefly before making a move to the pugilistic community.

That said, Spinks’ boxing drills brought him before sheer challenges. But the Missouri native didn’t back out of a scrap at any point. He fought and beat ‘The Greatest’ Muhammad Ali in his eighth pro-appearance, which is still on the list of boxing’s biggest upsets.

Although Ali avenged the defeat in an immediate re-match, Spinks is one of the few men to have vanquished Muhammad Ali inside the boxing ring. Leon Spinks was in a flawless run when he squared off against Ali for the first time.

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He shook several people with his performance against ‘The Greatest’ and claimed a massive split decision win on February 15, 1978 at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. The victory made Spinks a superstar instantly. But Spinks seemingly lost the charm after it.

Leon Spinks couldn’t remain invincible after beating Muhammad Ali

As Ali beat up a young Spinks in the rematch, several other heavyweight stars could do the same from thereon. Gerrie Coettze challenged Spinks after Ali avenged the defeat and Spinks fell prey to Cottze, which came as the second loss of his career.

Following that, Spinks could return to the win column. But the blueprints to defeat him were highly available. Several boxers beat Spinks lately. However, that didn’t shrink Leon Spinks’s abilities of an A-lister, as his place is secured in the history of the sport. Even today, several youngster boxers look up to him as an all-time legend.

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