Background and career
Leon Spinks (July 11, 1953 – February 5, 2021) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1995. In only his eighth professional fight, he won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978 after defeating Muhammad Ali in a split decision, in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history. Spinks was later stripped of the WBC title for facing Ali in an unapproved rematch seven months later, which he lost by a unanimous decision. Besides being heavyweight champion and his characteristic gap-toothed grin (due to losing two and later all four of his front teeth), Spinks gained notoriety for the disaster which befell his career following his loss to Ali. However, he did challenge once more for the WBC heavyweight title in 1981 (losing to Larry Holmes by TKO in the third round), and the WBA cruiserweight title in 1986 (losing to Dwight Muhammad Qawi by TKO in the sixth round). As an amateur, Spinks won numerous medals in the light heavyweight division. The first was bronze at the inaugural 1974 World Championships, followed by silver at the 1975 Pan American Games, and gold at the 1976 Summer Olympics—the latter alongside his brother Michael Spinks, who won middleweight gold. Leon served in the United States Marine Corps from 1973 to 1976, rising to the rank of corporal. He was stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and was on the Marine Corps Boxing Team. Spinks also had a brief career as a professional wrestler from 1986, 1990 to 1993. He mainly worked for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and holding the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship in 1992.
Spinks won three consecutive national AAU light heavyweight championships from 1974 to 1976, the first of which came against future champion Michael Dokes. He was serving in the Marine Corps at the time. Spinks won a silver medal at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City, Mexico. He also won a bronze medal at the 1974 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Havana, Cuba. During Spinks time in the Marine Corps he won three consecutive All-Marine Light Heavyweight titles.
Spinks won the light heavyweight gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. He defeated Abdel Latif Fatihi from Morocco, Soviet-Ukrainian Anatoliy Klimanov, East-German Ottomar Sachse, and Janusz Gortat from Poland en route to the final, where he defeated Cuba's Sixto Soria to win the gold.
Round 1: defeated Abdel Latif Fatihi (Morocco) by first-round knockout Round 2: defeated Anatoliy Klimanov (Soviet Union) on points, 5–0 Quarterfinals: defeated Ottomar Sachse (East Germany) on points, 5–0 Semifinals: defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) on points, 5–0 Final: defeated Sixto Soria (Cuba) referee stopped contest, third round Spinks finished his amateur career with a record of 178–7 with 133 knockouts.
Spinks debuted professionally on January 15, 1977, in Las Vegas, Nevada, beating Bob Smith by knockout in five rounds. His next fight was in Liverpool, England, where he beat Peter Freeman by a first-round knockout. Later, he saw an improvement in opposition quality, when he fought Pedro Agosto of Puerto Rico and knocked him out in round one. He then fought Scott LeDoux to a draw and defeated Italian champion Alfio Righetti in a decision.
At the time a lower-ranked contender, he made history on February 15, 1978, by decisively beating Muhammad Ali on a 15-round split decision, that was in actuality fairly one-sided, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Spinks won the world heavyweight title in his eighth professional fight, the shortest span in heavyweight boxing history. The aging Ali had expected an easy fight, but he was out-boxed by Spinks, who did not tire throughout the bout and had Ali ready to fall in the last seconds of the fight. It was one of the few bouts when Ali left the ring with a bruised and puffy face. The victory over Ali was the peak of Spinks's career. He was the only man ever to take the heavyweight title from Ali in the ring, as Ali's other losses were in non-title fights or bouts where Ali was the challenger. Spinks's gap-toothed grin was featured on the cover of the February 19, 1978 issue of Sports Illustrated. However, Spinks was stripped of his world title by the WBC for refusing to defend it against Ken Norton, instead agreeing to a return bout against Ali to defend his WBA crown. The title, stripped from Spinks, was then awarded to Norton.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
