Leon Spinks 'Was Nutty' But Someone You Could Never Get Angry At, Top Rank CEO Says

Boxing Hall of Famer Leon Spinks, best known for shocking the world when he defeated Muhammad Ali in 1978, passed away Friday. He was 67 years old.

Spinks died after a five-year battle with prostate and other cancers, Boxingscene reported. His wife, Brenda Glur Spinks, was at his side at the time. With COVID-19 restrictions in place, only select family and friends were present. One of them was former world champion Cory Spinks, who had the opportunity to exchange final words with “Neon.”

Spinks' humble beginnings include serving the Marine Corps from 1973 to 1976. At the time, he proudly represented them and won a gold medal in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

However, it was his defeat of the late Ali in 1978 that catapulted him into fame. He won via split decision and earned the WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles. It should be noted that Spinks only had seven fights before that and was giving up over 25 pounds to Ali.

But even before that historic feat, Spinks had achieved much in his amateur career. This included winning his first medal, a bronze, during the 1974 World Championships. In 1975, he bagged the silver medal at the Pan America Games. But it was his Olympic gold medal in 1976 that set the tone for his boxing career.

A rematch between Spinks and Ali would be held in September of the same year. “The Greatest” would avenge that loss, hacking a unanimous decision win to reclaim the WBA and The Ring heavyweight titles.

“It was one of the most unbelievable things when Ali agreed to fight him because you look at the fights he had up to then and he was not only not a top contender but shouldn’t have been a contender at all,” promoter Bob Arum said in a report from The Guardian. ”He was just an opponent but somehow he found a way to win that fight.”

Perhaps one of the classiest things that Spinks said when he won over Ali was this: “I’m not The Greatest…Just the latest.”

Spinks fought until he was 42. His last boxing match was against Fred Houpe in 1995, a fight that happened after a 17-year hiatus. Regardless, Spinks was someone that many people loved. One of them was Arum.

“Leon was nutty but you couldn’t get angry at the guy,” he stated. “He never meant any harm to anyone. You couldn’t help but love him even though you shook your head at how he acted.”