Michael Spinks

At 67 years old, Michael Spinks has this physical status:

Michael Spinks (born July 13, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988.

He competed in two weight categories, including the undisputed light heavyweight title from 1983 to 1985 and the lineal heavyweight championship from 1988 to 1988.

At the 1976 Summer Olympics, he earned a gold medal in the middleweight division. Spinks is the brother of former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks and uncle of Cory Spinks, a former welterweight and light middleweight champion, who gave his name to his straight right hand, "The Spinks Jinx." Spinks was undefeated in his first 31 professional fights, defeating Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Marvin Johnson, and Eddie Davis en route to becoming the undisputed light heavyweight champion after a fruitful amateur career that culminated in his Olympic gold medal victory.

Spinks lifted to heavyweight after ten successful title defenses, and in doing so, Spinks shocked long-serving IBF heavyweight champion Larry Holmes; in doing so, the first reigning light heavyweight world champion became the first reigning heavyweight world champion to win the heavyweight title.

Spinks was defeated in 91 seconds by Mike Tyson in his last fight, his first defeat of his professional career. Spinks has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

Spinks is one of the ten top light heavyweights of all time, according to the International Boxing Research Organisation and BoxRec.

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Amateur career

Spinks captured the Golden Gloves Light Middleweight Championship in 1974, defeating Wilber Cameron in Denver, Colorado, then earning the Silver Medal in the National AAU 165-pound Championship Competition in 1975, losing in three rounds to Tom Sullivan in Shreveport, Louisiana. He regained control of the 1976 National Golden Gloves Middleweight Championship in Miami, Florida, after defeating Keith Broom in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the same year. Spinks enjoyed a favorable draw at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. He was only allowed to box two opponents to win the gold medal in the middleweight division due to a bye and two victories by walkover. In the final, he defeated Rufat Riskiyev of the Soviet Union.

The XXI Summer Olympics gold medalists (165 lbs) in Montreal, Canada, July 1976.

Spinks won 93 games (35 knockouts,) 7 losses in his amateur career.

Professional career

Spinks then became a professional with a victory over Eddie Benson, knocking him out in one round in Las Vegas on April 17, 1977. Spinks began a 31-fight winning streak that would almost run into the end of his career. Spinks finished 77 in the first fight that marked a gradual increase in opposition quality: an eight-round victory over Gary Summerhays, a well-known young boxer of the time.

Spinks won two fights, including an eight-round victory over former world Middleweight champion Tom Bethea in Las Vegas, where his brother Leon dethroned Ali as the world Heavyweight champion.

Spinks' first fight ended in a first round knockout of Marc Hans, but Spinks' 1980 debut brought his climb to a different level: Ramon Ronquillo and Alvaro Yaqui Lopez (who attempted for a world championship four times) saw them rise to a new level. Three of his five victories this year were knocked out, with Sutherland and Johnny Wilburn being the only ones to make it to the end.

Spinks had already ranked by 1981, and after beating former and future light-heavyweight champion Marvin Johnson in four rounds, the WBA ranked Spinks as their number one challenger, and so, on July 18 of that year, he met WBA light-heavyweight champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad once more in Las Vegas. Spinks defeated Mustafa Muhammad in round 12 and went on to become the WBA light heavyweight champion after a 15-round decision victory. In 1981, he defended the title by defeating Vonzell Johnson by a single point.

Mustafa Wassaja won by a landslide in 1982. Spinks had made a name for themselves, at least in the boxing industry. He began appearing on the front pages of boxing magazines and boxing magazines, and boxing fans began calling for a union fight with WBC champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi. Tragedy ended his life in 1981 when his 24-year-old wife, Sandy Massey, died in a car crash, leaving Spinks the sole parent of his two-year-old daughter, Michelle.

In the meantime, boxing critics and magazine editors were among the fans' demands. Spinks and Qawi met in a boxing ring on March 18, two months after his wife's death. The fight was televised by HBO World Championship Boxing, and Spinks had a tough time to overcome before it got underway: his daughter begged him, though he was in his dressing room, asking her mother to attend the fight. He fought himself and dominated the arena with his jab, assorted strategic hooks and crosses after bursts into tears. He repeatedly stopped Qawi in his first 11 rounds over the first 11 rounds, but waited for Qawi to return from his crouched defense to resume his assault. In round eight, Qawi scored a knockdown. Spinks' official rankings were 144–141, 141–141, and 144–141, respectively, for the undisputed world Light Heavyweight champion. He defended the title one more time before the year ended, against Oscar Rivadeneira, whom he defeated by a ten-round knockout.

Spinks only wrestled once in 1984, losing his crown with a twelve-round majority decision over Eddie Davis. He and Qawi were only a few weeks away from going back to fight in September of this year, but the match was called off because Qawi was injured during preparations. In 1984, Spinks was crowned IBF Light heavyweight champion.

Spinks defeated David Sears and Jim McDonald, both by knockouts in championship defenses, before taking on Larry Holmes for the IBF and lineal heavyweight championships. Holmes was aiming to beat Rocky Marciano's record of 49–0 as the heavyweight champion, but it was Spinks who made history on Sunday, winning a controversial and narrow fifteen-round unanimous decision and becoming the first female world light-heavyweight champion to win the world heavyweight championship. Ring Magazine Upset of the Year named Holmes after his tumultuous victory over Holmes. Michael and Leon were also the first two brothers to win the world heavyweight championships, followed by Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko two decades later.

Spinks and Holmes fought a rematch in 1986 as part of the heavyweight unification project, and had almost identical results, this time Spinks winning by a 15-round split decision. He maintained the world heavyweight championship for the second time after defeating Steffen Tangstad in four out of four rounds. In 1987, he was barred from the IBF for refusing to fight their ostensible adversary, Tony Tucker, and instead accepting a higher bid to battle Gerry Cooney. Spinks defeated Cooney in five rounds, and fans of the Heavyweight Championships began screaming for a match between them as some already identified Spinks as the legitimate lineal champion.

Mike Tyson defeated Spinks twice in June 1988, putting them both in the first round down. The only fighters to officially floor Spinks were Tyson and Dwight Muhammad Qawi. It was Spinks' first defeat in the professional ring and his last as he resigned after the match. Fear had harmed him in this war.

Prior to the contest, the Spinks had a record of 31 victories and 0 losses, with 21 victories as a pro.

Spinks is generally regarded as one of the top light-heavyweight champions and fighters of all time, in addition to his success as a heavyweight champion. He was the only light-heavyweight champion to remain undefeated in the entire history of the tournament (until Joe Calzaghe), as well as the only reigning light-heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight title.

Spinks were ranked as the third best light-heavyweight of all time by the Ring Magazine in 2002, behind Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore, but ahead of Tommy Loughran, Bob Foster, Maxie Rosenbloom, and Billy Conn, Spinks was ranked as the third best light-heavyweight of all time, according to the Ring Magazine in 2002. In addition, Spinks did what no other light-heavyweight champion had ever achieved: win the world heavyweight championship by 1985, while still determining IBF champion Larry Holmes.

Spinks ranked 42nd on The Ring Magazine's list of the top punchers of all time.

Spinks ranked 41st on The Ring Magazine's list of the Top Fighters of the Last 80 Years, which began in 2002.

"Michael Spinks went undefeated combat during the worst period in Light Heavyweight history," East Side Boxing said in honor of Spinks. And he beat the legitimate heavyweight champion to win the title, while also undefeated. Michael Spinks is the most accomplished light heavyweight champion in history.

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