Photo: Johnmaxmena (talk)John Mena / CC BY 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Leon Spinks will forever be one of boxing's great what-just-happened moments — a kid from St. Louis who stepped into the ring for only his eighth professional fight and somehow walked out the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world after beating Muhammad Ali in 1978. That result still feels surreal decades later. He was raw, hungry, gap-toothed, and absolutely fearless, and on that one electrifying night in Las Vegas he outworked the greatest of all time. His career never quite reached those heights again, and life after boxing had its rough patches, but none of that dims what he pulled off. He passed away in February 2021, but that one impossible win guaranteed him a permanent place in the sport's mythology.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Leon Spinks
- Name (Japanese)
- レオン・スピンクス
- Reading
- れおん・すぴんくす
- Born
- July 11, 1953 – February 5, 2021
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Snake
- Origin
- St. Louis, Missouri, United States
- Height
- 185 cm
- Occupation
- boxer
2. Background
- High school
- Vashon High School
Awards & achievements
- WBC World Heavyweight Champion
- WBA World Heavyweight Champion
- The Ring World Heavyweight Champion
- 1976 Sugar Ray Robinson Award
- 1978 The Ring magazine Progress of the Year
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Leon Spinks born?
July 11, 1953 – February 5, 2021.
Where is Leon Spinks from?
Leon Spinks is from St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
What does Leon Spinks do?
Leon Spinks works as boxer.
How tall is Leon Spinks?
Leon Spinks is 185 cm.
Boxer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.