Leon Spinks

Leon Spinks (July 11, 1953 – February 5, 2021) was an American boxer. He won the world heavyweight championship. He won a gold medal in the 1976 Olympics in the boxing category. He became a professional boxer. In his eighth bout, he won the heavyweight championship from Muhammad Ali. In his first defense, he lost the title back to Ali.^[1] He was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

Leon Spinks in 1995

Spinks continued boxing with little success after that. He fought Larry Holmes for the heavyweight title in 1981, but lost. He also fought for the cruiserweight championship, but he lost that fight, too. He stopped fighting in 1995.

He ws the brother of boxer Michael Spinks and the father of boxer Cory Spinks.

In December 2019, Spinks was hospitalized in Las Vegas after his prostate cancer spread to his bladder.^[2] He died on February 5, 2021 from the disease in Henderson, Nevada at the age of 67.^[3]