Michael Spinks
Encyclopedia
Michael Spinks is a retired American
boxer
who was a world champion in the light-heavyweight and heavyweight
divisions. Nicknamed Jinx, which spawned the nickname of his right hand: The Spinks Jinx, he is the brother of former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks
, and uncle of Cory Spinks
, a former welterweight and light middleweight champion.
After compiling a 93-7 record as an amateur, Spinks won the middleweight gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics
. As a professional, he was undefeated in his first 31 fights, beating such opponents as Dwight Muhammad Qawi
, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
, Marvin Johnson
and Eddie Davis
en route to becoming undisputed world light-heavyweight champion.
Following ten successful title defences, Spinks moved up to heavyweight and as underdog beat the long-reigning IBF
heavyweight champion Larry Holmes
; in doing so, Spinks became the first reigning light-heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight title. In his final fight, Spinks was knocked out
by Mike Tyson
, the only defeat of his professional career.
Spinks is an inductee of the International Boxing Hall of Fame
and the World Boxing Hall of Fame
. The International Boxing Research Organization and Boxrec rate Spinks among the ten greatest light-heavyweights of all time.
. Spinks began with that, a 31 fight winning streak that would almost extend to the end of his career. After four more wins, Spinks finished '77 with the first fight that began a gradual ascent in opposition quality: an eight round decision over Gary Summerhays, a popular young boxer of the time.
In 1978, Spinks won two fights, including an eight round decision over former world Middleweight title challenger Tom Bethea, in the same undercard where his brother Leon dethroned Ali as world Heavyweight champion in Las Vegas.
1979 saw Spinks get less than three minutes of boxing action inside a ring, with his only fight ending in a first round knockout
of Marc Hans, but in 1980, Spinks took his ascent towards the top to another level, when he beat future world Super Middleweight champion Murray Sutherland, David Conteh and fringe contenders Ramon Ronquillo and Alvaro Yaqui Lopez (who challenged for a world title four times). Of his five wins that year, three came by knockout, Sutherland and Johnny Wilburn being the only ones who lasted the distance.
By 1981, Spinks was already a top ranked contender, and after beating former and future world Light Heavyweight champion Marvin Johnson
by a knockout in four rounds, the WBA
made Spinks their number one challenger, and so, on July 18 of that year, he met WBA's Light Heavyweight champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
, once again in Las Vegas. Spinks dropped Mustafa Muhammad in round 12 and went on to become world Light Heavyweight champion with a 15 round decision win. He defended the title once in '81, beating Vonzell Johnson by a knockout in seven.
After four successful defenses in 1982, including a knockout win in eight in a rematch with Sutherland, Spinks had become a superstar, at least in the boxing world. He began appearing on the covers of boxing magazines and boxing fans started clamoring for a unification fight with WBC
world champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi
. Tragedy struck his life, however, when in January 1983, his 24-year old wife, Sandy Massey, died in a car crash, leaving Spinks the single parent of his two-year-old daughter, Michelle.
Meanwhile, the fight all the fans wanted was being asked for by boxing critics and magazine editors, too. On March 18, two months after his wife's death, Spinks and Qawi met in a boxing ring. The fight was broadcast by HBO World Championship Boxing, and, according to the book The Ring: Boxing the 20th Century, Spinks had a very tough moment to overcome before it even started: His daughter asked him, while he was in his dressing room, if her mother would come to watch the fight. Spinks broke into tears, but soon had to recover and get into the ring, where he and Qawi fought to unify the crown. Spinks was nearly floored in round eight, but he stayed upright and won a 15 round unanimous decision to become the undisputed world Light Heavyweight champion. He defended the title one more time before the end of the year, against Oscar Rivadeneira
in Alaska
, whom he beat by a ten round knockout.
Spinks fought only once in 1984, retaining his crown with a twelve-round majority decision over Eddie Davis
. He and Qawi were only a couple of weeks away from fighting a rematch in September of that year, but that fight got called off when Qawi was injured during training.
In 1985, Spinks beat David Sears and Jim McDonald, both by knockout, in title defenses, before challenging Larry Holmes
for the world's Heavyweight championship in a fight recognized by the IBF
. Holmes was trying to tie Rocky Marciano
's record of 49-0 as the Heavyweight champion, but it was Spinks who made history that night, winning a fifteen-round unanimous decision and becoming the first world Light Heavyweight champion ever to win the world Heavyweight title. His victory over Larry Holmes
was named Ring Magazine Upset of the Year. With this, Michael and Leon had also become the first pair of brothers ever to be world Heavyweight champions, followed by Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko.
In 1986, Spinks and Holmes fought a rematch, and had nearly the same result, this time Spinks winning by a 15 round split decision. After that, he retained the world Heavyweight championship once again, by a knockout in four against Steffen Tangstad
. In 1987 he was stripped of the crown by the IBF for refusing to fight their mandatory challenger, Tony Tucker
, and accepting a higher offer to fight Gerry Cooney
in a non title bout instead. Spinks knocked out Cooney in five rounds, and after Mike Tyson
had unified the Heavyweight belts, fans started clamoring for a fight between them as many still recognized Spinks as the legitimate champion. The fight
took place in June 1988, with Tyson knocking Spinks down twice on his way to a first round knockout. Tyson was the only one to floor Spinks. It would be Spinks' first defeat in the professional ring, as well as his last as he retired following the fight.
Spinks had a record of 31 wins, 1 loss and 21 wins by knockout as a professional.
In addition to his success as a heavyweight, Spinks is generally considered one of the greatest light heavyweight champions and fighters in the history of the weight class.
On Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time, Spinks was ranked 42nd.
On Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years, released in 2002, Spinks ranked 41st.
Otherwise, he remains pretty much out of the public eye, although Ken Hissner reported that, “In October of 2007 he was introduced into the ring at the Legendary Blue Horizon in Philadelphia. He seemed quite at home in the ring waving and talking to the fans.
East Side Boxing said in its tribute to Spinks, “Michael Spinks went undefeated fighting during the deepest era in Light Heavyweight history. And he beat the real heavyweight champion to win the title, who was also undefeated. Michael Spinks is the most accomplished light heavyweight champion in history.”
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|31 Wins (21 knockouts, 10 decisions), 1 Losses (1 KO)
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Res.
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponent
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Rd., Time
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes
|- align=center
|Loss
|Mike Tyson
|KO
|1
|1988-06-27
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Gerry Cooney
|TKO
|5
|1987-06-15
|align=left| United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Steffen Tangstad
|TKO
|4
|1986-09-06
|align=left| United States Las Vegas, NV, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Larry Holmes
|Decision
|15
|1986-04-19
|align=left| United States Las Vegas, NV, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Larry Holmes
|Decision
|15
|1985-09-21
|align=left| United States Las Vegas, NV, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Jim MacDonald
|TKO
|8
|1985-06-06
|align=left| United States Las Vegas, NV, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|David Sears
|TKO
|3
|1985-02-23
|align=left| United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Eddie Davis
|Decision
|12
|1984-02-25
|align=left| United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Oscar Rivadeneyra
|TKO
|10
|1983-11-25
|align=left|
Canada Vancouver
, Canada
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Dwight Muhammad Qawi
|Decision
|15
|1983-03-18
|align=left| United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Johnny Davis
|TKO
|9
|1982-09-18
|align=left| United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Jerry Celestine
|TKO
|8
|1982-06-12
|align=left| United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Murray Sutherland
|TKO
|8
|1982-04-11
|align=left| United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Mustafa Wassaja
|KO
|6
|1982-02-13
|align=left| United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Vonzell Johnson
|KO
|7
|1981-11-07
|align=left| United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
|Decision
|15
|1981-07-18
|align=left| United States Las Vegas
, NV, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Marvin Johnson
|KO
|4
|1981-03-28
|align=left| United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Willie Taylor
|TKO
|8
|1981-01-24
|align=left| United States Philadelphia, PA
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Yaqui Lopez
|TKO
|7
|1980-10-18
|align=left| United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|David Conteh
|KO
|9
|1980-08-02
|align=left| United States Baton Rouge, LA
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Murray Sutherland
|Decision
|10
|1980-05-04
|align=left| United States New York, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Ramon Ranquello
|TKO
|6
|1980-02-24
|align=left| United States Atlantic City, NJ
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Johnny Wilburn
|Decision
|8
|1980-02-01
|align=left| United States Louisville
, KT
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Marc Hans
|TKO
|1
|1979-11-24
|align=left| United States Bloomington, MN, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Eddie Phillips
|KO
|4
|1978-12-15
|align=left| United States New York, NY, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Tom Bethea
|Decision
|8
|1978-02-15
|align=left| United States Las Vegas, NV, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Gary Summerhays
|Decision
|8
|1977-10-22
|align=left| United States Las Vegas, NV, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Ray Elson
|KO
|1
|1977-09-13
|align=left| United States Los Angeles
, CA
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Jasper Brisbane
|TKO
|1
|1977-08-23
|align=left| United States Philadelphia, PA
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Joe Borden
|KO
|2
|1977-06-01
|align=left| Canada Montreal
, Canada
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Luis Rodriguez
|Decision
|6
|1977-05-07
|align=left| United States St Louis, MO
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Eddie Benson
|KO
|1
|1977-04-16
|align=left| United States Las Vegas, NV, USA
|
From Mt Scott Community Center in Portland, Oregon.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who was a world champion in the light-heavyweight and heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
divisions. Nicknamed Jinx, which spawned the nickname of his right hand: The Spinks Jinx, he is the brother of former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks
Leon Spinks
Leon Spinks is a former American boxer. He had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins, and was the former World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association heavyweight champion of the world...
, and uncle of Cory Spinks
Cory Spinks
Corey Spinks is a professional boxer. He is a former IBF Light middleweight champion, and a former Undisputed Welterweight Champion....
, a former welterweight and light middleweight champion.
After compiling a 93-7 record as an amateur, Spinks won the middleweight gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
. As a professional, he was undefeated in his first 31 fights, beating such opponents as Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi is a former world boxing champion in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions...
, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
Eddie Mustafa Muhammad is a retired American boxer.- Amateur career :Boxing under his birth name, Eddie Gregory, Muhammad won two New York Golden Gloves Championships. Gregory won both the 1971 and the 1972 New York Golden Gloves 147 lb Open Championships...
, Marvin Johnson
Marvin Johnson
Marvin Johnson is a former boxer from the United States, who fought in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, winning a bronze medal, and made his way up the professional ranks in the light heavyweight division soon thereafter...
and Eddie Davis
Eddie Davis (boxer)
Eddie Davis was a professional light heavyweight boxer. Overall, he compiled a record of 34 wins , 6 losses, and 1 draw....
en route to becoming undisputed world light-heavyweight champion.
Following ten successful title defences, Spinks moved up to heavyweight and as underdog beat the long-reigning IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
heavyweight champion Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
; in doing so, Spinks became the first reigning light-heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight title. In his final fight, Spinks was knocked out
Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks
Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks was a boxing match which took place on 27 June 1988. Both men were undefeated and each had a claim to being the legitimate heavyweight champion; Tyson held the WBA, WBC and IBF belts, while Spinks held the Ring Magazine belt and was considered the lineal champion.Held...
by Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
, the only defeat of his professional career.
Spinks is an inductee of the International Boxing Hall of Fame
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
and the World Boxing Hall of Fame
World Boxing Hall of Fame
The World Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Riverside, California, United States, in Southern California. The WBHF is one of two recognized international boxing halls of fame with the other being the International Boxing Hall of Fame , with the IBHOF being the more widely recognized...
. The International Boxing Research Organization and Boxrec rate Spinks among the ten greatest light-heavyweights of all time.
Professional career
Spinks then turned professional with a win over Eddie Benson, knocked out in one round on April 17 of 1977 in Las VegasLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. Spinks began with that, a 31 fight winning streak that would almost extend to the end of his career. After four more wins, Spinks finished '77 with the first fight that began a gradual ascent in opposition quality: an eight round decision over Gary Summerhays, a popular young boxer of the time.
In 1978, Spinks won two fights, including an eight round decision over former world Middleweight title challenger Tom Bethea, in the same undercard where his brother Leon dethroned Ali as world Heavyweight champion in Las Vegas.
1979 saw Spinks get less than three minutes of boxing action inside a ring, with his only fight ending in a first round knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
of Marc Hans, but in 1980, Spinks took his ascent towards the top to another level, when he beat future world Super Middleweight champion Murray Sutherland, David Conteh and fringe contenders Ramon Ronquillo and Alvaro Yaqui Lopez (who challenged for a world title four times). Of his five wins that year, three came by knockout, Sutherland and Johnny Wilburn being the only ones who lasted the distance.
By 1981, Spinks was already a top ranked contender, and after beating former and future world Light Heavyweight champion Marvin Johnson
Marvin Johnson
Marvin Johnson is a former boxer from the United States, who fought in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, winning a bronze medal, and made his way up the professional ranks in the light heavyweight division soon thereafter...
by a knockout in four rounds, the WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
made Spinks their number one challenger, and so, on July 18 of that year, he met WBA's Light Heavyweight champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
Eddie Mustafa Muhammad is a retired American boxer.- Amateur career :Boxing under his birth name, Eddie Gregory, Muhammad won two New York Golden Gloves Championships. Gregory won both the 1971 and the 1972 New York Golden Gloves 147 lb Open Championships...
, once again in Las Vegas. Spinks dropped Mustafa Muhammad in round 12 and went on to become world Light Heavyweight champion with a 15 round decision win. He defended the title once in '81, beating Vonzell Johnson by a knockout in seven.
After four successful defenses in 1982, including a knockout win in eight in a rematch with Sutherland, Spinks had become a superstar, at least in the boxing world. He began appearing on the covers of boxing magazines and boxing fans started clamoring for a unification fight with WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
world champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi is a former world boxing champion in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions...
. Tragedy struck his life, however, when in January 1983, his 24-year old wife, Sandy Massey, died in a car crash, leaving Spinks the single parent of his two-year-old daughter, Michelle.
Meanwhile, the fight all the fans wanted was being asked for by boxing critics and magazine editors, too. On March 18, two months after his wife's death, Spinks and Qawi met in a boxing ring. The fight was broadcast by HBO World Championship Boxing, and, according to the book The Ring: Boxing the 20th Century, Spinks had a very tough moment to overcome before it even started: His daughter asked him, while he was in his dressing room, if her mother would come to watch the fight. Spinks broke into tears, but soon had to recover and get into the ring, where he and Qawi fought to unify the crown. Spinks was nearly floored in round eight, but he stayed upright and won a 15 round unanimous decision to become the undisputed world Light Heavyweight champion. He defended the title one more time before the end of the year, against Oscar Rivadeneira
Oscar Rivadeneira
Oscar Rivadeneira was a Peruvian boxer, who fought with Michael Spinks in 1983 for the Light Heavyweight championship. He was beaten in a tenth round knockout.-References:...
in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, whom he beat by a ten round knockout.
Spinks fought only once in 1984, retaining his crown with a twelve-round majority decision over Eddie Davis
Eddie Davis (boxer)
Eddie Davis was a professional light heavyweight boxer. Overall, he compiled a record of 34 wins , 6 losses, and 1 draw....
. He and Qawi were only a couple of weeks away from fighting a rematch in September of that year, but that fight got called off when Qawi was injured during training.
In 1985, Spinks beat David Sears and Jim McDonald, both by knockout, in title defenses, before challenging Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
for the world's Heavyweight championship in a fight recognized by the IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
. Holmes was trying to tie Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano , born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, was an American boxer and the heavyweight champion of the world from September 23, 1952, to April 27, 1956. Marciano is the only champion to hold the heavyweight title and go undefeated throughout his career. Marciano defended his title six times...
's record of 49-0 as the Heavyweight champion, but it was Spinks who made history that night, winning a fifteen-round unanimous decision and becoming the first world Light Heavyweight champion ever to win the world Heavyweight title. His victory over Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
was named Ring Magazine Upset of the Year. With this, Michael and Leon had also become the first pair of brothers ever to be world Heavyweight champions, followed by Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko.
In 1986, Spinks and Holmes fought a rematch, and had nearly the same result, this time Spinks winning by a 15 round split decision. After that, he retained the world Heavyweight championship once again, by a knockout in four against Steffen Tangstad
Steffen Tangstad
Steffen Tangstad is a Norwegian retired professional boxer and two time European Heavyweight Champion.Tangstad fought Michael Spinks for the IBF Heavyweight title on 6 September 1986, losing as a result of a fourth round knock out....
. In 1987 he was stripped of the crown by the IBF for refusing to fight their mandatory challenger, Tony Tucker
Tony Tucker
Tony Craig Tucker is a retired professional heavyweight boxer. Tucker fought professionally from 1980 to 1998. Nicknamed "TNT," he won a gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games, and was briefly a world heavyweight champion as a professional.-Amateur career:Tucker had a notable amateur career,...
, and accepting a higher offer to fight Gerry Cooney
Gerry Cooney
Gerry Cooney is a retired Irish-American professional boxer from Huntington, New York best known for his loss to Larry Holmes and defeat of aging ex-champion/contender Ken Norton.-Life before boxing:...
in a non title bout instead. Spinks knocked out Cooney in five rounds, and after Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
had unified the Heavyweight belts, fans started clamoring for a fight between them as many still recognized Spinks as the legitimate champion. The fight
Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks
Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks was a boxing match which took place on 27 June 1988. Both men were undefeated and each had a claim to being the legitimate heavyweight champion; Tyson held the WBA, WBC and IBF belts, while Spinks held the Ring Magazine belt and was considered the lineal champion.Held...
took place in June 1988, with Tyson knocking Spinks down twice on his way to a first round knockout. Tyson was the only one to floor Spinks. It would be Spinks' first defeat in the professional ring, as well as his last as he retired following the fight.
Spinks had a record of 31 wins, 1 loss and 21 wins by knockout as a professional.
In addition to his success as a heavyweight, Spinks is generally considered one of the greatest light heavyweight champions and fighters in the history of the weight class.
On Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time, Spinks was ranked 42nd.
On Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years, released in 2002, Spinks ranked 41st.
Otherwise, he remains pretty much out of the public eye, although Ken Hissner reported that, “In October of 2007 he was introduced into the ring at the Legendary Blue Horizon in Philadelphia. He seemed quite at home in the ring waving and talking to the fans.
East Side Boxing said in its tribute to Spinks, “Michael Spinks went undefeated fighting during the deepest era in Light Heavyweight history. And he beat the real heavyweight champion to win the title, who was also undefeated. Michael Spinks is the most accomplished light heavyweight champion in history.”
Professional boxing record
|-| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|31 Wins (21 knockouts, 10 decisions), 1 Losses (1 KO)
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Res.
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponent
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Rd., Time
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes
|- align=center
|Loss
|Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
|KO
Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks
Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks was a boxing match which took place on 27 June 1988. Both men were undefeated and each had a claim to being the legitimate heavyweight champion; Tyson held the WBA, WBC and IBF belts, while Spinks held the Ring Magazine belt and was considered the lineal champion.Held...
|1
|1988-06-27
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Gerry Cooney
Gerry Cooney
Gerry Cooney is a retired Irish-American professional boxer from Huntington, New York best known for his loss to Larry Holmes and defeat of aging ex-champion/contender Ken Norton.-Life before boxing:...
|TKO
|5
|1987-06-15
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Steffen Tangstad
Steffen Tangstad
Steffen Tangstad is a Norwegian retired professional boxer and two time European Heavyweight Champion.Tangstad fought Michael Spinks for the IBF Heavyweight title on 6 September 1986, losing as a result of a fourth round knock out....
|TKO
|4
|1986-09-06
|align=left|
United States Las Vegas, NV, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
|Decision
|15
|1986-04-19
|align=left|
United States Las Vegas, NV, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
|Decision
|15
|1985-09-21
|align=left|
United States Las Vegas, NV, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Jim MacDonald
|TKO
|8
|1985-06-06
|align=left|
United States Las Vegas, NV, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|David Sears
|TKO
|3
|1985-02-23
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Eddie Davis
Eddie Davis (boxer)
Eddie Davis was a professional light heavyweight boxer. Overall, he compiled a record of 34 wins , 6 losses, and 1 draw....
|Decision
|12
|1984-02-25
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Oscar Rivadeneyra
|TKO
|10
|1983-11-25
|align=left|
Canada VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi is a former world boxing champion in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions...
|Decision
|15
|1983-03-18
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Johnny Davis
|TKO
|9
|1982-09-18
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Jerry Celestine
|TKO
|8
|1982-06-12
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Murray Sutherland
Murray Sutherland
Murray Sutherland was a Scottish boxer in the middleweight division.Murry Sutherland turned professional in 1977 and in 1981 challenged WBC Light Heavyweight Title holder Matthew Saad Muhammad, but lost by KO in the 9th round. Matthew Saad Muhammad was later quoted as saying that Sutherland was...
|TKO
|8
|1982-04-11
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Mustafa Wassaja
|KO
|6
|1982-02-13
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Vonzell Johnson
|KO
|7
|1981-11-07
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
Eddie Mustafa Muhammad is a retired American boxer.- Amateur career :Boxing under his birth name, Eddie Gregory, Muhammad won two New York Golden Gloves Championships. Gregory won both the 1971 and the 1972 New York Golden Gloves 147 lb Open Championships...
|Decision
|15
|1981-07-18
|align=left|
United States Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, NV, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Marvin Johnson
Marvin Johnson
Marvin Johnson is a former boxer from the United States, who fought in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, winning a bronze medal, and made his way up the professional ranks in the light heavyweight division soon thereafter...
|KO
|4
|1981-03-28
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Willie Taylor
Willie Taylor
Willie Taylor, , is an American singer and song writer. He is best known as a contestant from MTV's Making the Band 4, where he was chosen by Diddy to be a member and one of the main vocalists of the band Day26 on August 26, 2007.-Early life:Taylor is formerly a member of the Chicago-based group...
|TKO
|8
|1981-01-24
|align=left|
United States Philadelphia, PAPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Yaqui Lopez
|TKO
|7
|1980-10-18
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJ, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|David Conteh
|KO
|9
|1980-08-02
|align=left|
United States Baton Rouge, LALouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Murray Sutherland
Murray Sutherland
Murray Sutherland was a Scottish boxer in the middleweight division.Murry Sutherland turned professional in 1977 and in 1981 challenged WBC Light Heavyweight Title holder Matthew Saad Muhammad, but lost by KO in the 9th round. Matthew Saad Muhammad was later quoted as saying that Sutherland was...
|Decision
|10
|1980-05-04
|align=left|
United States New York, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Ramon Ranquello
|TKO
|6
|1980-02-24
|align=left|
United States Atlantic City, NJNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Johnny Wilburn
|Decision
|8
|1980-02-01
|align=left|
United States LouisvilleLouisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, KT
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Marc Hans
|TKO
|1
|1979-11-24
|align=left|
United States Bloomington, MN, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Eddie Phillips
|KO
|4
|1978-12-15
|align=left|
United States New York, NY, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Tom Bethea
|Decision
|8
|1978-02-15
|align=left|
United States Las Vegas, NV, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Gary Summerhays
|Decision
|8
|1977-10-22
|align=left|
United States Las Vegas, NV, USA|
|- align=center
|Win
|Ray Elson
|KO
|1
|1977-09-13
|align=left|
United States Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, CA
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Jasper Brisbane
|TKO
|1
|1977-08-23
|align=left|
United States Philadelphia, PAPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Joe Borden
|KO
|2
|1977-06-01
|align=left|
Canada MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Luis Rodriguez
|Decision
|6
|1977-05-07
|align=left|
United States St Louis, MOMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, USA
|
|- align=center
|Win
|Eddie Benson
|KO
|1
|1977-04-16
|align=left|
United States Las Vegas, NV, USA|
Amateur Highlights
- Compiled an amateur record of 100-0 (95 KO)
- Won the 1974 Light Middleweight (156 lb.) National Golden Gloves Championship.
- Won the 1976 Middleweight (165 lb.) National Golden Gloves Championship in Miami, Florida.
- Won the Middleweight Gold Medal for the United States at the 1976 Olympic GamesOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
in Montreal, Canada. Results were:- Defeated Jean-Marie Emebe (Cameroon) forfeit
- Defeated Ryszard Pasiewicz (Poland) points
- Defeated Alec NăstacAlec NastacAlec Năstac is a retired boxer from Romania, who represented his native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. There he won the bronze medal in the middleweight division after being defeated in the semifinals by eventual winner Michael Spinks of the United States...
(Romania) forfeit - Defeated Rufat RiskiyevRufat RiskiyevRufat Asadovich Riskiyev is a retired boxer, who represented the USSR at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. There he won the silver medal in the middleweight division...
(Soviet Union) TKO 3
- Made it to the finals of the 1975 National AAU, losing to Tommy Brooks
From Mt Scott Community Center in Portland, Oregon.