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| Date | February 15, 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA, WBC, and The Ring undisputed heavyweight championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spinks wins via 15-round split decision (142-143, 144-141, 145-140) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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. [1]
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. [2]
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. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
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.
| 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 |
Confirmed bouts: [10]
| 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. |
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Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. was an American professional boxer who competed from 1967 to 1981. He was awarded the WBC world heavyweight championship in 1978, after winning a close split decision over Jimmy Young in a title eliminator bout, after which Leon Spinks refused to fight with him.
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