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As much as people may chuckle at the memory of Leon Spinks now he actually had a lot of promise coming out of the 1976 Olympics with a gold medal in the light heavyweight division. And he fulfilled much of that promise upon turning pro as a heavyweight in early 1977 by knocking out tough spoiler "Lighting" Bob Smith in five rounds. He quickly built his record to 5-0 with his best victory coming over Puerto Rican journeyman Pedro Agosto in the first round which propelled him into consideration for a shot at Muhammad Ali's world heavyweight championship in early 1978. To get that opportunity all Spinks had to do was beat rugged veteran fringe contender Scott Ledoux in a nationally televised ten rounder.
Unfortunately for Spinks, Ledoux was no pushover & he proved to be a very difficult challenge for such a young inexperienced pro & they battled over ten tough exciting rounds with the judges calling it a draw. Which seemed to put an end to the plan for Spinks to fight Ali until his promoter scheduled a hastily arranged bout between Leon & unbeaten Italian contender Alfio Righetti with the winner to receive a title fight vs Ali that following February. And Spinks rose to the occasion by beating Righetti via a ten-round decision.
Of course, history was made that night on February 15 when Spinks upset by a fifteen round split decision becoming the heavyweight champion with the fewest number of pro fights upon winning the title.
Chaos reigned over Leon's life before the rematch though & he entered the ring for the rematch ill-prepared to beat Ali a second time & he lost via a one-sided unanimous decision.
Spinks didn't fight again until he was matched with undefeated South African puncher Gerrie Coetzee almost a year later in an elimination match for the now vacant heavyweight title due to Ali's retirement. The bout was an ugly one as Coetzee dropped Leon three times in the first round for a TKO victory.
Spinks rebounded with a series of victories over decent opposition with the most impressive one being over dangerous Columbian #1 contender Bernardo Mercado who he KO'd in nine rounds. Which earned him the right to fight champion Larry Holmes in another bid for the title. However, Holmes was too much for Leon & he pummeled him into a TKO defeat in three short rounds.
After this Spinks decided to move down to the cruiserweight division in a bid to become a champion again but it wasn't to be as in bouts against cruiserweight champions Carlos Deleon & Dwight Muhammad Qawi they both stopped him in six rounds. Which sent him back up to the heavyweight ranks where he became a name opponent for an array of mostly mediocre fighters who invariably beat him inside the distance. Having no other way to make money however & with his once impressive skills badly eroded he became cannon fodder for the likes of clubfighters Rocky Sekorski, Tony Morrison, Terry Mims & KP Porter among others.
His most ignoble, sad losses came at the end though when he was embarrassed over the ten round distance
by one James Wilder a ridiculously bad heavyweight with a record of 2-34-1 who somehow managed to outbox Spinks. But the worst was yet to take place as two fights later when Leon was scheduled to fight a journeyman from Maine by the name of Marc Machain his opponent failed the prefight physical. So, as a replacement, the promoter asked one of Machain's cornermen, an amateur fighter by the name of John Carlo, to step in
& fight Spinks. Much to Leon's humiliation this novice professional could punch & he wound up knocking Spinks out in the first round.
And still, his career didn't end as he fought twice more with his final fight coming against a 45-year-old ex-con by the name of Fred Houpe who hadn't fought for over seventeen years. He still managed to give Spinks a beating over the course of the scheduled eight rounds.
Finally, Leon & his people decided that enough was enough & he hung up his gloves for good. Having suffered a sad end to a career that had begun with such promise. His final record stands at 26-17-3.
Leon & Michael Spinks with a friend & I in 1995.
Unfortunately for Spinks, Ledoux was no pushover & he proved to be a very difficult challenge for such a young inexperienced pro & they battled over ten tough exciting rounds with the judges calling it a draw. Which seemed to put an end to the plan for Spinks to fight Ali until his promoter scheduled a hastily arranged bout between Leon & unbeaten Italian contender Alfio Righetti with the winner to receive a title fight vs Ali that following February. And Spinks rose to the occasion by beating Righetti via a ten-round decision.
Of course, history was made that night on February 15 when Spinks upset by a fifteen round split decision becoming the heavyweight champion with the fewest number of pro fights upon winning the title.
Chaos reigned over Leon's life before the rematch though & he entered the ring for the rematch ill-prepared to beat Ali a second time & he lost via a one-sided unanimous decision.
Spinks didn't fight again until he was matched with undefeated South African puncher Gerrie Coetzee almost a year later in an elimination match for the now vacant heavyweight title due to Ali's retirement. The bout was an ugly one as Coetzee dropped Leon three times in the first round for a TKO victory.
Spinks rebounded with a series of victories over decent opposition with the most impressive one being over dangerous Columbian #1 contender Bernardo Mercado who he KO'd in nine rounds. Which earned him the right to fight champion Larry Holmes in another bid for the title. However, Holmes was too much for Leon & he pummeled him into a TKO defeat in three short rounds.
After this Spinks decided to move down to the cruiserweight division in a bid to become a champion again but it wasn't to be as in bouts against cruiserweight champions Carlos Deleon & Dwight Muhammad Qawi they both stopped him in six rounds. Which sent him back up to the heavyweight ranks where he became a name opponent for an array of mostly mediocre fighters who invariably beat him inside the distance. Having no other way to make money however & with his once impressive skills badly eroded he became cannon fodder for the likes of clubfighters Rocky Sekorski, Tony Morrison, Terry Mims & KP Porter among others.
His most ignoble, sad losses came at the end though when he was embarrassed over the ten round distance
by one James Wilder a ridiculously bad heavyweight with a record of 2-34-1 who somehow managed to outbox Spinks. But the worst was yet to take place as two fights later when Leon was scheduled to fight a journeyman from Maine by the name of Marc Machain his opponent failed the prefight physical. So, as a replacement, the promoter asked one of Machain's cornermen, an amateur fighter by the name of John Carlo, to step in
& fight Spinks. Much to Leon's humiliation this novice professional could punch & he wound up knocking Spinks out in the first round.
And still, his career didn't end as he fought twice more with his final fight coming against a 45-year-old ex-con by the name of Fred Houpe who hadn't fought for over seventeen years. He still managed to give Spinks a beating over the course of the scheduled eight rounds.
Finally, Leon & his people decided that enough was enough & he hung up his gloves for good. Having suffered a sad end to a career that had begun with such promise. His final record stands at 26-17-3.
Leon & Michael Spinks with a friend & I in 1995.
