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Leon Spinks, who surprised the boxing world by beating Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title in 1978, died Friday night at age 67, according to the PR firm, which represents him.
Spinks suffered from prostate cancer and other cancers.
The St. Louis native, who won a gold medal as a light heavyweight at the 1976 Olympics, was just 13 months and eight fights into his professional boxing career when he stepped into a ring at Las Vegas on February 15, 1978, against Ali.
But Spinks – a big underdog who had never gone past 10 rounds – came right after the champion, who was 36 and clearly on the decline of his career.
Spinks, then 24, had enough stamina to survive a 15th round flurry from Ali – and provide one of his own in the dying seconds. The split decision fell to Spinks, who flaunted his famous jagged smile after becoming the only fighter to win a title from Ali in the ring.
But it would be the highlight of Spinks’ career. First, he was stripped of the WBC title for refusing to defend against main competitor Ken Norton. Instead, Spinks chose a rematch with Ali, who reclaimed the WBA title in a unanimous decision at the New Orleans Superdome seven months after their first fight.
The boxing world has lost Leon Spinks. We extend our sympathies to Brenda, her family and friends. May he rest in peace pic.twitter.com/rGnPfbHWAp
– Mauricio Sulaiman (@wbcmoro) February 6, 2021
Spinks would fight for the heavyweight title once again, a TKO loss to Larry Holmes for the WBC belt in June 1981. He then descended into the heavyweight division, but lost his only title to Dwight Muhammad Qawi on a sixth round TKO. in March 1986.
Spinks retired at 42 after losing a unanimous decision to Fred Houpe in December 1995, and ended his career with an unremarkable record of 26-17-3 (14 KOs).
Spinks, who fought in wrestling and mixed martial arts later in his career, faced financial and medical issues later in life. In 2014, he suffered intestinal damage and was hospitalized after swallowing a piece of chicken bone. This led to several surgeries. As of 2019, he was in and out of the hospital while undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
Spinks was the Hall of Fame brother, former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks and the father of former undisputed world welterweight champion Cory Spinks.
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