Michael Spinks

Michael Spinks ( born July 13, 1956 in St. Louis ) is a former American light heavyweight and heavyweight boxer. He is the brother of Leon Spinks, and uncle of Cory Spinks.

Amateur

As an amateur he won in 1974 and 1976, the prestigious Golden Gloves tournament in 1975 and after a final defeat by Tom Sullivan in second. Even in the U.S. Championships in 1975, he took second place, he was defeated there Tommy Brooks. A defeat against Brooks also prevented his participation in the Pan American Games in 1975.

In 1976, Spinks sat at the U.S. Trials for the first time against Brooks through and won at the Olympic Games in Montreal, the gold medal in the middleweight division, where he during the tournament Ryszard Pasiewicz, Poland (5-0 ), Alec Năstac, Romania ( where), and Rufat Riskiyev from the Soviet Union proposed (RCS 3 ). His record was 93-7 as an amateur.

Professional career

Spinks ' professional career as a light heavyweight boxer began in 1977. During the following years he won early against Yaqui Lopez and Marvin Johnson. He punched up to a WBA title fight, which he won after great initial problems vs. Eddie Mustafa Muhammad on July 18, 1981. He defended the title five times before it came to a unification fight with WBC titlist Dwight Qawi on 18 March 1983. Spinks sat over fifteen rounds on points. In 1984 he won also the newly introduced title of IBF and therefore is regarded as one of the best light heavyweight of all time.

His light heavyweight title he defended twice before he pushed to the heavyweight title IBF on September 21, 1985 against Larry Holmes. Holmes needed at this time only one win to set the 49-0 record in the heavyweight division of Rocky Marciano. But Spinks won the bout on points and became the new world champion. He was the first boxer ever, the heavyweight champion was after he had already been world champion in the light heavyweight division. There were previously several former light heavyweight who could win the heavyweight title then, however, not previously been world champion in the light heavyweight division. On April 19, it came to a rematch with Holmes, he could decide on points just for themselves again.

His title, however, was then taken from him because he refused to compete against the official IBF challenger Tony Tucker and instead a highly doped fight against the popular White Gerry Cooney denied, which he won by knockout.

He stepped on it first undefeated back, but made a lucrative comeback against the emerging Mike Tyson. An encounter with Tyson on June 27, 1988 should then be his last fight, he lost by KO in the first round. It was the first and only defeat of his professional career.

1994 was held Spinks induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.