Leon Spinks Jr. – ex-boxing heavyweight champion dies at 67

At the ripe of 67, the Olympic gold champion, Leon Spinks, who defeated Muhammad Ali and won the heavyweight title, has died.

As per a public relations firm, the report says that the champion had been fighting prostate and other cancers. He died on Friday night in Las Vegas, where he spent his latest years.

He was attended by his wife Brenda Glur Spinks, along with his close friends and some family members on his deathbed. In 1978, when Muhammad Ali was looking for an uncomplicated fight, the unranked Spinks was picked as a rival. Spinks defeated Ali in a 15 round fight and won the title. His only health adversary was his drinking habit.

After the historic winning of Spinks over Ali, the both met in Superdome, New Orleans, after seven months. With 90 million television audiences and 72,000 people as the boxing crowd, Ali took the decision, unlike the last match of 1978 where Spinks took the lead in decision-making.

According to Bob Arun, who is a promoter, said to the media on Saturday that Spinks was not eligible to become a rival at all from the matches that he was playing at that time. It was unimaginable that Ali agreed to fight him. Spinks was a mere contender who Ali had easily defeated, but somehow Spinks founded a strategy to win the fight.

Spinks was asked to break off in the third round by Larry Holmes in 1981 when he started playing for the title against Ali in New Orleans. He has the reputation of completing a record of 26-17-3 as he continued playing throughout the mid-1990s.

Spinks, with his big smile, had an enormous follower of boxing fans. Besides being known for his cheerful attitude and relaxed personality, he gained fame mostly because of his historic and unpredictable win over Ali. But as unfortunate enough, his earnings were short-lived as he spends them lavishly. Without any savings, he had to work as a conservator in the YMCA in Nebraska, where he cleaned locker rooms.

He was diagnosed by having brain damages, which was caused by taking heavy punches to the head and also because of his unhealthy drinking habit. The Cleveland Clic Lou Ruvo Centre made this diagnosis for brain health in Las Vegas, where he was a part of the group of former fighters who had their brain studied. Despite having critical brain damages, Spinks was well off enough to attend events and autograph sessions.

Gene Kilroy addressed Spinks as a good soul. Kilroy was the business manager of Ali when he fought Spinks in 1986. Since then, Kilroy became friends with the champion.

He was one of the five US fighters to win gold in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. He defeated Sixto Soria of Cuba and achieved the light heavyweight division.

Later, Spink’s brother Michael secured the middleweight gold and became one of the well-known heavyweight titleholder himself.