Michael Spinks Record
| Total Fights | 32 |
|---|---|
| Wins | 31 |
| Losses | 1 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No-Contests | 0 |
| Title Wins | 6 |
|---|---|
| Title Defenses | 13 |
| Title-Fight KOs | 10 |
| KO Wins | 21 |
| KO Losses | 1 |
Featured Opponents
What is Michael Spinks' boxing record?
In a professional boxing career spanning 11 years and two months, Michael Spinks fought 32 times with 31 wins and a single loss.
Spinks retired from professional boxing with a record of 31-1, which included six world-title wins and 13 successful title defense fights at two weight classes — light-heavyweight and heavyweight. He had a 65.6% knockouts-to-fights ratio with 21 of his total 32 fights being knockout wins, 10 of which were in title fights. The only loss in Spinks' career was a 1st round KO loss to Mike Tyson in a heavyweight title fight.
His last fight was a 1st round KO defeat to Mike Tyson on June 27, 1988. Spinks lost the undisputed heavyweight championship in this loss.
Some of Spinks' best fights and notable victories include wins over two Hall-of-Famers (Larry Holmes and Dwight Muhammad Qawi), David Sears, Steffen Tangstad, Jim MacDonald, Eddie Davis, and Oscar Rivadeneyra.
| # | Date | Age | Opponent | Res | Via |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | Jun 27, 1988 | 31 | Mike Tyson | Loss * | KO1 |
| 31 | Jun 15, 1987 | 30 | Gerry Cooney | Win * | TKO5 |
| 30 | Sep 6, 1986 | 30 | Steffen Tangstad | Win * | TKO4 |
| 29 | Apr 19, 1986 | 29 | Larry Holmes | Win * | SD |
| 28 | Sep 21, 1985 | 29 | Larry Holmes | Win * | UD |
| 27 | Jun 6, 1985 | 28 | Jim MacDonald | Win * | TKO8 |
| 26 | Feb 23, 1985 | 28 | David Sears | Win * | TKO3 |
| 25 | Feb 25, 1984 | 27 | Eddie Davis | Win * | UD |
| 24 | Nov 25, 1983 | 27 | Oscar Rivadeneyra | Win * | TKO10 |
| 23 | Mar 18, 1983 | 26 | Dwight Muhammad Qawi | Win * | UD |
| 22 | Sep 18, 1982 | 26 | Johnny Davis | Win * | TKO9 |
| 21 | Jun 12, 1982 | 25 | Jerry Celestine | Win * | TKO8 |
| 20 | Apr 11, 1982 | 25 | Murray Sutherland | Win * | TKO8 |
| 19 | Feb 13, 1982 | 25 | Mustafa Wassaja | Win * | TKO6 |
| 18 | Nov 7, 1981 | 25 | Vonzell Johnson | Win * | TKO7 |
| 17 | Jul 18, 1981 | 24 | Eddie Mustafa Muhammad | Win * | UD |
| 16 | Mar 28, 1981 | 24 | Marvin Johnson | Win | KO4 |
| 15 | Jan 24, 1981 | 24 | Willie Taylor | Win | TKO8 |
| 14 | Oct 18, 1980 | 24 | Yaqui Lopez | Win | TKO7 |
| 13 | Aug 2, 1980 | 24 | David Conteh | Win | TKO9 |
| 12 | May 4, 1980 | 23 | Murray Sutherland | Win | UD |
| 11 | Feb 24, 1980 | 23 | Ramon Ranquello | Win | TKO6 |
| 10 | Feb 1, 1980 | 23 | Johnny Wilburn | Win | UD |
| 9 | Nov 24, 1979 | 23 | Marc Hans | Win | TKO1 |
| 8 | Dec 15, 1978 | 22 | Eddie Phillips | Win | KO4 |
| 7 | Feb 15, 1978 | 21 | Tom Bethea | Win | UD |
| 6 | Oct 22, 1977 | 21 | Gary Summerhays | Win | UD |
| 5 | Sep 13, 1977 | 21 | Ray Elson | Win | KO1 |
| 4 | Aug 23, 1977 | 21 | Jasper Brisbane | Win | TKO2 |
| 3 | Jun 1, 1977 | 20 | Joe Borden | Win | KO2 |
| 2 | May 7, 1977 | 20 | Luis Rodriguez | Win | UD |
| 1 | Apr 16, 1977 | 20 | Eddie Benson | Win | TKO1 |
* World-title fight
Boxing career
Michael Spinks (Jinx) is a 67-year old retired American professional boxer. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. on July 22, 1956. He is a former two-weight-class world champion. Spinks was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 1994. His professional boxing career spanned more than 11 years — from 1977 to 1988.
Spinks made his professional boxing debut against Eddie Benson at the age of 20 on April 16, 1977, defeating Benson via 1st round TKO. He went on to win 30 more consecutive fights after the debut, which included 20 wins via stoppage.
He had his first world title fight at the age of 24 on July 18, 1981 after 16 professional fights, against Eddie Mustafa Muhammad for the light-heavyweight WBA title. He defeated Muhammad via 15 round unanimous decision to become the light-heavyweight champion of the world.
Michael Spinks was a two-time undisputed light-heavyweight world champion, and has won six world titles at two weight classes. For all the details about Spinks' world title wins and defenses refer to the "Championships" section below.
Spinks had just a single loss in his professional boxing career.
His last professional fight was for the heavyweight undisputed championship title against fellow American boxer Mike Tyson on June 27, 1988. Spinks lost the fight via 1st round KO, and lost his The Ring title. It's been 35 years, 9 months, and 24 days since this fight.
Championships
Spinks had a total of 16 world-title fights, which includes winning six world titles and 13 successful title defenses. He won 15 of these fights and lost one.
Title Wins
Michael Spinks fought for world titles in five fights and won four of these fights. In total, he won six belts across two weight classes.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Won | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 21, 1985 | Larry Holmes | Heavyweight | IBF, The Ring | UD |
| Feb 25, 1984+ | Eddie Davis | Light-heavyweight | IBF | UD |
| Mar 18, 1983+ | Dwight Muhammad Qawi | Light-heavyweight | WBC, The Ring | UD |
| Jul 18, 1981 | Eddie Mustafa Muhammad | Light-heavyweight | WBA | UD |
Title Defenses
Michael Spinks had 14 world-title defense fights across two weight classes — light-heavyweight (x10) and heavyweight (x4). He won 13 of them and lost only once.
Following is the table of his successful title defense fights, the next section has the fights where he lost his titles.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Defended | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 1987 | Gerry Cooney | Heavyweight | The Ring | TKO |
| Sep 6, 1986 | Steffen Tangstad | Heavyweight | IBF, The Ring | TKO |
| Apr 19, 1986 | Larry Holmes | Heavyweight | IBF, The Ring | SD |
| Jun 6, 1985 | Jim MacDonald | Light-heavyweight | WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring | TKO |
| Feb 23, 1985 | David Sears | Light-heavyweight | WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring | TKO |
| Feb 25, 1984+ | Eddie Davis | Light-heavyweight | WBA, WBC, The Ring | UD |
| Nov 25, 1983 | Oscar Rivadeneyra | Light-heavyweight | WBA, WBC, The Ring | TKO |
| Mar 18, 1983+ | Dwight Muhammad Qawi | Light-heavyweight | WBA | UD |
| Sep 18, 1982 | Johnny Davis | Light-heavyweight | WBA | TKO |
| Jun 12, 1982 | Jerry Celestine | Light-heavyweight | WBA | TKO |
| Apr 11, 1982 | Murray Sutherland | Light-heavyweight | WBA | TKO |
| Feb 13, 1982 | Mustafa Wassaja | Light-heavyweight | WBA | TKO |
| Nov 7, 1981 | Vonzell Johnson | Light-heavyweight | WBA | TKO |
Title Losses
Michael Spinks lost one world-title defense fight, and lost one title in the fight.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Lost | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 1988 | Mike Tyson | Heavyweight | The Ring | KO |
Highlights
Spinks fought a total of 32 times during his professional career, which includes 16 world-title fights at two weight divisions. He was among the very best of his generation and put on some great performances in his fights. These eight fights are the highlight of his career.
July 18, 1981: Spinks wins his first world title by defeating Eddie Mustafa Muhammad via 15 round unanimous decision. He is now the WBA light-heavyweight world champion.
March 18, 1983: Spinks becomes the undisputed light-heavyweight world champion by defeating Dwight Muhammad Qawi via 15 round unanimous decision. He now holds the WBA, WBC, and The Ring light-heavyweight world-champion belts.
February 25, 1984: Spinks becomes the undisputed light-heavyweight world champion by defeating Eddie Davis via 12 round unanimous decision. He now holds the WBA, WBC, The Ring, and IBF light-heavyweight world-champion belts.
February 23, 1985: Spinks successfully defends the WBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring light-heavyweight titles against David Sears, winning the fight via 3rd round TKO.
June 6, 1985: Spinks successfully defends the WBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring light-heavyweight titles against Jim MacDonald, winning the fight via 8th round TKO.
September 21, 1985: Spinks wins the IBF and The Ring heavyweight titles from Larry Holmes, by beating Holmes via 15 round unanimous decision.
April 19, 1986: Spinks successfully defends the IBF and The Ring heavyweight titles against Larry Holmes, winning the fight via 15 round split decision.
September 6, 1986: Spinks successfully defends the IBF and The Ring heavyweight titles against Steffen Tangstad, winning the fight via 4th round TKO.
FAQs
How many KOs does Michael Spinks have on his record?
Spinks knocked out 21 of his 32 opponents. By his last fight, his KO ratio was at 65.6%. Of his total 31 wins, 21 of them were via KO (67.7%).
What was Michael Spinks' first world title win?
Spinks' first world-title win was the WBA belt at light-heavyweight. He defeated Eddie Mustafa Muhammad via 15 round unanimous decision to win the title.
How many world titles did Michael Spinks win?
Spinks won six world titles at two weight classes.
How many title defenses did Michael Spinks make?
Spinks had a total of 14 title defense fights. He was successful 13 times and lost one time.