Important news
Leon Spinks – former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion – who defeated Muhammad Ali in 1978 … died after a 5-year battle with cancer.
TMZ Sports has confirmed that Spinks passed away Friday night at the age of 67 … surrounded by his wife Brenda and several other close friends and family.
Leon’s health had recently deteriorated … the former boxing champion fought courageously prostate cancer for 5 years.
Spinks was the winner in one of the biggest setbacks in sports history … when he shocked the world by beating Ali in a 15-round, split decision win in Las Vegas in February 1978.
By beating Ali, Spinks – the new heavyweight champion – became the only fighter to ever take a belt from The Greatest.
The Ali fight was the most memorable moment of Leon’s career … but by no means the only highlight.
In 1976, Spinks won a gold medal as a light-heavyweight fighter at the Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Born in St. Louis in 1953, Spinks developed a passion for boxing while in the United States Marines.
Pugilism ran deep in the Spinks family … Leon was boxer’s older brother Michael Spinks – a former world champion in the 2-weight division and Olympic gold medalist (both brothers won gold in ’76).
Leon was inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017.
REST IN PEACE