Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks
Date | February 15, 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Venue | Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Title(s) on the line | WBA, WBC, and The Ring undisputed heavyweight championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spinks won by 15th round split decision. |
Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks was a professional boxing match contested on February 15, 1978, in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight championship.[1]
Background
After his unanimous decision victory against Earnie Shavers, Muhammad Ali decided to face 1976 Olympic Gold medalist Leon Spinks, knowing that he would have to face Ken Norton for the fourth time or lose his WBC belt, after the No. 1 ranked Norton beat No. 2 ranked Jimmy Young in a title eliminator in November 1977.[2]
The fight
Before a sellout crowd of 5,298 that produced a gate of $756,300, The 10–1 underdog Spinks ended up winning two of the scorecards 145–140 and 144–141, while the third was 142–143 giving him a split decision win. Spinks became the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion after only eight professional bouts, and the only man ever to take a world title away from Ali in the ring, as Ali's other losses were either non-title bouts or world title fights where Ali was the challenger.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Aftermath
The bout was named The Ring magazine upset of the year.
The final round (15) was named The Ring magazine round of the year.
Sports Illustrated covered the bout, and with the historic upset put Leon Spinks on the magazine cover. Spinks was later stripped of his WBC heavyweight title on March 18, 1978, for refusing to fight No. 1 contender Norton. Instead, Spinks signed for a rematch with Ali at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. The rematch took place on September 15, 1978, for the World Boxing Association and Lineal Heavyweight Champion titles. Ali regained the title with a unanimous decision over Spinks.
Broadcasting
Country | Broadcaster |
---|---|
United States | CBS |
Undercard
Confirmed bouts:[10]
References
- ^ "Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks (1st meeting)". BoxRec.com.
- ^ "Ali-Spinks Winner Must Face Norton". Observer–Reporter. 2 December 1977. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
- ^ "Muhammad Ali's ring record". ESPN. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ^ "Muhammad Ali meets his match as young Leon Spinks stuns the champ to take heavyweight title". New York Daily News. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ Felix Dennis; Don Atyeo (2003). Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years. miramax books. pp. 254–258.
- ^ Hugh McIlvanney (1982). McIlvanney on Boxing. Beaufort books. pp. 163–71.
- ^ Ferdie Pacheco (1992). Muhammad Ali: A View from the Corner. Birch Lane Press. pp. 153–58.
- ^ Thomas Hauser (1991). Muhammad Ali:His Life and Times. Simon & Schuster. pp. 350–60.
- ^ "One more time to the top". Sports Illustrated. 25 September 1978. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- ^ "BoxRec - event". BoxRec.com.
Preceded by | Muhammad Ali' bouts February 15, 1978 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by vs. Alfio Righetti | Leon Spinks's bouts February 15, 1978 | |
Awards | ||
---|---|---|
Previous: Jimmy Young W12 George Foreman | The Ring Fight of the Year 1978 | Succeeded by Danny Lopez KO15 Mike Ayala |
Previous: Jorge Luján KO10 Alfonso Zamora | The Ring Upset of the Year 1978 | Next: Vito Antuofermo D15 Marvin Hagler |
- v
- t
- e
- Boxing at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Clay vs. Hunsaker
- Clay vs. Siler
- Clay vs. Esperti
- Clay vs. Robinson
- Clay vs. Fleeman
- Clay vs. Clark
- Clay vs. Sabedong
- Clay vs. Johnson
- Clay vs. Miteff
- Clay vs. Besmanoff
- Clay vs. Banks
- Clay vs. Warner
- Clay vs. Logan
- Clay vs. Daniels
- Clay vs. Lavorante
- Clay vs. Moore
- Clay vs. Powell
- Clay vs. Jones
- Clay vs. Cooper
- Liston vs. Clay
- Ali vs. Liston II
- Ali vs. Patterson
- Ali vs. Chuvalo
- Ali vs. Cooper II
- Ali vs. London
- Ali vs. Mildenberger
- Ali vs. Terrell
- Ali vs. Williams
- Ali vs. Folley
- Ali vs. Quarry
- Ali vs. Bonavena
- Fight of the Century (Frazier vs. Ali I)
- Ali vs. Ellis
- Ali vs. Mathis
- Ali vs. Blin
- Ali vs. M. Foster
- Ali vs. Lewis
- Ali vs. Patterson II
- Ali vs. B. Foster
- Ali vs. Bugner
- Ali vs. Norton
- Norton vs. Ali II
- Ali vs. Lubbers
- Ali vs. Frazier II
- The Rumble in the Jungle (Foreman vs. Ali)
- Ali vs. Wepner
- Ali vs. Lyle
- Thrilla in Manila (Ali vs. Frazier III)
- Ali vs. Coopman
- Ali vs. Young
- Ali vs. Dunn
- Ali vs. Norton III
- Ali vs. Evangelista
- Ali vs. Shavers
- Ali vs. Spinks
- Spinks vs. Ali II
- Holmes vs. Ali
- Ali vs. Berbick
Books |
|
---|---|
Docu films and series |
|
Other films and series |
|
Music and performance |
|
Comics and video games |
|
associates
- Chuck Bodak (trainer, cutman)
- Angelo Dundee (cornerman)
- Drew Bundini Brown (trainer, cornerman)
- Ferdie Pacheco (personal physician, cornerman)
- Joe E. Martin (first trainer)
- Archie Moore (trainer)
- George Dillman (instructor)
- Jabir Herbert Muhammad (manager)
- Luis Sarria (trainer, cutman, masseur)
- Joe Frazier (opponent, friend)
- Richard Durham (autobiography co-writer)
This boxing-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e