The 61yearold boxer, who catapulted to fame by beating muhammad ali in 1978. Leon spinks hospitalized in las vegas with abdominal. Simpson, instead will air at 87c the new special muhammad ali. Facing ali is a fascinating portrait of one of the worlds finest boxers, told by some of his greatest opponents and enemies. Continuing his pilgrimage, holmes fought the best that the division had to offer, taking on and taking out earnie shavers, gerry cooney, leon spinks and carl williams. Leon spinks 1978 win over muhammad ali for the world heavyweight boxing title was easily considered the greatest fight of his life. George chuvalo, sir henry cooper, george foreman, smokin joe frazier, larry holmes a former sparring partner of ali, ron lyle, ken norton, earnie shavers, leon. Leon spinks he won olympic gold, beat muhammad ali, lost his money and now works as a janitor, but the former champ is still upbeat brian doogan in columbus, nebraska. Ali tried to aim rights at spinkss chin but leon rallied with overarm rights of his own, really hard blows that had ali pulling back with what appeared to be some alarm. Leon spinks hospitalized in las vegas with abdominal problems. Leon, who some say was the more naturally gifted of the two, has been described as a free spirit in and outside of the ring. Shavers, sir henry cooper, ron lyle, leon spinks, larry holmes and ernie terrell.
Meridian 35, 36274, 40069, 41400 and 30 ali and leon spinks at presser. Oct, 2014 las vegas ap former heavyweight champion leon spinks is in a las vegas hospital after a second operation for abdominal problems. Muhammad ali ii, was a professional boxing match contested on september 15, 1978, in new orleans for the wba and lineal heavyweight championships. Muhammad ali talks faith and boxing career video abc news. Shortly thereafter, they became the first brothers to win the heavyweight title. The fight was estimated to have been watched by a record 2 billion viewers worldwide, 1 2 in some 80 nations. I think ali shluld have retired when he beat norton in 1976. Dec 25, 2005 the louisiana superdome, which hosted ali spinks 2 just seven months after their first fight, is closed, ravaged by katrinas wallop, and new orleans citizens are still reeling and homeless. Facing ali is a film about gladiators transformed by the passage of time into. Leon spinks is an american former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1995. Joe frazier, larry holmes, ron lyle, ken norton, earnie shavers, leon spinks and ernie terrell. If youre a fan of the man or the sport give this documentary a look. At the time, tyson held the belts of all three of the major sanctioning organizations world boxing council, world boxing association, and international boxing federation while spinks was the ring and boxing.
Leon spinks, on the other hand, confirms his how unprepared he was for the. The greatest of all time, taking stock of reactions from around the. Leon spinks vs muhammad ali fan scorecards eye on the ring. Leon spinks has fallen on harder and harder times since he famously beat muhammad ali in a world title fight 32 years ago but there is no crushing the double spirits of wry humour and warm. Former champion leon spinks hospitalized usa today. Las vegas ap former heavyweight champion leon spinks is in a las vegas hospital after a second operation for abdominal problems. He defeated lightheavyweight champs archie moore and bob foster. While holmes pumped his left jab, spinks began bombing overhand rights to holmes jaw. Leon spinks biography childhood, life achievements. Muhammad ali was arguably the greatest boxer of the 20th century, and that. On that same day, i spoke with facing alis producer, derik murray. Muhammad ali loses crown to leon spinks this day february. His shocking victory over muhammad ali for the wbc and wba heavyweight championship in 1978 in only his eighth pro fight, gave leon sudden fame. Both men were undefeated and each had a claim to being the legitimate heavyweight champion.
See more ideas about leon spinks, leon and muhammad ali. There are brief biographical sketches of the men, and each tells the story of his encounters with ali both in. Leon spinks born july 11, 1953 is an american former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1995. Facing ali chronicles the life and times of the legendary muhammad ali through the.
Rent facing ali 2009 starring muhammad ali and george chuvalo on dvd and bluray. All three official judges and the associated press scored the last three rounds for spinks. He and michael spinks became the first brothers to win gold medals in the same sport at the same olympics and, as professional champions, the first brothers in boxing history to win world titles. Jul 01, 2012 muhammad ali on dick cavett after leon spinks loss duration.
Aug 23, 2017 thanks for watching like and subscribe for more. Leon spinks was probably one of the weakest challengers but came along at the right place and time and ali made the mistake of taking his opponent for granted. Feb 15, 2020 ali tried to aim rights at spinkss chin but leon rallied with overarm rights of his own, really hard blows that had ali pulling back with what appeared to be some alarm. Leon spinks was a professional boxing match contested on february 15, 1978 in las vegas, nevada for the undisputed heavyweight championship. A few days ago, i posted an interview i did with director pete mccormack for his documentary, facing ali. I broke alis jaw in the last round not the 1st one as they claim duration. Muhammad ali ii, was a professional boxing match contested on september 15, 1978 in new orleans for the wba and lineal heavyweight championships. It was 1976 when leon and michael spinks first punched their way into americas living rooms. Jan 14, 2006 for the oddjob man is leon spinks who dethroned the legendary muhammad ali in 1978 in one of the greatest upsets in boxing but then squandered the millions he made in the ring.
Rent facing ali 2009 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix. Muhammad ali on dick cavett after leon spinks loss duration. After having retired, ali returned to face the new champion and, being well past his prime, took a hellacious beating from holmes. Shot on the red camera, the interviews are superbly set up and. Muhammad ali talks faith and boxing career more in an interview from 1978, the boxing legend opens up to abc news barbara walters about how he. Facing ali is a film about gladiators transformed by the passage of time into the mere mortals we now know them to be and who were positively affected by their fights with the greatestin ways they clearly will never forget. After his shock win over ali to become heavyweight champion, leon spinks was. Ali was a black man in white america who would not be. The odds of spinks beating ali were similar to buster douglas beating mike tyson vegas never thought it would happen.
That year, they became the first brothers to win olympic gold in the same games. Muhammad ali loses crown to leon spinks this day february 15. Facing ali includes interviews with joe frazier, who speaks of the bitterness that. Facing ali includes interviews with joe frazier, who speaks of the. Interviews with several opponents of muhammad ali reveal a lot about both the. For the oddjob man is leon spinks who dethroned the legendary muhammad ali in 1978 in one of the greatest upsets in boxing but then squandered the millions he made in the ring.
But in 2014, spinks was given an even greater challenge, the. Muhammad ali was arguably the greatest boxer of the 20th century, and that rare fighter whose presence in the culture of the day was equal to or perhaps even greater than his remarkable skills. Leon spinks 2017 interview at nevada boxing hall of fame duration. George chuvalo, henry cooper, ken norton, george foreman, joe frazier, larry holmes, leon spinks, ron lyle, earnie shavers, and ernie terrell. Leon and michael spinks st louis sports hall of fame. Facing ali watch online full movie documentary area. He was also the winner of an olympic gold medal in 1976. Next on the agenda for ali was leon spinks whom ali agreed to face in las vegas on february 15. Leon spinks is an american former boxer who became the world heavyweight champion in 1978 after beating muhammad ali in what was considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. Leon spinks born july 11, 1953 is an american former boxer, who had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 of those wins by knockout. Muhammad ali beat more champions and top contenders than any heavyweight champion in history. Ali, who should have been enjoying retirement, needed a very easy fight enter leon spinks. The late muhammad ali will be remembered with multiple tv tributes fasttracked for saturday night.
There are brief biographical sketches of the men, and each tells the story of his encounters with ali both in and out of the ring. Spinks became the first challenger to win the world heavyweight championship on a decision since jim braddock defeated max baer on june, 1935. In only his eighth professional bout, spinks won the undisputed world heavyweight championship when he beat muhammad ali on february 15, 1978, in what was considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. The louisiana superdome, which hosted alispinks 2 just seven months after their first fight, is closed, ravaged by katrinas wallop, and new orleans citizens are. The fight was estimated to have been watched by a record 2 billion viewers worldwide, in some 80 nations.
Aug 27, 2015 leon spinks 1978 win over muhammad ali for the world heavyweight boxing title was easily considered the greatest fight of his life. Facing ali is a 2009 documentary directed by pete mccormack about muhammad ali born cassius marcellus clay, jr. Relatedmuhammad ali dead at 74, one of boxings greatest heavyweights abcs 2020, which was originally set to encore a september broadcast about o. Spinks was later stripped of the wbc title for facing ali in an unapproved. After his unanimous decision victory against earnie shavers, muhammad ali decided to face 1976 olympic gold medalist leon spinks, knowing that hed have to face ken norton for the fourth. I think you can make an argument he should have retired as early as 1974, you could probably make an argument he should retired after this fight, and just never come back in 1980, but there is no question, that ali should not have come back after this fight, because against holmes, he was absolutely shot.
Like pete, producer derik murray is very passionate about his involvement in filmmaking. Dec 28, 2009 facing ali is a fascinating portrait of one of the worlds finest boxers, told by some of his greatest opponents and enemies. I broke ali s jaw in the last round not the 1st one as they claim duration. He had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins. The 61yearold boxer, who catapulted to fame by beating. Born in st louis, missouri, neon leon was about as unorthodox a fighter in the ring as many had ever seen. This movie is about 10 of his rivals all legitimate challengers and great boxers in their own right. He is an actor and producer, known for untitled leon spinks. He had captured bronze at the world championships in 1974, silver at the panam games in 1975 and gold, as a light heavyweight, at the montreal olympics in 1976. A critical darling and crowd favorite at film festivals throughout the u. The son of former heavyweight boxing champion leon spinks was shot to death early sunday as he sat in a car on a bridge spanning the mississippi river, illinois state. But thats where the comparison of the brothers ends. George foreman in facing ali 2009 muhammad ali and leon spinks in facing.
His juking movements and awkward style stood singularly unique and gave opponents fits. Holmes took the action back to the center of the ring. Former heavyweight champion leon spinks is in a las vegas hospital after a second operation for abdominal problems. Larry holmes didnt always like leon spinks, but hes praying for him now tmz sports duration. In only his eighth professional fight, he won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978 after defeating muhammad ali in a split decision, in what was considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
Also like pete, technology was unfortunately against me when speaking to derik. Arkansas 2020 movie official trailer vince vaughn, liam hemsworth, clark duke. Disclaimer no infringement is intended, all videos are edited to follow the free use guideline of youtube. In only his eighth professional fight, he won the undisputed heavyweight. Ali was a black man in white america who would not be defined or defeated by the establishment. Spinks again came out fast, pushing holmes backward and into the ropes as cosell spoke quickly to keep pace, leon bobbing and weaving and trying to get inside. He defeated heavyweight kings sonny liston twice, floyd patterson twice, ernie terrell, jimmy ellis, ken norton twice, joe frazier twice, george foreman and leon spinks. Advertisement autoplay when autoplay is enabled, a. Leon spinks was probably one of the weakest challengers but came along at the right time and place and ali made the mistake of taking his opponent for granted. Michael spinks was a boxing match which took place on monday june 27, 1988.
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