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Sports Heroes Who Served: Former Marine Dethroned Muhammad Ali

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Sports Heroes Who Served is a series that highlights the accomplishments of athletes who served in the U.S. military.

In 1974, during his 1973-1976 service in the Marine Corps, Leon Spinks earned a bronze medal in the light heavyweight division at the inaugural World Amateur Boxing Championships in Havana. 

Men box during boxing match.
Spinks vs Kipping
Leon Spinks, left, boxes in a match with Ray Kipping in Maryland Heights, Md., June 19, 1995. Spinks won in the eighth round.
Photo By: Courtesy of John Mena
VIRIN: 950619-O-ZZ999-002

He then won the 1975 Amateur Athletic Union title and was runner-up in the finals of the 1975 Pan American Games. In 1976, he clinched the gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the Olympic Games in Montreal. 

Spinks gained the reputation of being one of the best amateur boxers in the world by registering 133 knockouts over a three-year period.

When he enlisted in the Marine Corps, boot camp was 13 weeks long. However, he remained in boot camp for six months at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California, because he was said to have had trouble adjusting to military structure.

But he and his drill instructors persevered, and Spinks finally graduated from Platoon 3090 in December 1973. He then joined the All-Marine boxing team at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, which was a good fit for his tremendous talent, energy and drive.

Graduation photo.
Graduation Photo
Pvt. Leon Spinks, top row, fourth from right, graduated from boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, Calif., Dec. 12, 1973.
Photo By: Courtesy of David Bearden
VIRIN: 731212-O-ZZ999-001C
Marines pose for a graduation photo.
Spinks Graduation
Pvt. Leon Spinks, top row, second from left, graduating from boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Dec. 12, 1973.
Photo By: Courtesy of David Bearden
VIRIN: 731212-O-ZZ999-002C

When Spinks stepped into the boxing ring at Camp Lejeune for the first time, Marine Corps assistant coach J.C. Davis, who became the first African American Marine Corps boxing coach in 1967, immediately knew he had an incredibly talented young man. Within just 15 seconds, Spinks knocked out his opponent.

"I mean Leon did that combination — boom, boom — and this guy was out," Davis said then. "I looked at the time, and I looked at [the head coach], and I said, 'S---, we've got a champion.'"

Marine Corps Sgt. Terry Jamerson, stationed at Camp Lejeune in 1976, watched Spinks spar at the gym. After Spinks knocked out his sparring partner, "he looked at me and said, 'Would you spar with me? You look big enough,'" Jamerson said. "I told him that I am not an idiot and would only watch. I got his autograph that day."

Leon Spinks autograph.
Spinks Autograph
Marine Corps Sgt. Terry Jamerson watched Marine Corps Cpl. Leon Spinks spar at the gym at Camp Lejeune, N.C., after Spinks earned a gold medal in the Olympics that year. Jamerson found a piece of cardboard and got Spinks’ autograph,.
Photo By: Courtesy of Terry Jamerson
VIRIN: 760808-O-ZZ999-001C

On Feb. 15, 1978, in Las Vegas, in one of boxing's greatest upsets, Spinks won a split decision over heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali after going 15 rounds. Spinks became the heavyweight champion after only eight professional bouts, and he was the only man ever to take a world title away from Ali in the ring, as Ali's other losses were either in nontitle bouts or in world title fights where Ali was the challenger.

On Sept. 15, 1978, Ali regained his title in a rematch.

Spinks is a 2016 All-Marine Boxing Hall of Fame member. He was also inducted into the Jacksonville-Onslow Sports Commission Hall of Fame in Jacksonville, North Carolina, April 12, 2018.

Retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Ronald L. Bailey attended the 2018 induction and watched his friend get inducted. 

Boxer takes boxing stance.
Leon Spinks
Leon Spinks takes a stance in the ring during a match with Ray Kipping in Maryland Heights, Md., June 19, 1995. Spinks won in the eighth round.
Photo By: Courtesy of John Mena
VIRIN: 950619-O-ZZ999-001C
Men box during boxing match.
Fighter's Stance
Leon Spinks, left, boxes with Ray Kipping in Maryland Heights, Md., June 19, 1995. Spinks won in the eighth round.
Photo By: Courtesy of John Mena
VIRIN: 950619-O-ZZ999-003C

"First thing that I want to say is that several years ago we inducted Leon into the Hall of Fame of the Marine Corps," Bailey said. "One of the things that I remember him saying is that 'I may not have been the best in certain aspects of the sport, but I was a Marine.' He never lost sight of his foundation and how he came up in the Marine Corps. Leon is still a character, and he is still a massive man with his hands and shoulders."

Bailey said he admired the grit and determination that Spinks had in the ring.

"I could only imagine what it was like to be hit by him. Glad he was on our team," he said. "I saw him numerous times fight, and he had something called the Spinks Jinx. He got into his boxing stance and double stomped his front foot, distracting his opponent. They would look and then his overhand right punch would hit them with the left hook taking them down. He had this unorthodox way of bouncing forward that would throw you off in the ring. There are a lot of world class boxers that represented the Marine Corps."

Man smiles at lectern while standing in front of a woman and beside a man.
Hall of Fame
Leon Spinks, center, with his wife, Barbara standing behind him. accepts his nomination into the Jacksonville-Onslow Sports Commission Hall of Fame next to Michael Cline in Jacksonville, N.C., April 12, 2018.
Photo By: Matthew Sokol, Marine Corps
VIRIN: 180412-O-ZZ999-001

The late Ken Norton, inducted in 2018 to the All-Marine Boxing 2018 Hall of Fame, maintained a strong friendship with Spinks after their boxing careers. Norton also defeated Ali and reigned as the World Boxing Council's heavyweight champion.

Spinks' brother, Michael Spinks, won a gold medal in the middleweight competition during the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Both were inducted in the 2017 Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.

The All-Marine Boxing Team was disbanded in October 2012, due to a change to the USA Boxing rule at the time that removed headgear during bouts.

(Matthew Sokol, sports writer for the Camp Lejeune "Globe" newspaper, contributed to this article.)

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