Boxing legend and former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks Jr. is dead. According to the family, Spinks died at age 67 after a five-year battle with prostate and other cancers. Spinks died on Friday, February 5 at 8:15 p.m. with his wife, Brenda Glur Spinks, as well as a few close friends and other family members, by his side.
Spinks won the gold medal as a light heavyweight boxer for the United States at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Just two years later, Spinks defeated Muhammed Ali via split decision in just his eighth professional prizefight to become undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Spinks lost the rematch to Ali via unanimous decision later the same year, and the famed heavyweight went on to compete in 72 professional fights, winning 46 of them.
Both Spinks and his younger brother, Michael Spinks, won gold medals for the United States in 1976. The Spinks brothers also each went on to win world championships as professionals.
Spinks was born in St. Louis on July 11, 1953. He discovered his passion for boxing while serving his country in the Marines.
Spinks moved to Las Vegas in 2011. He was inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017.
After losing the heavyweight championship to Ali in the rematch in 1978, Spinks competed twice more for world titles.
Spinks was stopped in the third round by WBC heavyweight champion Larry Holmes in 1981. He lost via sixth-round stoppage to WBA cruiserweight champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi in 1986.
But Spinks will forever be remembered as a champion. Spinks victory at the Olymipcs combined with his shocking heavyweight championship win over Ali in their first fight in 1978 will forever mark Spinks down as a fighter who accomplished remarkable feats when it mattered most.
According to the family, his final fight against cancer was fought with the same skill, grace, and grit that carried him through his many life challenges.
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