Which former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion won his first 48 fights before losing to Michael Spinks in 1985?
"was world champion when Ali returned. Former world champions Jimmy Ellis and Floyd Patterson as well as George Foreman, Oscar Bonavena, Jerry Quarry, Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks, Ken Norton, as well as Larry Holmes, Ron Stander, Chuck Wepner, Jose King Roman, Light Heavyweight champ Foster, John Tate, Jimmy Young, Ron Lyle, Joe Bugner, Scott LeDoux and many others added intrigue to the division. Don King surged as a leading boxing promoter, and champions Duran, Monzon and Ali had historic rivalries with Esteban De Jesús, Rodrigo Valdez and Frazier, respectively. Boxing in the 1970s During the 1970s, boxing was characterized by"
"incur significant taxes and penalties in order to meet these obligations,"" the boxer's lawyers added in the filings. Spinks asked that the court bar Johnson and Williams from transferring any further assets from Lewis's estate until there can be a full accounting and payments to Spinks are resumed. Michael Spinks Michael Spinks (born July 13, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the undisputed light heavyweight title from 1983 to 1985, and the lineal heavyweight title from 1985 to 1988. As an amateur he won a"
"Michael Spinks Michael Spinks (born July 13, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988. He is a two-weight world champion, having held 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 right hand, ""The Spinks Jinx"", Spinks is the brother of former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks, and uncle of Cory Spinks, a former welterweight and light middleweight champion. After"
"2012 with shrinkage in his brain, which doctors said was likely caused by punches he took during his career. Spinks and his wife Brenda moved to Las Vegas in 2011. Spinks was hospitalized twice in 2014 in a Las Vegas hospital for surgery due to abdominal problems, from which he recovered. Leon Spinks Leon Spinks (born July 11, 1953) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1995. In only his eighth professional fight, he won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978 after defeating Muhammad Ali in a split decision, in what was considered one of the"
"Leon Spinks Leon Spinks (born July 11, 1953) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1995. In only his eighth professional fight, he won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978 after defeating Muhammad Ali in a split decision, in what was considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. Spinks was later stripped of the WBC title for facing Ali in an unapproved rematch seven months later, which he lost by unanimous decision. Besides being heavyweight champion and his characteristic gap-toothed grin (due to losing two and later all four of his front teeth), Spinks"
"heavyweight championship from Larry Holmes via fifteen round decision in 1985, had not lost his title in the ring but was not recognized as champion by the major boxing organizations. Holmes had previously given up all but the IBF title, and that was eventually stripped from Spinks after he elected to fight Gerry Cooney (winning by TKO in the fifth round) rather than IBF Number 1 Contender Tony Tucker, as the Cooney fight provided him a larger purse. However, Spinks did become the lineal champion by beating Holmes and many (including ""Ring"" magazine) considered him to have a legitimate claim"
"Loren Ross Loren ""The Boss"" Ross (September 18, 1964 – July 31, 2013) in Nashville, Tennessee) is a former professional heavyweight boxer. Ross won the 1984, 1985, and 1986 United States Amateur Light Heavyweight Championships. This feat was also accomplished by future Heavyweight Champions Cassius Clay known better as Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks. Spinks, while serving in the United States Marine Corps won three consecutive United States Amateur Light Heavyweight Championships '74, '75 and '76. Lost to Pablo Romero (Cuba) at the World Amateur Championships in 1986 (4-1) for the 178 pound title. Ross had a professional record of"
"world heavyweight and world light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks. Boxing carefully, with constant sharp counters, Spinks knocked him out in round 5. Cooney's last fight was in 1990. He was knocked out in a match of the veterans in two slugging rounds by former world champion George Foreman. Cooney did stagger Foreman in the first round, but he was over-matched, and Foreman knocked him out two minutes into the second round. The losses to Holmes, Spinks, and Foreman exposed Cooney's Achilles' heel: his inability to clinch and tie up his opponent when hurt. In the Foreman fight, he rose from"
"set for September 27 of 1984, but it was cancelled after Qawi was injured during training, three weeks before the fight. Spinks went on to become the first world light heavyweight champion in boxing history to go up in weight and win the world heavyweight title. Qawi, for his part, went up to the cruiserweight division, where he reigned as WBA world champion from 1985 to 1986. Both fighters are now members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Confirmed bouts: Michael Spinks vs. Dwight Muhammad Qawi Michael Spinks vs. Dwight Muhammad Qawi, billed as ""The Brawl for it All"","
"and narrow fifteen-round unanimous decision and becoming the first ever world light-heavyweight champion to win the world heavyweight title. His controversial victory over 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 two decades later by Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. In 1986, Spinks and Holmes fought a rematch as part of the heavyweight unification series, 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,"
"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 IBF 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"
"the distinction until the Klitschko brothers became champions two decades later. In the 1980s Leon Spinks competed in several boxer vs. wrestler matches in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), including losing by submission to Antonio Inoki. In 1986 Spinks earned his last championship opportunity, fighting Dwight Muhammad Qawi for the WBA cruiserweight championship. Qawi had been defeated by Michael Spinks three years earlier for his WBC light heavyweight championship. However, Leon Spinks lost by TKO in the sixth round. During the fight, Qawi taunted Spinks as he beat him mercilessly in a corner. Spinks boxed for another eight years with mixed"
"two of his first three comeback fights, but then won his next five, including a win over 18-0 Brian Minto. His last fight was a six-round unanimous decision over clubfighter Adam Smith on November 4, 2006. Tubbs was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame on June 25, 2011 in Studio City, CA. Tubbs attended the induction with his family, mother and children. Tony Tubbs Tony Tubbs (born February 15, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1997 and 2002 to 2006, and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1985 to 1986. As an"
"Heavyweight unification series The heavyweight unification series, also known as the Heavyweight World Series, was a sequence of professional boxing matches held in 1986 and 1987 to crown an undisputed champion of the heavyweight class. The series was produced by HBO Sports and promoted by Don King. It ended with Mike Tyson as undisputed champion, holding the championship belts of the International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Association, and World Boxing Council. Prior to the series, the last undisputed heavyweight champion had been Leon Spinks, who won the championship in his 1978 victory over Muhammad Ali. Spinks had been stripped of"
"Following the unification series, there were ongoing calls for Tyson and Spinks to fight, to erase any doubt about the identity of the ""true"" champion. In June 1988, the two champions faced off, and Tyson knocked out Spinks in 91 seconds. Tyson held on to his titles until February 1990, when he was knocked out by Buster Douglas. The titles remained unified until December 1992, when undisputed champion Riddick Bowe relinquished his WBC title. Heavyweight unification series The heavyweight unification series, also known as the Heavyweight World Series, was a sequence of professional boxing matches held in 1986 and 1987"
"results. In 1994 he lost a bout by KO to John Carlo, the first time a former heavyweight champion had lost to a boxer making his pro debut (promoter Charles Farrell later admitted to falsifying Carlo's record in order to get the fight sanctioned by the District of Columbia). Spinks retired at age 42, after losing an 8-round decision to Fred Houpe in 1995, who was coming off a seventeen-year hiatus. During the 1990s, Spinks worked for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, winning its world title in 1992, making him the only man to hold titles in both boxing and wrestling. In"
"Darrell Spinks Darrell Spinks (born July 24, 1973) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.) is an American former professional boxer. Spinks was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, one of three sons his father Leon Spinks had with Zadie Mae Calvin (whom he never married). Darrell had a total of 4 siblings. His older brother Leon Calvin was shot to death in 1990. Darrell Spinks is the son of former heavyweight champion of the world Leon Spinks and the nephew of former light heavyweight and heavyweight world champion Michael Spinks. Darrell's younger brother Cory Spinks is a former welterweight champion. Spinks won his"
"Tony Tubbs Tony Tubbs (born February 15, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1997 and 2002 to 2006, and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1985 to 1986. As an amateur, Tony Tubbs competed in 253 bouts, compiling a record of 240 wins and 13 losses—primarily in the heavyweight division. In a 1976 match between the USSR and the United States, Tubbs lost by knockout in the second round to future Soviet Heavyweight Champion Igor Vysotsky. In 1978 Tubbs lost in the quarterfinals of the world Cup to Cuban boxer Teofilo Stevenson. Tubbs was"
"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 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 lineal champion. The fight between Spinks and Mike Tyson took place in June 1988, with Tyson knocking Spinks down twice on his way to a first-round knockout. Tyson was the"
"first bout by unanimous decision on March 6, 1995 against Earl Abernathy. His most significant win was a unanimous decision over Troy Weaver for the WBO NABO light heavyweight title on October 1, 1999. It was one of the only two professional fights Spinks won against fighters with winning records. He also lost bouts for the IBA Continental Americas Cruiserweight title and the NABF light heavyweight title. His last bout was a split decision loss against Eric Davis on February 18, 2000. Darrell Spinks Darrell Spinks (born July 24, 1973) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.) is an American former professional boxer."
"Gerry Cooney Gerald Arthur Cooney (born August 4, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1990. Despite his relative inexperience, Cooney's exciting wins and size, aided by expert promotion, gained him a lucrative bout with world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes in 1982. Cooney performed credibly before his corner retired him in round 13, and was regarded as having made a brave and determined effort. The view of him as tactically naive in defense was reinforced when former light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks stopped Cooney in five rounds in 1987. In his final bout, Cooney demonstrated"
"former boxing champion Leon Spinks in a cage match on May 24, which earned a rapid rise in popularity and stardom to Onita for having beaten a famous celebrity. A month later, Onita lost the title to The Sheik on June 25 because of an injury sustained from an attack by Tiger Jeet Singh before the match. Sheik would later reward the title to Singh. Onita lost to Singh in a jungle deathmatch on June 30, before defeating him in a no ropes exploding barbed wire deathmatch to win his fourth World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship at the 3rd Anniversary"
"This made Tyson the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, and the only heavyweight to successively unify them. Tyson became the lineal champion in 1988 when he knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds of the first round. He successfully defended his titles nine times, which included victories over Larry Holmes and Frank Bruno. In 1990, Tyson lost the titles to underdog Buster Douglas, who knocked him out in the tenth round. Attempting to regain the titles, Tyson defeated Donovan Ruddock twice in 1991, but pulled out of a fight with then-undisputed heavyweight champion"
"Charles Williams (boxer) Charles Williams (born June 2, 1962 in Columbus, MS), is a retired professional boxer, who was the IBF Light Heavyweight (175lb) Champion of the World for 6 years, from 1987-1993. Williams, known as ""Prince"" Charles, turned pro in 1978. He would lose his pro debut against former Olympic boxer Henry Bunch. However, in 1987 he captured the IBF Light Heavyweight Title by TKO'ing Bobby Czyz in the 9th round. He defended the title eight times before losing the title to Henry Maske in 1993. In 1994 he moved down to Super Middleweight to take on IBF Super"
"Earnie Shavers Earnie Dee Shaver (born August 31, 1944), best known as Earnie Shavers, is an American former professional boxer, who competed from 1969 to 1983, with two further comebacks in 1987 and 1995. He is a former two-time world heavyweight championship challenger. Shavers is considered by many boxing experts to be the hardest puncher of all time; he scored 68 overall knockout wins, finishing 50 opponents in three rounds or less; including 23 in the first round. Shavers is best known for his world title fights with Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali. He scored a heavy knockdown against Holmes,"
"Middleweight Title holder James Toney, but he was KO'd in the 12th round. He retired in 1996. Charles Williams (boxer) Charles Williams (born June 2, 1962 in Columbus, MS), is a retired professional boxer, who was the IBF Light Heavyweight (175lb) Champion of the World for 6 years, from 1987-1993. Williams, known as ""Prince"" Charles, turned pro in 1978. He would lose his pro debut against former Olympic boxer Henry Bunch. However, in 1987 he captured the IBF Light Heavyweight Title by TKO'ing Bobby Czyz in the 9th round. He defended the title eight times before losing the title to"
"WBA heavyweight champion Greg Page (W12) to capture the United States Boxing Association heavyweight championship. In March 1985 Bey was given a title shot by long-reigning IBF heavyweight champion Larry Holmes. After a strong start Bey was knocked down twice and stopped by Holmes in the 10th round. Bey never regained his confidence, losing his USBA title by 11th-round TKO to Trevor Berbick in his comeback fight, then being relegated to 'opponent' status for the remainder of his career, matched against the likes of James ""Bonecrusher"" Smith, Joe Bugner in Australia, Tyrell Biggs, Johnny DuPlooy in South Africa, Bruce Seldon,"
"into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks was a boxing match which took place on Monday June 27, 1988. Both men were undefeated and each had a claim to being the legitimate heavyweight champion. At the time, Tyson held the belts of all three of the major sanctioning organizations (World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association, and International Boxing Federation) while Spinks was the ""Ring"" champion and was considered the lineal champion. Held at the Atlantic City Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey"
"were slick. And I'm talking about black fighters. Yes, I said it"", said Hopkins. <br>Vacated Bernard Hopkins Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed middleweight title from 2004 to 2005, and the lineal light heavyweight title from 2011 to 2012. Hopkins first became a world champion by winning the IBF middleweight title in 1995. He would go on to compile 20 defenses,"
"Lennox wants this belt, he must get it out of the garbage and then we'll be calling him the garbage picker."" Shortly after, Bowe then announced that he would defend his WBA, IBF, and lineal titles against 34-year-old former WBA Heavyweight champion Michael Dokes After struggling with substance abuse, Dokes launched a successful comeback late in 1987 and proceeded to win his next eight fights en route to being named ""The Ring"" magazine's Comeback fighter of the Year for 1988, winning the WBC Continental Americas title and securing a number one contenders match with a then up-and-coming Evander Holyfield with"
"September 15, 1978, for the World Boxing Association and Lineal Heavyweight Champion titles. Ali regained the title with a Unanimous Decision over Spinks. Confirmed bouts: Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks was the World Boxing Council professional boxing match contested on February 15, 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada for the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship. After his unanimous decision victory against Earnie Shavers, Muhammad Ali decided to face 1976 Olympic Gold medalist Leon Spinks, knowing that he'd have to face Ken Norton for the fourth time or lose his WBC belt, after the No 1 ranked Norton beat"
"22. He also holds the record for the longest individual heavyweight title streak in the modern boxing history. Holmes is one of only five boxers—along with Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Leon Spinks and Trevor Berbick—to defeat Muhammad Ali; he is the only one to have stopped Ali. Holmes won his first 48 professional bouts, including victories over Norton, Ali, Earnie Shavers, Mike Weaver, Gerry Cooney, Tim Witherspoon, Carl Williams and Marvis Frazier, and falling one short of matching Rocky Marciano's career record of 49–0 when he lost to Michael Spinks in 1985. Holmes retired after losing a rematch to Spinks"
"Steffen Tangstad Steffen Tangstad (born 22 June 1959) 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. He retired with a career record of 24 wins (14 by knockout), 2 losses and 2 draws. After retiring from the boxing ring, Tangstad began a career in Norwegian television and was the CEO of the now defunct ""Modern Sports & Events"" (MSE), which was licensed to broadcast UFC pay-per-view events in Scandinavia. In 2006, he participated"