Ali vs Spinks: A Tale of Two Fights

Ali vs Spinks: A Tale Of Two Fights

1978 was some year for Leon Spinks. It started with him beating Muhammad Ali in one of the greatest upsets in boxing history and ended with him losing to Ali in the rematch drowned by the sea of excess that engulfed him after his shock win over Ali. For different reasons, Spinks shouldn’t have been anywhere near sharing a ring with perhaps the greatest heavyweight of all time.

By the time of their first meeting in February 1978, Spinks despite the reigning Olympic light-heavyweight champion, was a mere novice as a professional. Seven fights in, which included a draw with Scott LeDoux two fights previous, the former Marine was picked to face Ali for a reason.

Ali by that stage of his long and glorious career was on an irreversible slide to normality and much worse. The decline had long set in. A fighter hanging on, refusing to let go of something that had already gone. Ali received the benefit of the doubt in fights he shouldn’t have. Being the most famous man on the planet had its benefits.

“I can’t fight this kid,” Ali once said when Spinks was first mentioned as a possible opponent. But Ali was 36, the long career had left his body needing the recovery it could never give. Even by then, it was too late to save him. The wars with George Foreman and Joe Frazier in recent years more than played their part in the ultimate price that Ali would later pay. But even the farcical fight with the Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki in 1976 did its fair share of damage. Inoki kicked Ali’s legs all night long causing Ali blood clots in his legs that nearly ended in amputation. In a fight with Ken Norton three months later, Ali was lucky not to lose. Going 15 rounds with the fearsome Earnie Shavers was never advisable. Even more so, for Ali at that stage of his career. Spinks was very much considered the safe option. The early concerns were swept aside, and the Olympic connections were used as the hook to grab people in to buy the story. It was a hard sell.

Spinks wasn’t ranked inside the WBC top 10, he needed to beat one Alfio Righetti, the unbeaten but unheralded Italian heavyweight champion, to satisfy. Spinks won but it wasn’t pretty. Or good. But it served its purpose.

The challenger often prepared less than diligently, the hard training watered down with more than a hint of hard partying. The reputation couldn’t be hidden, everyone knew it, including Ali. The champion saw little threat in his latest challenger and prepared with that firmly on his mind. It cost him his title.

Spinks 24, despite his own brand of preparation, was in decent enough condition to take advantage of an ageing and ill-prepared Ali in Las Vegas. Spinks started fast, winning enough early rounds to leave Ali needing another miracle. The old champion rallied and very nearly saved his night. But Spinks found something extra, possibly with the help of the contents of a magic brown bottle. With more than a hint of suspicion, Spinks was a rejuvenated fighter in the last three rounds. The final three minutes were brutal, Ali desperately trying to salvage his title. And his pride. Ali needed to stop Spinks, but Spinks wouldn’t go. The decision was split, but Spinks had shocked the world. It was named the Ring Magazine’s Fight of the Year, and the 15th round was named Round of the Year.

The rematch seven months later was a completely different story. Ali prepared. Spinks just partied. And hard. In truth, he had a lot more to play with. Spinks earned $300,000 in the first fight and $3.5m for the rematch. Spinks gained an entourage of much excess, including a bodyguard by the name of Mr. T. In many ways, Spinks had bought himself a one-way ticket to oblivion.

The rematch at the New Orleans Superdome was in many ways the fight the first meeting should have been. Ali was in shape and in search of history. The potential to become the first fighter to become a three-time heavyweight champion of the world and to ride into the sunset as the greatest heavyweight the world had ever seen. If only he had.

Spinks had gone missing many times in his training camp, including on the day of the fight. Legend has it Ali was going for an early morning run as the first bell got closer, he passed Spinks in the hotel coming in after a night on the town with a woman on each arm. There are many more similar stories to tell. Spinks always did it his way.

Once the rematch started, everyone knew this time would be different. Spinks’s trainer George Benton had seen enough after a few rounds, he went missing also. Never to return. Ali danced, Spinks shuffled after him without reward. Over 60,000 fans witnessed the last hurrah of Ali. But in truth, it could apply to Spinks also.

Spinks would fight 37 more times after the Ali debacle and ended his career in 1995 with 17 defeats. A sad story that got even sadder when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019. Spinks died in 2021. He was 67.

“I never had nothing. All of a sudden I had something. I tried to do too much. I was crazy. I didn’t care about nothing. You think it’s never going to end.” Sadly for Spinks, everything ended long before it should have.

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