Leon Spinks - Heavyweight's Craziest Champion

The seventies for me are a bit of a blind spot boxing wise. I am too young to have watched them live and they are not quite in the distant enough past for them to be of sufficient interest to my inner history geek. However I have recently started reading a biography of the Spinks brothers and whilst I knew a bit about how ill-disciplined and generally off the wall Leon was I am not sure I quite appreciated the level of his craziness until I started with the book.

Most everyone will have heard of Spinks on the back of him dethroning an ageing Muhammad Ali in only his eight fight, only to dump the title in his first defence to an even more ageing Ali. It was form that earned him a high ranking when we debated the worst ever heavyweight champions some weeks ago, a view few seemed to have too much of an argument against. Whilst I still think his form, or lack of as champion warrants such a consideration the more I learn about him I can’t help but wonder if Neon Leon could be something of a lost talent.

As followers of the amateur scene will know the 1976 US Olympic squad is about as famous an amateur side as was ever assembled. It was captained by the brilliant Sugar Ray Leonard, and contained the likes of Howard Davis and Leon’s brother Michael. The team went into folklore by capturing a massive total of five gold medals, all the more impressive when one considers both Russia and Cuba competed in these games, both of which had ridiculously strong amateur programmes back in those days. Whilst Leon was a deserved winner of one of those golds it could have been all so different. Whilst the boxers lived together and trained together in Montreal Leon was nearly thrown out of the team for the kind of behaviour that was to become pretty par for the course with him, whilst the others trained, Leon, to put it bluntly went on the lash. He was frequently not to be found in the Olympic village, missed training sessions and generally behaved like he was on a holiday. The rumour is was it not for the fact his brother was also competing and the possibility that two brothers could win medals and the associated PR it would bring that prevented the powers that be from sending Leon home.

Any thought that Olympic success and the impending riches of the pro game would focus Leon were soon dismissed. He was at the time a serving marine and due back on base as soon as the Olympics finished. This left Leon with a dilemma, should he return back to his job and the core or should he celebrate his win with the countless women, drug dealers and drinking buddies only too happy to indulge the new champions whims. Suffice to say the latter option won pretty comfortably. Once the marine core finally tracked Leon down and persuaded him to return he put the icing on the cake by crashing his car into the barracks drunk on his return! Given this, when Leon put in his request to leave the service to pursue his pro career his superior officers were only too quick to sign, better to sign him out to pursue his dream than wait until he inevitably brought disgrace on the marines.

Whilst turning pro did little to curb Leon’s excesses he had enough natural ability to get through his first seven fights relatively unscathed until he found himself being offered the chance to challenge Ali for the world title. Ali was about done as a fighter and his handlers knew it, as such they were looking for soft touches, if those soft touches came with an angle you could market all the better. As an Olympic champion Leon just about fit the bill. Whilst Leon did not train with any great discipline his youth, natural ability and Ali’s age and lack of focus in training meant Leon just about had enough to prevail in a fight I’d advise against anybody who has not already seen it watching.

If Leon had taken a less than stellar approach to the game prior to beating Ali in the run up to their rematch his levels of ill-discipline reached levels Keith Richards would have baulked at. He now not only had his temperament but he also had wealth and the retinue of hangers on that go with being world heavyweight champion, a volatile mix at best. As some will be aware at this time future A-Team actor Mr T was Leon’s bodyguard during this period and in his autobiography he talks of Leon simply going missing for days on end, normally being found in a hotel room with a couple of hookers and a pile of cocaine the size of a ski slope. As the man who beat Ali Spinks had the keys to the kingdom, his promoter Butch Lewis worked hard and had sponsors lining up to associate themselves with the new champion. With almost grim inevitability Spinks managed to get himself arrested in possession of cocaine and waved goodbye to these sponsorship deals in the process.


What seems truly staggering is Leon continued in this vein right up to the day of the fight if rumours are to be believed. Bob Arum tells a story of bumping into Leon three days before the fight staggering back to his hotel room, when Arum asked him, incredulously, where he had been Leon slurred he was getting back from his roadwork, his loafers, fur coat and slurred speech gave Arum cause to doubt this was the case!

Inevitably a lot of these stories can be exaggerated with the passage of time but those of us unfortunate enough to have seen their rematch can well believe their truth. Ali had improved slightly, or as much as a guy of his years and career was ever likely to but Leon was terrible, slow, ponderous, no snap in his punches all coupled with movement that makes me look light on my feet. Losing to Ali at that stage of his career was difficult, doing it by pretty wide margins takes a special kind of effort. The real tragedy from Leon’s perspective is that whilst Ali was slightly improved in the rematch he was still no bloody good. Leon would not have needed to train with exactly religious fervour, it only required him to turn up fit, hell, probably not hung over would have been enough for him to repeat his first victory.

Leon fought on, even getting a second title shot a couple of years down the line, having the misfortune to run into a prime and motivated Larry Holmes, with inevitably painful results. The real tragedy of Leon’s career is there is a genuine talent there. Stories of his amateur career tell of a natural fighter, a fighter of genuine heart, good power and a fighter capable of overwhelming opponents with a blistering pace. Said it when we discussed the worst ever fighters but winning an Olympic gold in that era, and with that competition marks you out as a serious fighter. What is perhaps so unusual with Leon is his more celebrated brother Michael could not have been any more different to him. He was studious, focussed and put the work in to get every ounce of ability out of what he had. That two so different people could have had the same upbringing beggars belief.

I’m not going to suggest Leon deserves to start creeping into top tens by any stretch, his career is rightly assessed on its achievements and they do make for slim pickings but he is certainly one of the sports more interesting characters and for those of us who like to occasionally ponder what ifs Leon certainly provides some food for thought.

There was certainly only one Leon......He was supposed to be a lovely guy out of the ring...

My biggest memory is reading of Butch Lewis pulling his hair out because he kept sneaking out of the window of his hotel room in the run up to Ali 2 and going drinking in town.....

Can still hear the Commentator's immortal words "And unless Leon Spinks has some superhuman effort left in him..." in the 15th of the rematch...

Apparently Michael held a grudge against Larry because he thought he picked the right moment to give Leon his shot when he was at a low ebb and at short notice...Michael reckoned Larry was scared of Leon....

Also remember Michael remarking that Larry slapped...Not sure Leon agreed....

I think had he beat Ali his reign would have been short.........I think Shavers, Holmes and Norton would all have had the beating of him...Probably Lyle in 78/9 too..

Still he'll always hold the record...The guy with the fewest fights ever to be Heavy champion...

He'll always be a colorful chapter too......and we can't get enough of those..

Agree re his reign truss. For all his many faults he did not lack guts, either that or he was a money hungry guy but Leon would have taken whatever fight meant the biggest payday. That would have almost certainly been the guys you mentioned. Leon on his best day ain't putting the graft in to beat a Holmes.

One of Leon's wins before his fight with Ali was against a co worker of mine, Peter Freeman a fellow sheet metal worker from Bolton,who was stopped in the first round.I agree with you Rowley his reign wouldn't have lasted long and if the original agreement had happened Ken Norton who was promised a shot at the winner would have become champion. In stead money spoke and we know the rest.

Neon Leon certainly earned his nickname.

He didn't lack bravery in the ring whatever condition he entered it. Remember watching him receive one of the most brutal one-sided shellackings I've ever seen from dwight qawi. He was still standing when they finally called it off. In terms of what might have been... He was too small really to have been a dominant force in that era. He made cruiser and given his lack of appetite for training, it can't have been too hard for him.

Certainly, he could have been a lot better than he was though!

Nice  piece rowls.

John Schulian wrote well on Spinks. Word was his girlfriend was so tough, the only time the bullies in the projects left him alone was when he stepped out with her!

There were/are some cynical types that think/thought Ali lost to Spinks on purpose so he could be the first guy to win the heavy title three times..

I'm not one of them..and Ali in fairness looked convincingly upset when asked about it..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:There were/are some cynical types that think/thought Ali lost to Spinks on purpose so he could be the first guy to win the heavy title three times..

I'm not one of them..and Ali in fairness looked convincingly upset when asked about it..

No chance. Ali took some lumps in that one.

I've never heard that one before.

Good read as always Rowl's. An interesting character to say the least and a typical 'what if' career. Shame really but he reached a height many others haven't/can't and does show that sometimes it's just the right place at the right time.

Of course we could all be looking at it from the wrong angle.......Maybe Spinks over-achieved.....

He was rushed in to fight a faded legend after just 7 fights and I have no doubt his management were opportunistic in shoving him in......

Ali was coming off a gruelling gift off Norton..and a gruelling battle with Shavers..

Had Spinks not been rushed and say fought for the vacant title in 79 does he beat a John Tate or Lyle ??....Can't see it myself.....Tate is  a much underrated fighter and a complete muppet for outclassing Weaver and switching off with fifteen seconds left....

Does he beat Larry for the WBC ??.....Nope.

Maybe Spinks had a better career than his talent deserved....Undisputed world heavyweight champion is an exclusive club....Holmes never joined it..

Maybe timing was everything with Spinks.......

Who knows ??...........What we do know is that he will always be remembered and that is more than a lot of other fighters who probably had more talent..