Michael Spinks (born July 13, 1956)[a] is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed light heavyweight title from 1983 to 1985, and the lineal heavyweight title from 1985 to 1988. As an amateur he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Nicknamed "Jinx", which spawned the nickname of his straight right hand, "The Spinks Jinx",[7][8] Spinks is the brother of former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks, and uncle of Cory Spinks, a former welterweight and light middleweight champion.
After a successful amateur career, which culminated in his Olympic gold medal win, Spinks went undefeated in his first 31 professional fights, beating Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Marvin Johnson and Eddie Davis en route to becoming the undisputed light heavyweight champion. After defending the title against 10 different fighters, Spinks moved up to heavyweight, and as an underdog defeated long-reigning IBF heavyweight champion Larry Holmes (whose own 48–0 record up to that point was one victory short of tying Rocky Marciano's 49–0 unblemished record); in doing so, Spinks became the first reigning light heavyweight world champion to win the heavyweight title. In his final fight, Spinks was knocked out by Mike Tyson in 91 seconds, the only defeat of his professional career.
Spinks has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. The International Boxing Research Organization and BoxRec rank Spinks among the 10 greatest light heavyweights of all time.[9][10]
^ abHBO Sports tale of the tape prior to the Mike Tyson fight.
^ abThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Michael Spinks AMERICAN BOXER". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 13 June 2018. Michael Spinks, (born July 13, 1956, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.), American boxer …{{cite encyclopedia}}: |author1= has generic name (help)
^"Michael Spinks".
^Anderson, Dave (October 18, 1987). "Sports of The Times; Not Really the Undisputed Champion". The New York Times. p. 5005005. Retrieved 14 June 2018. In contrast, Spinks, depending on how often he fights until then, might be a little rusty. He will surely be a little older. He'll turn 32 on July 13.
^Clarence George (13 July 2016). "Light Heavyweight Great Michael Spinks Turns 60". World Boxing Association. Retrieved 14 June 2018. Michael Spinks, generally considered among the greatest light heavyweights of all time, celebrates his 60th birthday today.
^No author (July 22, 2010). "Back in Time: July 22". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 13 June 2018. BORN ON THIS DAY … Michael Spinks (1956) …{{cite magazine}}: |author1= has generic name (help)
^Lotierzo, Frank J., "Michael Spinks: A Real Champion" Viewing Boxing From Ringside, Tom Donelson, Editor (Writers Club Press, 2002), p. 112
^Lotierzo, Frank J. "'Spinks Jinx' Charmed and Unparalleled at Light Heavyweight". East Side Boxing. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
^"Light-heavyweight". IBRO. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
^"World all light-heavyweight ratings". BoxRec. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
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straight right hand, "The Spinks Jinx", Spinks is the brother of former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks, and uncle of Cory Spinks, a former welterweight...
defeated Sixto Soria to win the gold. Spinks finished his amateur career with a record of 178–7 with 133 knockouts. Spinks debuted professionally on January...
amid promotional and marketing work. On June 27, 1988, Tyson faced MichaelSpinks. Spinks, who had taken the heavyweight championship from Larry Holmes via...
career record of 49–0 when he lost to MichaelSpinks in a 1985 upset. Holmes retired after losing a rematch to Spinks the following year but made repeated...
at both light heavyweight and heavyweight along with Roy Jones Jr., MichaelSpinks, and James Toney. Since retiring from the sport, Moorer has worked as...
Michael Alastair Spink (born April 1966) is a British property developer, a founder of SPINK, a British architectural design practice, and master builder...
Loughran, Billy Conn, Joey Maxim, Archie Moore, Michael Moorer, Bob Foster, Ann Wolfe, MichaelSpinks, Dariusz Michalczewski, Roy Jones Jr., Sergey Kovalev...
2007. Spinks is the son of former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks and nephew of former world heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks...
Sánchez killed in a car accident in Mexico City, Mexico. September 18 - MichaelSpinks knocks out Johnny Davis at 2 minutes and 27 seconds of the 9th round...
heavyweight champion had been Leon Spinks, who won the championship in his 1978 victory over Muhammad Ali. Spinks was stripped of his WBC title later...
United States Donald Trump before the fight between Mike Tyson and MichaelSpinks in 1988, and former South African President Nelson Mandela, the latter...
Spinks is a surname, and may refer to: Alfred Spinks (1917–1982), British chemist Brett Spinks (b. 1973), Australian athlete in football Charlton Spinks...
in Lima, Peru) is a retired Peruvian boxer. Rivadeneira fought with MichaelSpinks in 1983 for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight championship. He was beaten...
March 18, 1983, he lost a close but unanimous decision to WBA champion MichaelSpinks in a unification bout. Qawi felt that making the division's 175-pound...
Smothers, Peter Boyle, Alyssa Milano, John Schneider, Brooke Shields, MichaelSpinks, Lee Van Cleef, Harvey Atkin, Brian George, Art Hindle, Louis Del Grande...
Robert MichaelSpink (born 1 August 1948, in Haworth, Worth Valley, Yorkshire) is a former member of parliament (MP) for Castle Point in Essex (1992 to...
International Boxing Federation championship that was stripped from MichaelSpinks for refusing to defend it against Tony Tucker. Douglas started well...
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