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]
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| Date | February 15, 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA, WBC, and The Ring undisputed heavyweight championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spinks wins via 15-round split decision (142-143, 144-141, 145-140) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editAfter 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
editBefore 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
editThe 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
edit| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 Australia |
Seven Network |
 Brazil |
Band |
 Canada |
CTV |
 France |
TF1 |
 Germany |
ARD |
 Japan |
TBS |
 Mexico |
Televisa |
 Philippines |
RPN 9 |
 Spain |
TVE |
 United Kingdom |
BBC |
 United States |
CBS |
Undercard
editConfirmed bouts:[10]
| Winner | Loser | Weight division/title belt(s) disputed | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Lopez
|
 David Kotey
|
WBC World Featherweight Title | 6th round TKO. |
| Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
|
Jesse Burnett
|
Light Heavyweight (10 rounds) | 10th round TKO. |
| Tony Chiaverini
|
 Marcelo Quiñones
|
Middleweight (10 rounds) | 3rd round KO. |
| Alan Minter
|
 Sandy Torres
|
Super Middleweight (10 rounds) | 5th round KO. |
| Michael Spinks
|
Tom Bethea
|
Light Heavyweight (8 rounds) | Unanimous decision. |
References
edit- ^ "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.