Leon Spinks, Former Heavyweight Champ Who Beat Muhammad Ali, Dies at 67

Former heavyweight champion boxer Leon Spinks—who defeated Muhammad Ali in his eighth career fight—has passed away after a battle with prostate and other cancers. He was 67 years old.

Spinks was with his wife, Brenda Glur Spinks, as well as a group of close friends and family members when he passed on Friday, according to a release from a public relations firm.

Spinks’s passing is nine days shy of the 43rd anniversary of his famous bout with Ali, in which he won by split decision to claim the heavyweight title at 25 years old. The victory came two years after he won gold at the 1976 Montreal Olympics in the light heavyweight division.

From 1973 to 1976, Spinks served in the United States Marine Corps, where he discovered his passion for boxing. After defeating Ali, he faced him again in a rematch seven months later, losing by unanimous decision. He would fight once more for the heavyweight title in 1981, losing to Larry Holmes by TKO.

Spinks retired from boxing in 1995 at age 42, and later competed in wrestling and mixed martial arts. 

A native of St. Louis, Spinks’s younger brother, Michael Spinks, also won gold in Montreal in 1976, making the pair the first brothers to win gold in the same sport at the same Olympics. 

Michael Spinks also won the world light heavyweight title in 1981, making the Spinkses the only brothers to win world championships in professional boxing. The brothers were inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in August 2017.