BoxRec

I was just wondering did anyone get to meet former Heavyweight Champion Leon Spinks on his recent trip to the UK?

Any info fight fans? 8)

I don't like the way he is trying to jump on the Corey Spinks bandwagon. Apparently, he treated him bad as a youngster and Corey is much closer to uncle, Michael.

Corey originally boxed under his mother's surname (which I cannot remember) but was adviced to use his father's name to try and gain more exposure.

OwainCymru wrote:Met him briefly, dry sense of humour. Though he wasn't joking when a regional newspaper interviewed him and asked what he thought of Joe Calzaghe. His reply......"Who is Joe Calzaghe?" Brilliant!

How did he seem? was he in good health etc? Did he say what he was up to these days?

Cheers.

stujones wrote:I don't like the way he is trying to jump on the Corey Spinks bandwagon. Apparently, he treated him bad as a youngster and Corey is much closer to uncle, Michael.

Corey originally boxed under his mother's surname (which I cannot remember) but was adviced to use his father's name to try and gain more exposure.

From what I've heard in recent years Leon has been making an effort to get closer to Corey and to get his life on track. He tries to advise people against drugs etc and is good to his fans so I think you're being harsh on him Stu, you can't blame the father for wanting to be there when his son acheieves great things. If Leon stayed away you'd probably be saying that he ignores Corey still, the man has had a lot of tough breaks and deserves some compassion. I've haven't heard anything about Leon trying to get money off Corey or benifit from his success in anyway like that.... I think he's actually trying to give his support to his son whom he is obviously very proud of.

OwainCymru wrote:

How did he seem? was he in good health etc? Did he say what he was up to these days?

Speech is slurred, walks with a shuffle and holds his left side in the manner of someone who has had a stroke (though I don't know that he has, or not). A litttle slow but still has his wits about him.

That's sad. Michael got out and never came back, but Leon was cut from a different cloth.

Thats a real shame, but I can't say that I'm surprised as Leon took some bad beatings in the latter part of his career and should have been saved from himself much sooner.... certain people really seemed to squeeze every last drop out of him. At least he's got his mental capacity still.
This really makes me think of Evander Holifeild I'm afraid, though he's not being koed regularly like Leon was at the end surely enough is enough, how much longer is he going to be allowed to fight on!. am I the only one who feels concerned about the guys health?....

Yeah, the thing about Evander is that he's still 'looks' so physically fit still and he is still such a warrior that he is able to compete at this point even though he's pretty much been on the slide since the Tyson fights. The Toney fight really should be the end, my worry is that there will be a Holifield vs Tyson 3 or that Evander may fight Vitali. Really I think any fight against anyone is dangerous for Evander now.
Regarding Leon I have some very interesting interviews he gave Boxing News I think at around the time of the Ali fights.... he comes over as a surprisingly thoughtful and bright man (compared to what many writers of the time and after wrote about him) but he was very troubled by his upbringing and was ovewwhelmed by all the publicity surrounding the Ali fights. Leon was considered a much bigger prospect than Micheal to begin with and Ali actually said when watching Leon win the Olimpic medal 'That guy is going to be Heavyweight champion one day!' (I read this in ' The sunshine of my life' by Paddy Monayhan a friend of Ali).
Bob Arum is supposed to have said that Leon Spinks was the biggest waste of talent he's ever seen in boxing..... he was much more talented than he's given credit for today... many just think of him as a one hit wonder yet he was a real dynamo of a fighter.... very exciting too...

OwainCymru wrote:Re: Evander Holyfield. The guy has been around boxing/boxers long enough to know what the affects of overstaying your welcome are. One would think that he would know better than to keep going on. Really do worry about him. Surely at some stage (and hopefully very soon) someone has got to step in and say'Evander, thats enough'.

But we all know that the boxers (especially the driven ones, which includes most ex-champions) are often the worst guys when it comes to getting out.

The guy is fit, right. So he passes the medicals and goes on boxing. Surely though doctors should be checking for things such as slurred speech, lack of co-ordination etc. etc. You know, the sort of signs that indicate a boxer is putting his future health in jeopardy and fail him at the medical on those grounds. This reasoning may seem contradictory - as a boxer is always endangering his present health whenever he steps inside the ropes - but I think/hope you get the gist of what I mean.

Problem is, the real damage often doesn;t show up until years later, when it's too late to do anything about it.

It's kind of like playing Russian roulette with your health - each individual fight may not carry appreciably more risk, but if you play often enough, it is highly likely you will pay the price.

silkov wrote:

stujones wrote:I don't like the way he is trying to jump on the Corey Spinks bandwagon. Apparently, he treated him bad as a youngster and Corey is much closer to uncle, Michael.

Corey originally boxed under his mother's surname (which I cannot remember) but was adviced to use his father's name to try and gain more exposure.

From what I've heard in recent years Leon has been making an effort to get closer to Corey and to get his life on track. He tries to advise people against drugs etc and is good to his fans so I think you're being harsh on him Stu, you can't blame the father for wanting to be there when his son acheieves great things. If Leon stayed away you'd probably be saying that he ignores Corey still, the man has had a lot of tough breaks and deserves some compassion. I've haven't heard anything about Leon trying to get money off Corey or benifit from his success in anyway like that.... I think he's actually trying to give his support to his son whom he is obviously very proud of.

Fair enough, just think maybe his support should be behind the scenes only at this moment in their relationship. I have heard that Corey is still very suspicious that his father will let him down. If I got those vibes about the "bandwagon" thing, imagine what his son (who has experieced being let down by him) is thinking.

I hope they can restore their relationship and I have enough respect for Leon the fighter, just what a bit put off by Leon being a ringside for Corey vs Mayorga. Notice how many times they embrased each other, not once.

One of the fights that took a lot out Leon was the one against Randall Cobb.

Both took beatings in that fight

knockout artist wrote:One of the fights that took a lot out Leon was the one against Randall Cobb.

Both took beatings in that fight

Yes, that was a horrible fight for both men. Cobb was rocked badly several times and asked afterwards if he knew where was was in the fight. "I knew enough to know it wasn't very pretty in there."

I think the worst fight for Leon was when he fought Dwight Quawi for the world Cruiserweight title.... Leon was obviously very weight drained (he'd fought at Heavy at about 215 just a few months before I believe)... he could hardly get off the ropes and took a terrible hammering from a grinning Quawi..... Leon actually seemed to come out better in his fight with Cobb.... Tex seemed to be out on his feet for about the last two or three rounds of the fight........

stujones wrote:

silkov wrote:

stujones wrote:I don't like the way he is trying to jump on the Corey Spinks bandwagon. Apparently, he treated him bad as a youngster and Corey is much closer to uncle, Michael.

Corey originally boxed under his mother's surname (which I cannot remember) but was adviced to use his father's name to try and gain more exposure.

From what I've heard in recent years Leon has been making an effort to get closer to Corey and to get his life on track. He tries to advise people against drugs etc and is good to his fans so I think you're being harsh on him Stu, you can't blame the father for wanting to be there when his son acheieves great things. If Leon stayed away you'd probably be saying that he ignores Corey still, the man has had a lot of tough breaks and deserves some compassion. I've haven't heard anything about Leon trying to get money off Corey or benifit from his success in anyway like that.... I think he's actually trying to give his support to his son whom he is obviously very proud of.

Fair enough, just think maybe his support should be behind the scenes only at this moment in their relationship. I have heard that Corey is still very suspicious that his father will let him down. If I got those vibes about the "bandwagon" thing, imagine what his son (who has experieced being let down by him) is thinking.

I hope they can restore their relationship and I have enough respect for Leon the fighter, just what a bit put off by Leon being a ringside for Corey vs Mayorga. Notice how many times they embrased each other, not once.

The vibes I got watching Leon after Corey beat Mayaorga were that he was really proud and happy yet he didn't seem to be imposing himself on Corey or seeking any acclaim himself.... Corey seems to be a very wise guy himself and knows all the mistakes which his father made.
Hve you managed to see Spinks fight against Zab yet?.... I hear it was a damn good fight......... thanks Beeb and Sky for not bothering to show it!!!! :x :x :x :x :x :x :x

silkov wrote:Bob Arum is supposed to have said that Leon Spinks was the biggest waste of talent he's ever seen in boxing..... he was much more talented than he's given credit for today... many just think of him as a one hit wonder yet he was a real dynamo of a fighter.... very exciting too...

I have a few of both the Spinks brothers amatuer fights on tape from 75/76 before they had been picked to go to the Olympics. In between the various fights on this tape which also include Hearns V Pryor, Dokes, Clark, Armstrong etc they interview the USA Olymic coach Wally (Swaltz?). They certainly at that point think Leon was the much bigger prospect.

Leon as an Amatuer was a high octaine pressure fighter, with a good punch, very high work rate and physically strong. In the vest he beat a lot of very good figters from all over the World.

He just didn't have the mental strength and maturity to cope with the bright lights of the Pro game.

Some of those fighters he lost to at the end of his career such as KP Porter was very sad indeed. I also believe that he also fought on many unlicenced shows, so who knows how many fights he really had and how many punches he took.

He was in some real gruelling fights such as with Tex Cobb, Eddie Lopez and Jessie Burnett and not forgeting his weight drained painfull battering by Qawi.

His career reminds me somewhat of Jimmy Young another very talented fighter who could have achieved so much more but ended up losing to the likes of KP Porter and Chuck Gardener!

what the hell went wrong with neon leons career...?the man aobviously had a lot of talent, but where on earth did it all go wrong?

do you think it was because he was never really seasoned or developed as a pro?

what went wrong in the 1983 fight with carlos deleon? anybody ever seen that one?

how about in 86 after the qawi fight, leon got knocked out by rocky frickin' sekorski?!!?

after that he got iced in italy by somebody named angelo musone and then lost decisions to a clutch of crappy journeymen culminating in a 1 rd kayo loss to tony morrison.... astonishing.

although t doesnt say it on boxrec, leons comeback in 1992 where he won decisions over ultra pathetic andrew crowder & ken bentley (1 rd kayo victims to EVERYBODY) where close, hard SPLIT decisions..

a loss to kevin porter, then worst of the worst for any ex-heavyweight champ, in 1994 leon got iced in 1 rd by debuting john carlo, who turned out to be an ordinary fighter anyway.

its unbelieavble to think of an ex-champ, even a washed up one, losing to a novice. can you imagine witherspoon or greg page gettin bombed out by a novice?

the pathetic career finally ended in 1995 when leon dropped adecision to journeyman fred houpe, who hadnt had a fight in 17 years.

where did leons health problems begin? in 1995 he was at the hall of fame and looked fine. in 1999 he boxed an exhibition and you have to have complete physical capabilities ot even participate in an exhibition...

but then in 2003 after that cory spinks win yeah i noticed he did look odd the way he carried himself.

anybody know when the deteriation began, or whats wrong with him exactly?

overhand_right wrote:what the hell went wrong with neon leons career...?the man aobviously had a lot of talent, but where on earth did it all go wrong?

do you think it was because he was never really seasoned or developed as a pro?

what went wrong in the 1983 fight with carlos deleon? anybody ever seen that one?

how about in 86 after the qawi fight, leon got knocked out by rocky frickin' sekorski?!!?

after that he got iced in italy by somebody named angelo musone and then lost decisions to a clutch of crappy journeymen culminating in a 1 rd kayo loss to tony morrison.... astonishing.

although t doesnt say it on boxrec, leons comeback in 1992 where he won decisions over ultra pathetic andrew crowder & ken bentley (1 rd kayo victims to EVERYBODY) where close, hard SPLIT decisions..

a loss to kevin porter, then worst of the worst for any ex-heavyweight champ, in 1994 leon got iced in 1 rd by debuting john carlo, who turned out to be an ordinary fighter anyway.

its unbelieavble to think of an ex-champ, even a washed up one, losing to a novice. can you imagine witherspoon or greg page gettin bombed out by a novice?

the pathetic career finally ended in 1995 when leon dropped adecision to journeyman fred houpe, who hadnt had a fight in 17 years.

where did leons health problems begin? in 1995 he was at the hall of fame and looked fine. in 1999 he boxed an exhibition and you have to have complete physical capabilities ot even participate in an exhibition...

but then in 2003 after that cory spinks win yeah i noticed he did look odd the way he carried himself.

anybody know when the deteriation began, or whats wrong with him exactly?

What went wrong with Leons career? I think only Leon can really answer that one Overhand.

However in my opinion, The people around Leon knew he liked the night life and lacked the dedication for a long career at the top level so took a calculated gamble and rushed him into the Ali fight. Simular to the reasons that the Duva's rushed Tyrell Biggs into the Tyson fight.

Overhand, I have very brief highlights of Leons fight with Sekorski, it looked like many of Leons fights, a punishing brawl. The most disturbing thing about that fight was the amout of racist comments coming from the rednecks in the crowd. There's then a short interview with Sekorski were he states he should get some credit for his performances against Spinks and Jimmy Young.

As for when Leons health started to slip I don't really know, I have interviews with him from his fights with Cobb, Lopez and Burnett and his speech was a bit slurred back then. Also like I said in another post I've heard Leon took part in many unlicenced fights so that's even more punishment he has taken.

Overhand, anymore info on the 1999 exhibition?

Another thing in the early 1990's there was talk of a fight taking place between Leon Spinks and the late former British Heavyweight Champ Dave Pearce in the USA.

I think Pearce had lost his BBBC licence due to eye problems and there was talk of him appearing on unlicenced shows in the UK, but I think it was just talk.

Wether the Spinks V Pearce fight was going to be sanctioned I don't know.

I've read a lot over the years about Leon and believe that many of his problems have their root cause in his unhappy upbringing. From what I read Leon was treated terribley by his father. In one article it said that his father used to hang Leon up on the electric light and use him as a punch bag. I think Micheal may have escaped the worst of these beatings with Leon baring the brunt of it.
People who come from such a background are often driven to achieve something yet then seemingly self-destruct when they reach this goal.
I think Leon just went straight off the rails after he beat Ali.... I have the autobiography of MR T who was Leon Bodygaurd for a while during his title reign and he tells of how Leon was drawn into the wrong crowd as he sought to gain acceptance and that he started using cocaine.
I think for a while his inate talent and courage allowed him to continue to compete.... his wins over Mercadoe and Lopez for instance were good performances.... but it's doubtful that he trained much even for these fights. By the time Leon started fighting as a Cruiserweight it was murder for him to make the weight and this is a big factor in his losses to Delon and Quawi. The QUawi fight was the worst imo... Leon looked as if he barely had the energy to walk, and spent most of the fight on the ropes taking a terrible pounding...... I remember hearing people in the crowd screaming at Leon to get off the ropes but he just didn't have the strength. This is the fight which really finished him I think. I think after that he had no confidence anymore and his punch resistance pretty much disintergrated. One thing I always admire Leon for is that he had so much courage..... even in his latter fights he didn't lose for lack of courage.... it was just that he couldn't take it anymore.
While Leon is often looked at as someone who threw his great talent away, perhaps he should be regarded as some one who fleetingly acheived great things despite the terrible obstacles he'd faced when growing up.

I read that in the Mr T autobiography too, bloody good book, Spinks did look very good though in the 1st Ali fight, but he was too small to be a great heavy, and too big for a cruiser.

As for Holyfield, if anyone ever needed evidence of his deteriorating motor skills and neurolgical damage, a very simple exercise.

Get a video of him when he first turned pro, when he was as sharp as a tack, articulate and vibrant, now listen to him talk any time after about 96, or even worse now.

The man is turning into a cabbage, his speech is becoming almost unintelligable, especially after fights, which apparently is a sign of neurological damage. I've heard that fighter sound ok when they've had a layoff for a bit, but directly after a fight the damage is very evident.

Holy is well on his way to being punch drunk....

It's a tough call, but I wish the networks would just refuse to buy his fightsm the argument that he has a right to earn a living doesn't hold water, he's a fornicating multi millionnaire, even with the 9000 kids he has, he is minted. The networks should save him from himself, and just not pay to show his fights any more.

It's like a taxi driver being partially blind, you wouldn't let him bloody drive just because 'that's how he makes his bread' would you?

the irony is macca that the quality`s holyfield displayed in the ring i.e the never say die attitude (he went to the well more times than jack and jill) are the same ones which god forbid could turn him into a cabbage.
i once read that he has earned more money out of boxing than anyone else in the history of the sport, with earnings well over the 100m mark!
whats he doing still fighting?
whats he trying to prove and to whom?
and where are his mates when he needs them?