Boxing
FORMER BOXING HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, LEON SPINKS IS DEAD
Leon Spinks, the gap-toothed fighter from the St Louis slums who pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in boxing history in 1978 by defeating Muhammad Ali to take the undisputed world heavyweight title, has died at the age of 67 after a long battle with cancer, a spokesman said on Saturday (Feb 6).
Spinks passed away with only a few close friends and family present due to Covid-19 restrictions.
“Leon fought his battle with numerous illnesses resiliently, never losing his trademark smile,” The Firm PR said in a statement sent to Reuters.
“Showing true Spinks determination, he never threw in the towel.”
Spinks rose to fame winning the light-heavyweight gold medal for the United States at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
He shocked the boxing world just two years later when he defeated Ali in a split decision.
That would be the highlight of his career as Ali would get his revenge in the rematch seven months later in New Orleans.
Spinks would fight for a heavyweight crown only on one other occasion, losing to Larry Holmes in 1981.
On Saturday, Holmes wrote on Twitter: “You gave me a hell of a fight but you were a good guy. You lived your life the way you wanted and it was a good one. I pray you Rest In Peace.”
Spinks retired in 1995 at the age of 42 with a pedestrian 26-17-3 record, including 14 knockouts.
Much of his post-boxing life was marked by substance abuse, subsistence jobs and obscurity.
But in the late 1970s he had plenty of reasons to flash his trademark broad smile, sometimes accentuated by two missing front teeth.
After serving in the Marine Corps, Spinks won a gold medal in the light heavyweight competition at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
He was undefeated in his first seven professional fights but few thought he had any chance at all against the legendary Ali, even though the champ was past his prime going into their Feb 15, 1978, fight in Las Vegas.
His aggressive style and superior stamina allowed him to outduel Ali in a 15-round split decision, becoming the first boxer to take the title from Ali in the ring.
His reign did not last long. Seven months later, he squared off again with Ali at the Superdome in New Orleans and a properly prepared Ali won a 15-round unanimous decision. Spinks already had been stripped of his World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title for refusing to fight No. 1 contender Ken Norton in favour of the Ali rematch.
After the second Ali fight, Spinks was never again a serious championship contender, although in 1981 he took on Larry Holmes for the WBC crown.
Holmes beat him on a technical knockout in the third round.
Spinks continued fighting, often for embarrassingly small purses, until retiring following a unanimous decision loss to Fred House on Dec 4, 1995.
When his brother Michael Spinks upset Holmes for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight championship in 1985, he and Leon became the first brothers to have held world heavyweight championships.
The Spinks brothers were often bullied growing up in a notoriously rough housing project in St Louis, Missouri and learned to fight as a matter of self-preservation.
In a way, Leon remained a raw, naive child of the rough streets and after he won the title, the life of “Neon Leon” became a cautionary tale.
“It might have looked to people like I was having a good time,” Spinks told the Chicago Tribune, “but deep down I wasn’t because I wasn’t who I wanted to be. I never had anything when I was young. We were poor and now I had so much, so I tried to enjoy it. Having money like that makes you feel you can do anything you want but you can’t.”
Spinks was unsophisticated and did not seem to mind being photographed without his false teeth – replacements for the ones he lost to a head-butt in the Marines, he said.
He endured a series of arrests for driving violations and problems with drinking and drugs, including an arrest for cocaine and marijuana possession.
In 1981 he was mugged outside a bar in Detroit and later woke up naked in a hotel, missing several thousand dollars worth of clothes, jewellery and cash, as well as his false teeth.
The millions of dollars he won in the ring were lost to exorbitant spending and mismanagement, Spinks said.
In the late 1990s media reports said he sometimes stayed in a homeless shelter in the St Louis area and was taking random minimum-wage jobs.
In 2005 Spinks was living in Columbus, Nebraska, working as a janitor at a YMCA and at a McDonald’s.
In his 50s he began showing signs that the punches he took to the head had brought on a form of dementia.
In October 2011, Spinks married Brenda Glur, who began managing his personal appearances, and moved to Nevada, where he had two emergency abdominal operations in 2014.
-Reuters
Daniel Dubois came back from two knockdowns to deal Fabio Wardley a brutal and bloody first defeat as a professional and take the WBO heavyweight title in a thunderous all-British clash on Saturday.
Referee Howard Foster finally stepped in at the start of the 11th round to signal the end of the fight, with Wardley bleeding heavily from the bridge of the nose and with his right eye almost closed.
Dubois rose twice from the canvas, including being dropped by a right hook in the first 10 seconds of the fight, to pulverise Wardley and become a world heavyweight champion for the second time in his career.
“It was a war. We came through the sticky moments. Thank you, Fabio, for that,” said Dubois, who was previously IBF champion after the belt was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, with the Ukrainian winning it back in July 2025.
“What a great fight. What a great battle, man”.
The win was Dubois’s 23rd as a professional in 26 fights, while Wardley now has a 20-1-1 record.
Veteran promoter Frank Warren, who manages both men, said it was the best heavyweight fight he had ever put on and confirmed there was a rematch clause in the contract.
For some viewers, however, it was also an uncomfortable watch that could have been stopped earlier.
The 31-year-old Wardley, who was promoted to WBO champion last November after Usyk vacated the title, was making his first defence and showed immense heart as he took a tremendous beating yet refused to capitulate.
He had his opponent on the floor, a blow Dubois, 28, later dismissed as a ‘flash knockdown’, almost with the opening bell still sounding.
Dubois was back on one knee in round three but came close to a stoppage in the sixth with the reigning champion bleeding heavily and on the ropes.
The Londoner continued to land blow after blow on Wardley, who wobbled but refused to give up.
His corner inspected the facial wounds after the eighth, and doctors and the referee took a look in rounds nine and 10, but still the fight continued, with Wardley increasingly struggling to stay on his feet and fighting on instinct.
“You witnessed something special tonight,” Warren told the BBC. “Two men baring their hearts and souls in the ring gave everything, didn’t leave one bit outside the ring.
“They were getting hit with bombs that would take people out, and they stood it.”
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has backed Anthony Joshua to defeat Tyson Fury in their long‑anticipated clash later this year and has been helping him with his game plan.
Usyk, who holds the IBF, WBA and WBC belts, has been working with former opponent Joshua in recent months and said he has been impressed by the Briton’s development.
He added that 36-year-old Joshua deserves to beat compatriot and fellow ex-champion Fury, 37, after changing his approach.
“Fury is an unbelievable fighter, and Fury is a very dangerous guy, but I look at how Anthony works and how he has changed,” Usyk told the BBC.
“I like Fury, he is my greedy belly’s best friend, he’s an amazing fighter, but I want Anthony to win – he deserves it.”
Joshua, a former two‑time world heavyweight champion, is scheduled to return to the ring against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25. The bout will be his first since a car accident last December in which two close friends were killed.
Usyk said his recent work with Joshua has focused on technical and mental preparation.
“We speak about strategy, boxing skills and psychology. We speak about fights, our fights, and I say ‘champ, come on, don’t stop’,” he said.
The Ukrainian is set to defend his world titles against Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23 in Egypt.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- Summary
- *Joshua to face Kristian Prenga in Riyadh after car accident hiatus
- *Fight marks start of Joshua’s multi-fight deal in Saudi Arabia, announced by Turki Alalshikh
- *Promoter Hearn says Joshua vs Fury is signed for later in the year
Former world heavyweight boxing champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have signed up for a long-awaited clash later this year, promoter Eddie Hearn said on Monday.
“Signed, sealed, delivered! AJ v Fury is on!,” Hearn posted on Instagram.
The announcement came after confirmation that Joshua will return to the ring against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25 in the Briton’s first fight since he was in a car accident last December that killed two close friends.
U.S.-based Albanian Prenga, 35, is a former kickboxer with a ring record of 20 wins and one defeat since he turned professional in 2016.
The fight, billed as “The Comeback”, was announced by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Alalshikh and will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.
Turki also posted on X a message “to my friends in Great Britain – it’s happening. It’s signed” while his Ring Magazine said the fight would happen in Q4 2026 on Netflix.
SIXTH-ROUND KNOCKOUT
Joshua, 36, has a record of 28 wins and four losses with his most recent fight a sixth-round knockout of American Jake Paul on December 19 in Miami.
“It’s no secret I’ve taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring, and today is the next step on that journey,” said Joshua.
“I’m delighted to have agreed a multi-fight deal starting with July 25th in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I’m looking forward to competing and picking up where I left off. The landlord will collect his rent. That is certain.”
Hearn told Sky Sports television he wanted a “tune-up bout” in July before facing Fury potentially in November.
“July and November are the two dates that have been presented to us now and we expect to move forward,” he said. “Fury has just had his tune-up fight with 12 really vital rounds to get him sharp for the next one and I expect us to do the same.”
Fury called for a showdown with Joshua after he outclassed Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11.
“Next, I want to give you the fight you’ve all been waiting for. I want you AJ, Anthony Joshua, let’s give the fight fans what they want, the Battle of Britain,” he said then.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
NPFL at 36: Why Nigeria’s League Top Scorers Rarely Become Super Eagles Legends
NPFL at 36: Between Proud History and Lingering Questions Over Quality
Thirty-Six Years After Professionalism, NPFL Still Battles Old Challenges
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
NIGERIAN FOOTBALL CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SANUSI CHARGES NIGERIAN COACHES TO BE UPRIGHT, DILIGENT
- Boxing1 week ago
Usyk backs Joshua to beat Fury ahead of heavyweight showdown
- World Cup4 days ago
FIFA Plans Three Opening Ceremonies in All Host Nations for 2026 World Cup
- World Cup3 days ago
United States Unveils Hollywood-Style FIFA World Cup 2026 Opening Ceremony
- World Cup3 days ago
Mexico president wavers on plan to cut school year by 40 days for the World Cup
- World Cup4 days ago
Burna Boy Joins Shakira for Official 2026 World Cup Song ‘Dai Dai’
- World Cup7 days ago
Despite 2026 Absence, Nigeria Still Leads Africa’s World Cup Winners’ Chart
- Nigerian Football4 days ago
Sporting Lagos Crowned 2026 NNL Champions After Dramatic Super Four Finale
- Premier League4 days ago
Man United’s Fernandes and City’s Shaw win FWA Footballer of the Year awards