Muhammad Ali was nearing the end of his illustrious career. It was 1978, and Ali had been a professional fighter for eighteen-years. That’s a long time to spend at any profession, especially when your job is taking punches for a living. And Ali, in the latter stages of his career, had taken plenty of punches. He wasn’t as quick or as elusive anymore. He didn’t train with the same gusto that he had as a younger fighter. He began to view preparing for a championship fight more as a chore and an inconvenience than as a necessary part of his job. And against Leon Spinks, his lackadaisical training habits combined with his eroding skills produced one of the more shocking upsets in boxing history.
Ali didn’t plan on fighting much longer by 1978. He had made a lot of money – and spent a lot of it, too – and he had put his body through the kinds of rigors and strains that most people will never experience. He was due for a good, long, well-deserved retirement. But there was that whole money and fame thing that kept him returning to the ring. When Ali was in the ring, the world belonged to him. He was at center stage – the great Ali – and the adulation and worship of his adoring fans and public were too much to resist. Besides, he had just endured and outlasted that murderous, bone breaking puncher Arnie Shavers in a wild and highly entertaining fight at Madison Square Garden in September of 1977. After that fight, Ali’s entourage promised easy fights; fights that would offer maximum money for the least amount of risk. Ali was entitled to a few easy fights at the tail end of his career, so they said. And Ali was Ali. Ali could be matched against Big Bird and people would show up and watch. A testament to the Ali brand; he sold tickets and put butts in the seats. And he was a promoter’s dream. So, when the wily promoter Butch Lewis begged Ali to give his young protege Leon Spinks a fight, Ali thought about it for a while and then agreed. Here was a kid who had had only seven professional fights; a mere novice in comparison to the great Ali. Spinks was a Gold Medal winner in the 1976 Olympics at Montreal, and the kid had decent skill, but he was no match for even an aging Ali. Ali’s desire for an easy match materialized; the Ali/Spinks fight was set for February 15th, 1978.
It would be generous to say that Ali had trained in an intermediate sort of a way for his fight against Spinks. A fighter of Spinks caliber and ability – or lack thereof – was not the kind of threat that would spur Ali into intense training. Ali figured he’d play with Spinks for a few rounds to give the kid some exposure, then, when he felt like it, he would bring matters to a close. But somebody forgot to tell Leon Spinks that he was supposed to be a foil for Ali. Spinks charged out of his corner at the opening bell and let his fists fly. Ali, always a good defensive fighter, went to the ropes and let Leon bang away at his body and arms. This tactic of lying on the ropes had served Ali well in the past – most notably against George Foreman – and Ali figured he’d have a field day with Leon. But a funny thing happened in this fight: Spinks didn’t get tired. The kid was well trained; he had trained to go a hard fifteen rounds, something that Ali didn’t do.
And by the middle of the fight, Ali was comfortably behind. Ali tried hard; he mounted a series of attacks that had Leon reeling and wobbly, but each time Leon fired back. Leon was somewhat crude and wild, but he was young and strong. Ali was in no condition to outfight Leon for the distance, and Ali mistook Spinks’ desire and stamina. When the bell sounded to end the fifteenth and final round, Ali was tired and dejected. Spinks and his corner were jubilant. And then the scorecards were read. One judge, in a case of monumental absurdity, actually scored the fight for Ali. But the two other judges, the one’s without blindfolds on, rightfully scored the fight for Leon Spinks. At the age of twenty-four, and with only seven professional fights under his belt, Leon Spinks dethroned the great Muhammad Ali in one of boxing’s most shocking upsets!
