Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks

Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks was a professional boxing match contested on February 15, 1978, in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight championship.

Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks

Date	February 15, 1978
Venue	Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada
Title(s) on the line	WBA, WBC, and The Ring undisputed heavyweight championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Muhammad Ali Leon Spinks Nickname "The Greatest" "Neon" Hometown Louisville, Kentucky St. Louis, Missouri Purse $3,500,000 $320,000 Pre-fight record 55–2 (37 KO) 6–0–1 (5 KO) Age 36 years 24 years, 7 months Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) Weight 224 lb (102 kg) 197 lb (89 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition WBA, WBC and The Ring undisputed Heavyweight Champion 1976 Olympic Light heavyweight Gold Medallist
Result
Spinks wins via 15-round split decision (142-143, 144-141, 145-140)

Background

After his unanimous decision victory against Earnie Shavers, Muhammad Ali decided to face 1976 Olympic Gold medalist Leon Spinks, knowing that he would have to face Ken Norton for the fourth time or lose his WBC belt, after the No. 1 ranked Norton beat No. 2 ranked Jimmy Young in a title eliminator in November 1977.

The fight

Before a sellout crowd of 5,298 that produced a gate of $756,300, The 10–1 underdog Spinks ended up winning two of the scorecards 145–140 and 144–141, while the third was 142–143 giving him a split decision win. Spinks became the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion after only eight professional bouts, and the only man ever to take a world title away from Ali in the ring, as Ali's other losses were either non-title bouts or world title fights where Ali was the challenger.

Aftermath

The bout was named The Ring magazine upset of the year.

The final round (15) was named The Ring magazine round of the year.

Sports Illustrated covered the bout, and with the historic upset put Leon Spinks on the magazine cover. Spinks was later stripped of his WBC heavyweight title on March 18, 1978, for refusing to fight No. 1 contender Norton. Instead, Spinks signed for a rematch with Ali at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. The rematch took place on September 15, 1978, for the World Boxing Association and Lineal Heavyweight Champion titles. Ali regained the title with a unanimous decision over Spinks.

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
Australia	Seven Network
Brazil	Band
Canada	CTV
France	TF1
Germany	ARD
Japan	TBS
Mexico	Televisa
Philippines	RPN 9
Spain	TVE
United Kingdom	BBC
United States	CBS

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:

Winner	Loser	Weight division/title belt(s) disputed	Result
Danny Lopez	David Kotey	WBC World Featherweight Title	6th round TKO.
Eddie Mustafa Muhammad	Jesse Burnett	Light Heavyweight (10 rounds)	10th round TKO.
Tony Chiaverini	Marcelo Quiñones	Middleweight (10 rounds)	3rd round KO.
Alan Minter	Sandy Torres	Super Middleweight (10 rounds)	5th round KO.
Michael Spinks	Tom Bethea	Light Heavyweight (8 rounds)	Unanimous decision.