SPORTSCLOPEDIA 35: LEON SPINKS SCORED A GREAT UPSET OVER MUHAMMAD ALI ON FEBRUARY 15, 1978
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 16 Feb 2023
Muhammad Ali fought Leon Spinks on February 15, 1978, that's 45 years ago, in Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, for the WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight championship.
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Ali was from Louisville, Kentucky, while Spinks was from St. Louis, Missouri. Ali had a purse of $3,500,000 compared to Spinks' which was too little at $320,000.
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The pre-fight record for Ali was 55–2 (37 KOs) and for Spinks, it was only his 8th fight at pro record of 6–0–1 (5 KOs). Ali was 36-years-old while Spinks was only 24-years-old.
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Ali was taller at 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) while Spinks stood at 6 ft 1 in (185 cm). Ali tipped the scales at 224 lb and Spinks a lighter 197 lb. Both were orthodox fighters.
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The crowd was a sellout of 5,298 with a gate revenue of $756,300. Spinks was a 10–1 underdog but ended up winning two of the scorecards with Lou Tabat scoring it 145-140 and Harold Buck 144–141. The third Art Lurie had it 143-142 for Ali, giving Spinks a split decision win.
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Spinks became the undisputed world heavyweight champion in only his eighth professional bout, and the only man ever to take a world title away from Ali atop the ring. Ali's other losses were either non-title bouts or world title fights where he was the challenger.
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The bout was named The Ring magazine upset of the year. The final round, the 15th round, was named The Ring magazine round of the year.
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The fight aired live on CBS and drew more than 70 million viewers. CBS paid $3.8 million to televise the bout.
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Compubox Scores:
Jabs Landed/Thrown (Percent)
Spinks 107/344 (31.1%)
Ali 109/428 (25.5%)
Power PunchesLanded/Thrown (Percent)
Spinks 312/599(52.1%)
Ali 145/346 (41.9%)
Total PunchesLanded/Thrown (Percent)
Spinks 419/943(44.4%)
Ali 254/774 (32.8%)
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All three official judges and the Associated Press scored the last three rounds for Spinks. The AP had Ali winning the fight at 143-142.
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After the fight, Spinks praised Ali, saying, “He’s still the greatest, I’m just the latest.”
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Sports Illustrated with the historic upset featured Leon Spinks on the magazine cover. Spinks was later stripped of his WBC heavyweight title on March 18, 1978 for refusing to fight the No. 1 WBC contender Ken Norton. Instead, Spinks agreed to a rematch with Ali
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The rematch happened on September 15, 1978, for the World Boxing Association and lineal heavyweight championship at the Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans. Ali regained the title with a unanimous decision win over Spinks.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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