And the women and money came fast,
in the days I lost track.
The women red, the money green,
and the numbers were black.
I fought for the men in their silk suits
To lay down their bets.
Well, I took my good share Ma, and
I had no regret.
-"The Hitter"
-Bruce Springsteen
1976. The Bicentennial of the United States. The Soviets had not yet invaded Afghanistan. The Iranians had not yet seized the American Embassy in Tehran and taken hostages. The Summer Olympics were in Montreal, Quebec.
The U.S. Olympic Boxing Team squared off against the rest of the world, including the Communist powers, Cuba and the Soviet Union, and earned seven medals, including five gold medals. Two of the five American gold medal-winning fighters were brothers, Leon and Michael Spinks.
Following the Olympics, many members of the team attained success as professionals. Sugar Ray Leonard became a legend. Michael Spinks was a world champion in three weight classes and became the first light heavyweight champion to ever challenge for - and win - the heavyweight championship.
When Michael Spinks made history, defeating Larry Holmes, to win the heavyweight title, he followed in the footsteps of his big brother Leon. On February 15, 1978, in his eighth professional fight, Leon Spinks brought his undefeated yet undistinguished 6-0-1 record into the ring against Muhammad Ali. He had been hand-picked for the fight by Ali's promoter because he was considered to have absolutely no chance to win the fight.
Somebody forgot to read Leon Spinks in on the plan.
On a mid-February night in Las Vegas, against odds so long it would make the Mike Tyson - Buster Douglas title fight in Tokyo, Japan look like a toss-up, United States Marine (he served his nation from 1973 to 1976) and Olympic Gold Medalist Leon Spinks did what no other fighter would ever do. He defeated Muhammad Ali in the ring to take his title.
In the Walt Disney edition of the Life of Leon Spinks, this history-making, utterly improbable upset would have been the first act in a long-running successful career. Sadly, Walt Disney and Leon Spinks never made one another's acquaintance. Stunned that Spinks had defeated him, Ali insisted upon (and got) an immediate rematch. When the two men fought again in New Orleans seven months later, Ali regained his title by winning a unanimous decision. Leon Spinks would fight for a world championship two more times, against Larry Holmes in the heavyweight division and, thereafter, against Dwight Muhammad Qawi in the cruiserweight division. He would lose both fights by knockout. When he finally retired from boxing in 1995, his career record was 26-17-3.
By all accounts, Leon Spinks' professional boxing career was undermined by his inability to constrain his worst demons in favor of his better angels. Yet, in piece after piece I read, it seemed to me that Leon Spinks was known for two distinct - and distinctly different - attributes. One was his gap-toothed grin. The other? His good heart.
Leon Spinks died on February 5, 2021. He was sixty-seven years old. He fought valiantly against various illnesses, including several different types of cancer. He died peacefully. Although he might not have had the career some might have expected him to have, he had one night, unrivaled and unequalled in the annals of boxing's glorious history, which those of us who witnessed it shall never forget. History shall long remember Leon Spinks for what he did. It shall long remember Leon Spinks for who he was.
Well tonight in the shipyard
A man draws a circle in the dirt.
Like I always do, I move to the centre
And I take off my shirt.
I study him for the cuts, the scars, the pain
No time can erase.
I move hard to the left and
I strike to the face.
-"The Hitter"
Bruce Springsteen
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