BoxRec

Does anybody know what Leon Spinks is up to these days? I heard about 10 years ago that he was working as a greeter at a Las Vages casino and also working for a furniture removel company.

Some people look at Leon's record and sneer which is a shame really as he was part of an interesting time in the Heavyweight division ad I also feel some fans forget that he was a fantastic amateur it's just that he never had the maturity and dedication to handle the pro game.

It's sad when you see how far he fell from grace looking at his record some of those guys he lost to was shocking.

A lot of what happened to Leon is down to Leon himself, but I've read many articals over the years that have said "he's just like a big kid but you can't help but like the guy" or words to that effect.

Has anybody got any information on where Leon is now or any stories to tell about him? Also can anybody help me with the following question?

Fred Houpe is listed as Leon Spinks last regulated fight. Did he carry on fighting on in unregulated fights then? If so do you have any information on them?

Leon Spinks Olympic Champion and Heavywight Champion of the world.

Just bumping this up one last time to see if I get any info.

Leon spinks

link: http://linux.tc3net.com/daclmi/ls_jun01.txt

Well i was curious as to what Leon may be up to these day's and came up with
a few interesting items


D. CALVIN, ANOTHER SPINKS SON, RECOVERS FROM ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING
09/02/1994; St. Louis Post-Dispatch; TOM WHEATLEY

Leon Spinks and family keep making news, some of it good. Darryl Calvin, Leon's son and younger brother of slain boxer Leon Calvin, is in the gym again after being shot accidentally two months ago.
Calvin, 20, was in training for his pro middleweight debut when he was hit in the back by a ricochet. Northside Bombers coach Charlie Hamm, a surrogate father for the three Calvin boys, said: "Darryl was with two guys, and the one guy was showing the other guy his gun. The two guys were trying to show who had the biggest gun, and they were shooting it .
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Spinks boxed for eight more years, having mixed results. He retired after losing by decision in eight to Fred Houpe in 1995, and he was homeless for a period of time. During the late 1990s, however, he was picked up by Tri Star Sports Promotions to become a headliner on their year-round, touring autographs shows. His life is basically now spent on the road, living at Marriott hotels, because Marriott is a sponsor of Tri-Star's shows. Despite the fact he is making a living out of signing his name, he still remains a willing free autograph signer, and his son, Cory Spinks, is now the IBF's world Welterweight champion.

Spinks had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins.
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won heavyweight crown in split decision over Muhammad Ali in Feb. 1978; Ali regained title seven months later; won gold medal in light heavyweight division at 1976 Olympics; brother Michael won the heavyweight title in 1983; were the only brothers to hold world titles; known more for frequent traffic violations and lavish lifestyle than bouts late in career; filed for bankruptcy in 1986.

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No, by veteran I meant AR-15, incendiary grenades, bouncing betty, rice paddy, fire in the hole, semper fi and all that. Spinks is Marine Corps, early 1970's. I still can't find out for sure, but Spinks may have been boppin' down the Ho Chi Minh trail while Ali was doing his self-aggrandizing numbers in Manila and Kuala Lampur.

By 1976, Leon was a civilian again, and the Spinks brothers were wearing Olympic gold medals, among their other gaudy jewelry. Come 1978, his management team was rushing him along into a championship fight after 8 pro bouts because the man was showing self-destructive behavior, and they had to work fast if they were to make their money off him.

Spinks became the unified champion, but opted out of Ken Norton title defense, so one of the alphabet groups withdrew their endorsement. Ali regained the remainder of the championship, decisioning Spinks that fall. Spinks was blowing a lot of cash the next few years, and was mugged in Detroit. The thugs took his fur coat and false teeth.

Spinks remained a semi-contender through the 80's, fighting Qawi, Barkley, Holmes. He never fought with Michael though. In the 1990's he began a third phase of his career, fighting an endless procession of truck-drivers and factory workers in local armories and auditoriums. Last I heard, he was signing autographs at sports conventions or something. Michael recently said that when he sees Leon, he sees a man in pain.

one of the most intriguing bits of information in the leon spinks data is the reminder that his win over ali in their first fight was by a SPLIT DECISION!!He won eleven rounds of that fight easy. makes you stop and think that ALL of terap's ali attacks aren't mad ravings.

Interesting to ponder what would have happened if one other judge had been as....incompetent. ali might have fought him next as i am convinced ..as I was while watching it..that ali was dogging it to avoid having to fight ken norton again.

another thing i recall about that fight...there it was...one of the great upsets progressing round by round and the commentators..forget who..spent most of the time talking about strategy, training, anecdotes....just about eveything but what was happening in the ring...as if they were waiting for the ali championship rounds ...as it went on a necessary kayo...that never came.

blocks wrote:The Spinks family hasn't had the best of luck. Leon's son Leon Calvin was killed in a gang related incident in the early 90's I believe

I think Michael Spinks' wife died in a car crash not long before one of his 175 title defences

Didn't Michaels partner die just before the Qawi fight, if I recall correctly?

Thanks for the responce fight fans, like I've said on another thread a well wriiten book on Leon Spinks would make for interesting reading.

I have a clip of Spinks on the FTP being Ko'd in the first by cult hero John Carlo, if anybody cares.
Neon Leon at his worst

Dutch Windmill wrote:I have a clip of Spinks being Ko'd in the first by cult hero John Carlo, if anybody cares.
Neon Leon at his worst

Dutch, the sad thing is I do care, What sort of shape was Leon in? Any chance of a brief report on the fight?

I imagine it's simular to the copy of the Cortzee fight I have, Leon comes out like a bat out of hell with no defence and gets clobbered.

I've also got a good copy of his fight against Tex Cobb, Leon looked in very poor shape 218lbs if I recall but to be fair it wasn't a bad fight considering.

I forgot to add the magic three letters F, T and P at first.
You can download the fight, i've send you a PM with the link.
Turn down the sound because it has pathetic music.

Thanks Dutch

THE YARDMASTER wrote:Leon spinks

link: http://linux.tc3net.com/daclmi/ls_jun01.txt

In the 1990's he began a third phase of his career, fighting an endless procession of truck-drivers and factory workers in local armories and auditoriums. Last I heard, he was signing autographs at sports conventions or something. Michael recently said that when he sees Leon, he sees a man in pain.

I assume these were unlicenced fights i.e money changed hands and bets were made etc? and not just drunked arguments.

Jaclem wrote:one of the most intriguing bits of information in the leon spinks data is the reminder that his win over ali in their first fight was by a SPLIT DECISION!!He won eleven rounds of that fight easy. makes you stop and think that ALL of terap's ali attacks aren't mad ravings.

How is it Ali's fault that one of the judges in a fight that he had no business fighting in was an idiot?

jsc....please try to read more carefully, even if you have to move your lips to do so. i did not in any way indicate the dumb judge's card was ali's fault. my reference to the departed (from here) terap was about his constant insistance that all ali's wins were because of bad or crooked judges and various other reasons. this particular fight is an example of one judge being totally incompetent, obviously biased in ali's favor, but not necessarily corrupt. ergo (i love a chance to use that word) at least in this one instance a judge was probably dazzled by the ali mistique.

you're a little new here so it's not your fault that you are unaware of my battle with terap over his ali obsession.

have a nice thanksgiving. (it's this thursday)

Don't know much about his current whereabouts. What I do know, that he's not shown much interest in his son's career and did abandon his family when they were young.

Rumor that he was an advisor to President George W. Bush...

Now I understand the last 3 years in Washington!!!!

just tonight (saturday) one member of a group I had dinner with, and who is usually reliable about these things, said leon is in the mental ward of the verterans hospital in chicago. i did hear some time back he was in a similar facility for just a short time. i'll try to check this out.

i have some question about this "veteran's hospital" in this statement. would leon qualify for a vet hospital? Did he have any military experience?

before some wise ass jumps in and writes "maybe it's a veteranarian hospital..he'd qualify there" , i already thought of that and decided it was too obvious, plus i've always felt sorry for this poor fellow, as all of the brains and common sense in his family apparently went to his brother.

Jaclem wrote:just tonight (saturday) one member of a group I had dinner with, and who is usually reliable about these things, said leon is in the mental ward of the verterans hospital in chicago. i did hear some time back he was in a similar facility for just a short time. i'll try to check this out.

i have some question about this "veteran's hospital" in this statement. would leon qualify for a vet hospital? Did he have any military experience?

Leon was in the U.S. Marines, I don't know if he saw any action but he was definatly a Marine for a few years.

Jaclem, I'd really appreciate it if you could find out more about this matter. If it's true then I am sad, but if it is true lets hope he gets the right help and can put his life back together.

Yes I keep reading about Corie Spinks lately, about how he grew up rough on the streets. It's strange to think that he's the son of a world heavyweight champ: where did all the money go?
But I guess his dad was Neon Leon after all...

I see Leon and Michael are going to be ringside for his Mayorga fight too -
but it doesn't sound like mega rich uncle Mike helped him out too much growing up does it.