FOTY 1978- Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks I 1-8

[SuperStrik9]

Leon Spinks fought the fight of his life that night. Michael Spinks was by far the better fighter than his brother Leon imo.

[revelation6415]

This fight is wrong Ali clearly won by a mile, i gave spinks 4 rounds!!!!

[MOSTechnology]

@revelation6415 Concentrate on the band. Judging boxing not really your forte is it lol.

[bastlake]

Hunter S Thompson brought me here

[Stricardo6]

Here Ali is old,more fat and slow....

[Stricardo6]

in boxing is everything about condition!!! this boy never can beat Ali in his reign age !!!!!!!

[robberealsr1982]

Ali would kill the klitchkos u out yo rabbit ass mind

[hitmax989]

ali is fine,but i think if he would fight with the klitchko brother,he would lose.(if both were as many old as the other)

[shymikey]

Ali was the biggest fake ever in boxing. His opponent would beat the shit out of him the whole round and Ali would fight the last 30 seconds of a round and the judges would give it to him. He also loved poking them in the eye with his glove sticking it in their face and never get called for it. His rope-a-dope was against the rules. It states if ur against the ropes and not fighting back you are called out.. he would do it for 2 1/2 mins a round and never was.

[copperkipper1]

@shymikey The biggest fake in boxing? The dude had 3 years out of his prime robbed, Beat the 'unbeatable 40-0' knockout machine george foreman. He was smart,witty and stood by his beliefs. He made boxing an art. Get the f*ck out.

[ronesposito1]

As for this particular fight, Ali had the early stages of brain damage at this point and his speech slowed down considerably. He's completely washed up right here.

[7beers]

@ronesposito1 I agree with you 100%. The man fighting here is not Muhammad Ali.

[dropway9]

Vitali would be a nightmare for Tyson. Just like Lewis was a nightmare for Tyson. Cus D'Amato showed a younger Tyson the Foreman-Frazier fight and said this is why Tyson himself should avoid such a large man - you can't get inside. He felt Tyson would be pummeled like Frazier was pummeled. This is why Tyson avoided an over-the-hill but still dangerous George on the latter's comeback tour. He turned down big money too!

Tyson would have dismantled Ali.

[ronesposito1]

@dropway9 Lewis wasn't a nightmare for Tyson. Tyson was literally 15% of the fighter he used to be at that point. Put 1988-1989 Tyson against Lewis and Lewis is knocked the hell out within 5 rounds.

[dropway9]

Ali is absolutely overrated. If you watch his fights they are infuriatingly boring. He holds and holds and holds and pushes his opponents neck down repeatedly. He mugs and showboats, lacks knockout power, and just ends up getting hit a lot, even with all the grabbing he always was allowed to get away with. The fact he never had a point deducted for any of this is one of the great mysteries of boxing.

And yeah, the Foreman fight was plain weird. Watch Ali hold like crazy in that one too.

[DickAllen1972]

@dropway9 Can't agree with you more. No one clinched and held as much as Ali, or threw as many inconsequential punches as he did. Yet because of the whole conscientious objector/ had his license unfairly suspended saga of 1967, he got away with murder, and he knew it. The way he treated Frazier was unconscionable, and I think now, in his doddering years, he regrets it but cannot bring himself to acknowledge it. I can think of at least 10 fighters I'd rather watch.

[Jo2hu7]

This fight happened while Ali was suffering from Parkinson's disease which I'm pretty sure he was about 38 years old. That's why he did so bad

[DickAllen1972]

@Jo2hu7 How can you say that when he came back and won the rematch? Did he miraculously shake off Parkinson's a year later. Do everyone a favor and shut up.

[Jo2hu7]

@DickAllen1972 The fight a year later happened after Leon Spinks was peer pressured into drinking or smoking I forget, but the point is Spinks was most likely intoxicated and had a big downfall in his career and life. Also i'm not going to shut up anytime soon but I welcome you to try and make me.

[Myndir]

Spinks fought this fight high on painkillers due to a brutal rib injury.

[cjtorrice]

I agree Ali is the most overrated fighter of all time. If he wasn't allowed to constantly grab his opponents head he would be a blip on boxing history.

[aitraining]

@cjtorrice Yes. Agree on Ali being overrated. With the excpetion of the Foreman fight - which was fought at 3 in the morning in africa with the whole continent rooting for Ali (God knows what George's water was spiked with and he looked sick and thin to me), he never dominated the great fighters of the 70's. Lot's of contraversial splits with Norton and Frazier - 2 guys George killed. He was a notorious grabber and holder but the refs, judges and media all loved the guy.

[Stabesy]

@aitraining Ali overrated? Fuck off.

[QRF11B]

Ali was a bum and the Nation of Islam used him like a $2 ho.

[szerszamos]

ali is the most overrated of all time !!!!!! vitaly is the man and best heavy EVER !!!!!

[Tex200950]

The GREATEST JOKE....

[Tex200950]

Tyson would KO ALI in two ROUNDS EASY!

[businesseast]

WHAT'S ALI DOING IN ROUND 1. 2. 3. . .. ?

[Bjoernbaks]

Its a tough way to win a Heavyweight title fight letting your oponent beat you to tire him out.

[capablemachine]

This isn't a great fight. I don't know why it's fight of the year.

[moneyxl00]

He didn't even throw 1 good punch

[rayzeos116]

this is really hard to watch

[90038jhon]

i hold angelo dundee responsible. Ali was already talking slow, and horribly beat up. it was his responsibility to step aside, or ask Ali to quit.

[bareavis]

@90038jhon  The doctor in Ali's corner, Ferdie Pacheco, had advised Ali to quit after the Shavers fight. Ali wouldn't so Pacheco left.

[TheHypersexy]

CASSIUS CLAY a converted muslim proved that muslems are good for nothing, pigs.

[cmerc25]

When will there be a Leon Spinks movie? There's a great story there.

[cmerc25]

Say what you want about Ali. Spinks was in the best shape of his life. Anybody else would've punched themselves out. Leon punched all night. He even had something left for the 15th round, which was incredible. You would think he would've been exhausted by the 15th. He pounded Ali the whole fight. But he went out there in the 15th and fought Ali back and gave him a beating, when Ali went out there and gave it his all to knock Leon out.

[cmerc25]

Ali was fighting and beating bums at this point in his career. He took this fight looking for another easy title defense. But he didn't figure on Leon being in the best shape of his life, totally psyched up and unafraid. Spinks was no bum and no coward. He showed up to fight. Ali tried what he tried on bums. This time it didn't work.

[nappyweed111]

@cmerc25 Ali was 34, he had already dismantled some of the greatest fighters in history and kept on fighting, didnt need the money had something to prove, lost the first one, came back at 36 and beat spinks to shut him down and retire as the greatest fighter of all time

[TheForgottenFlesh]

Honestly, I think Ali relied so much on fancy footwork he forgot the fundamentals. He got caught up in his own hype he started to believe he was "The greatest" that he forgot the basics to the point where his only defense is covering himself up. Regardless of age, if you are training your ass off every day and keeping in shape, you always remember the fundamentals.

[jeryd2003]

@TheForgottenFlesh i have to agree look at ali vs shavers for 3 straight rounds ali tryied to lure shavers into the ropeadope and shavers didn't bight. if ali would have fought shavers those 3 rounds shavers would have been softened up for round 15 where he was almost ko'd anyway. ali did way too much clowning he should have learned his lesson when in round 11 he had both hands down at his side clowning with frazier in their first fight. if he wouldn't clowned around he would have won their too,

[ritter89]

@TheForgottenFlesh Agreed. I think Ali's ego got the best of him, especially later in his career, and he become the victim of his own hype machine. Personally, I think that he should have retired after Foreman. I also believe that much of the head trauma he experienced from '75 -'78 laid the groundwork for the full blown parkinson's. He was too out of shape and rarely protected himself from severe blows to the head. He lost so much muscle tone and definition between '75 and '78.

[cizer77]

Ali has turned into a clown and a disgrace at the end of his second title reign

[UT5000]

@cizer77

He earned back his respect when he won the rematch, problem is he barely trains for his fights towards the end of his career.

[cizer77]

@UT5000 yes, but he was horribly shot on top of being out of shape

[joshua626]

I agree ali thought that he could coast the fight like he had been doing from ali-frazier 3 till now. But he proved that he could still train HARD and win in the rematch.

[cptQc]

It's obvious that Ali don't wanna fight...

Put him in his prime and he would dismantle Spinks into pieces that he would thrown in the garbage.

[FRSFreeStateNow]

When Muhammad Ali lost to Leon Spinks that should've been a clue that it was time to quit

[TerminatorC]

Watch the Cleveland Williams fight to get the taste of this shit out of your mouth. This is not Ali

[XavierMarciano]

No doubt ali lost this fight on purpose, their was a clause that spinks would have to fight ali in a rematch if he was to win this fight, ali wanted to be 3 time world champion

[dcasey77]

@XavierMarciano Nonsense.

[budder213]

Ali definitely wasn't ready to fight Leon. He looks overweight and seems like he had no energy at all for this fight.

[SkeksisBestSongEver]

Lol, Leon looks like a supermiddleweight/cuiserweight­, and why the hell did Ali keep fighting, he should have stopped after the Lyle fight imo, maybe one big fight more, eventually Cooney or one more chance at beating Norton convincingly, Shavers rematch would maybe be too dangerous. And the Holmes fight was flat out ridiculous and a shame to his legacy! There´s an interview with (sane) Ali here on youtube from 73 i think where he said he prop would quit boxing one or two years from there!

[SZSearcher]

Ali wasn't using his right hand at all here.

[expressivechild]

Leon was rushed to the top, he wasn't mentally prepared to be world champ. Easy come, easy go...

[dalestarnes]

Spinks had youth, more stamina/ energy. Its eveident throughout the whole fight. Spinks was the rookie pro, recent olympic gold medalist, just like Ali was when he fought Liston. its evident throughout the whole fight. I remember watching this fight on tv. I was disappointed. Ali was my champ.

[emirler86]

ali was 55-2 before the fight and spinks 6-0-1. so im sorry he had no loss but a draw :-)

[THEKINKS08]

@emirler86

right, i think that Ali before this bout was beaten just by Frazier and Kenny Norton with a spit decision, but not for the world title,if i'm not mistaken.

[emirler86]

@THEKINKS08 yeah, i dont know if it was a split decision, can look it up in boxrec. in the norton fight ali's jaw was broken, and in the frazier fight ali was knocked down in the last round. :-)

[emirler86]

why was spinks given a chance then, he only had 6 wins and 1 loss, only 7 fights, how does one become challenger of the heavyweight champion of the world though he has had just 7 fights comon thats ridiculous

[lhtbuilder]

@emirler86 Probably because he had a wallet that said "bad futherfucker" written all over it!

[emirler86]

what?? hahahahaha

[THEKINKS08]

@emirler86

that's maybe just because Spinks won the olympic gold medal in Montreal '76 as light heavyweight. He was 23 years old in 1978. for sure it is very uncommon to fight for a world title just after 7 bouts..

[emirler86]

@THEKINKS08 hmm ok, that makes sense, thx. but its really funny that spinks became champ in his 8th pro fight ... :-D

[vardalos1980]

F A N B O Y S

[MIKEDINSMORE2]

Ali probably would have won if he just tried for the knowckout from the begginning

[gsboss]

but he didnt. there is no excuse for his lose. he messed up and thats that

[ErikS1975FreeState]

Leon Spinks had no business beating Ali. 3-4 years earlier Ali would of Knocked out Spinks.

[007rocksalotmann]

Andrearchor missed on the description. Foreman won the Gold Medal not on the 1970 Olympics, as there never was a 1970 Olympics. Foreman won on the 1968 Olympics.

[haloCE6]

hey all of u people leave leon spinks alone he ma ungle ass wipes

[007rocksalotmann]

Andrearchor missed on the description. Foreman won the Gold Medal not on the 1970 Olympics, as there never was a 1970 Olympics. Foreman won on the 1968 Olympics.

And Patterson won Gold Medal on 1952.

[metube8989]

what happen whit ali it doesnt look like him

[skeptic91]

Whether Ali was over the hill or not, the fact is a guy with only 7 fights beat him, that's INSANE....

[TheModernGaming]

tbh if u look at it ali isent tryin lol

[tuzwol]

Ali was old, and should've retired before this fight. This is a perfect example that you cant beat the clock, when its time to retire you must and you should

[michaeljackson1978]

ali had to make it look like he wuz in the fight in the 15th. He couldnt make it obvious that he gained weight on purpose, and lost the fight on purpose. He wanted to be the first to win the title 3 times. There wuz a clause in the contract for Spinks to fight Ali in a return bout if Spinks won. Ali said nites b4 the 2nd fight that he was glad he lost the first fight. Yes it wuz fixed. Why do u think they picked

Spinks for this? They knew he was to dumb to see that he was set up.

[Glennwishart]

I watched Ali's pre-fight interview with Howard Cosell and turned to my Dad and said: "He's going to lose" You could see it in his eyes... he wanted to be 3 time World Champ!

[capablemachine]

@Glennwishart Yeh... bullshit.

[Glennwishart]

@capablemachine

Unless your Mother had a TV set in her ovaries you didn't see the interview or the fight!

[capablemachine]

@Glennwishart I just watched the fucking fight.

[Glennwishart]

@capablemachine

Very Good! Now have a glass of milk and some cookies and get to bed!

[capablemachine]

@Glennwishart Now grind your brain medication into your mush and commit later age suicide.

[Glennwishart]

@capablemachine

Does your Mom know you're still up? Thought I told you to get to bed!

[capablemachine]

@Glennwishart You did but it's easy to forget things at your age.

[Glennwishart]

@capablemachine

Huh?

[Paragon231]

Seeing this fight im not surprised Leon turned out such a poor champion

[shareschannel]

Im sure this fight was a fix look how ali is fighting, taking shots obviously letting the tooth less spinks win points, this is ali's world title why isnt he defending it? was this just an idea to regain the title for the third time? why did spinks agree to a rematch so soon after, he was champ he didnt have to fight ali again if im not mistaken?

[dsimcoe]

If you think the fight was fixed, I suggest you re-watch the 15th round. The desperation of both fighters is evident, especially Ali. Examine the 15th and you will see that Ali very badly wanted to put Spinks away. The leather being traded in the round was serious indeed. Ali almost went down twice. First by a Spinks counter combo coming off the ropes and then by a Spinks dead on uppercut later in the round. This fight was the real thing. Ali was great but, he was just not ready this night.

[gagadsg]

ur a dumbass he was out of shape he barely trained for this fight.

[Automatic25]

If Ali was in his prime Spinks would be done in the first round for coming on so aggressive like that. Spinks record isn't all that great he just got lucky. I hated the fact that Ali's so called pals never tried to make him stop fighting so long. Only Pacheco advised him to retire and when Ali wouldn't he left the group. Still he is thw greatest but I'm still upset that a boxer that never go to be what he fully is because of a 3 year layoff was brought down like this. After coming back so strong

[shiryet]

i know dude, that fucking guy would of got fucking beasted!!

i mean, look how weak he is man....i swear to god i wish ali would have fucking owned this guy.

[truthhitmanisback]

ALi would shit on Lennox !

[Mp25DIII]

Man, I just watched the Foreman fight, and watching Ali there is like night and day compared to this. It was only 4 years later, but he looked 15 years older. The beginning stages of Parkinson's must have been taking hold. Spinks is doing what he should be doing, staying busy as a hornet's nest, but it had to be easier with Ali throwing more insults than punches.

[7beers]

Damn right. Ali looks awful here.

[007rocksalotmann]

I agree. Ali would utilize his superior speed and reach, to outbox Tyson, and win a unanimnous decision. Hmmm... Lewis and Foreman, to me, would be beat by Ali, in very close fights. What a joy to meet someone smart and knowledgeable in Youtube! Thanks, way2buff!

[nitrus202]

ali never would have faught like this in his prim he was arround thirty five when this happend...u can tell he takes random swings that no boxer would take....if i was in the crowd watching him get pounded by spinks i would have been reduced to tears...

[joepaiva]

The media does a great job of sheltering what a jerk Ali was in so many ways. He publicly humiliated his opponents and resorted to race baiting with Joe Fraizer.

He was never faithful to any of his wives. He never showed any dignity in victory or defeat.

Ken Norton Sr beat him in all three fights, but was awarded only one victory.

[johnnyfromda805]

Oh please all Ali did was promote and hype up his fights. Most of the taunting was meant in a humorous way. I've seen tons of his interviews and there all pretty funny and not crude at all. You're way too sensitive. You should go watch ballet and not boxing.

[DrJohn10]

Judging by his body language Ali should've never taken this fight with Spinks. He is obviously burned out by this point of his career. He is showing no signs of fight or life in there.

[dealmaker007]

@DrJohn10 He beat Spinks in the rematch though, right? I think for the first fight he didn't take Spinks seriously kind of like how Tyson didn't take Buster Douglass seriously.

[Automatic25]

to me Ali's record is 56-3-37 the last two fights I don't pay attention to that wasn't Ali fight in it was his Parkinson's

[javiandog]

tha greatest muhammad ali show respect all u hataz he may have been a loud mouth but he could back it up punk ass bitches his name is ali not cassius clay if he was in his prime he would have messed up spinks

[vagabond686]

Ali should've retired after the Thrilla. His fights after that are what gave him parkinsons. Ali was a great athlete, but after his speed and reflexes fell away, he wasn't a good enough technician to keep fighting without damage. He wasn't a defensive fighter period. He didn't clinch properly, allowing opponents to rabbit and kidney punch him. He covered up without rolling with punches, which means they landed with full power and seriously damaged a man who shouldn't have been fighting anymore.

[tintinesk2]

What a load of crap. Ali was the master of the clinch, ask legendary referee Arthur Mercante, who complimented Ali for that after Frazier Ali I. He was a GREAT technician, admittedly with his own style (holding the hands low) but it worked for him; a good defensive fighter also (which was the key reason he couldn't assume the aggressor's role in Ali-Young, Young being almost strictly defensive) and was famous for rolling with punches! Only he was so fast that untrained eyes didn't always see!

[Spike00513z]

dude wtf ali looks like a bum in this fight and unfortanetly its the first fight of his ive seen. is he really that bad?because TYSON beat spinks brutally, and people say ali would beat tyson

[007rocksalotmann]

Ali was old, out-of-shape and way past his prime here... He trained little.

In his prime, hed crush Leon within 3 rounds.

Oh, and the Spinks that Tyson beat was Leon´s younger brother, Michael.

Yes, Ali would beat Tyson.

[marktheshark36]

@007rocksalotmann ay was leon spinks from st.louis MO

[sharkxxxs]

@007rocksalotmann yea tyson beat ali in 5 second

[whitedeviltx]

@007rocksalotmann I think it probably would have been a coin toss if both fighters were in their prime, yes ali faced big hitters before,(liston, Foreman,Shavers) but he never faced anyone with Tysons speed power combination, not to mention mike could take a punch if Ali were to win it would take an awful lot of running

[MrScottydabody]

@007rocksalotmann ali lost to spinks, and i think i would have an outside chance of beating leon. i do not believe spinks was would ever pull off beating mike tyson....i invite you to watch the leon spinks vs dwight muammad qawi fight. after you witness qawi easily handling leon you change your above opinion if you'd like.

[x33mmm]

@007rocksalotmann rocky marciano and the klitschko brothers would beat both ali and tyson

[007rocksalotmann]

@x33mmm , OK

[s1ghandnod]

@x33mmm yea right. i wonder what they both have in common...

[TheClarenceter]

@007rocksalotmann mike tyson is a fucking joke.

[seahawkslakersfan24]

@007rocksalotmann -how old is he in this fight Vitali Klitscho is 40 years old and is heavyweight champion of the world!

[capablemachine]

@007rocksalotmann Everyone knows Ali is old here and no one cares about your fantasy fights.

[suprapower101]

@007rocksalotmann to be fair michael spinks was a lot better than leon though. Ali would beat Tyson in his prime, not here though. The one that fought Foreman might not even win either. Mike was good.

[thatguyjustin44]

@007rocksalotmann

you cant say the ali would beat tyson in his prime

tyson was really the first guy that could get under the jab and knock people out

[aitraining]

@thatguyjustin44 Ali and Tyson were both overrated if u ask me

[scatman44]

What a great inside fighter Spinks was. We forget about his skills in the midst of his short title run and all the Richard Pryor jokes! Best inside fighters I've seen: 1) Iran Barkley, 2) Leon Spinks, 3) Prince Charles Williams.

[FendRhodes]

did you post part 8 yet?

[smithdsmit]

I remember watching this when i was 11. I was so bummed Ali lost. everyone in the 6th grade was. I remember telling people the fight was fixed. what what the heck did I know. I just didnt want to face that my child hood hero could loose. around that time evil knievil got in trouble for beating some one up with a bat.i thought my whole world would collaspse.lol but then there was still the six milllion dollar man show to watch so i was happy. aaaahhh I sure miss the 70's and being a kid

[007rocksalotmann]

This was a good fight, but to me, the FOTY was Holmes-Norton.

[RatatRatR]

I agree. But I think Ali probably should have gotten it the year before for his fight with Shavers.

[007rocksalotmann]

Got what, sir? For the Shavers fight.

[007rocksalotmann]

True, the Ali-Shavers fight to me, was the best in 1977. Te Foreman-Young was more significant in terms of history, bt the best was Ali-Shavers

[NilezII]

It reminds me of Braddock vs. Baer. The champ took the challenger lightly, and blew enough rounds to lose the fight. I remember that Ali had uncharacteristically little to say in the pre-fight. I really think that Spinks won simply because he didn't understand that he couldn't.

[YouthfulWisdom118]

man this was fixed just like michael spinks vs larry holmes was fixed.

[ANNABECKDK]

right

[sisdavid]

How old was Ali during this fight?

[willis7319]

he was 36

[christophert28]

ali looks heavyer than 224 pounds

[007rocksalotmann]

Thats because of the fat

[isleyrundgren]

Much as i liked Ali, I couldnt help but chuckle when he lost this fight, he was a shot fighter after he fought Evangelista, sure he won comfortably but he was a shadow of a fighter, and i think he should have retired then. After regaining the title by beating Foreman, he had some easy defences and after each fight the ritual was to chat with his buddy Howard Cosell whilst combing his hair, to sustain his 'prettiness'. I noticed after the Spinks fight, he erm.... did not produce a comb, HAHA.

[nastylefthook1]

if cassius clay had shown respect for his opponents,,,especially moore,terrell,patterson,frazie­r,and chuvalo,,i would have given him the upmost respect,,but in this world you get back what you put out,,,,,,

[jordonwatson]

respect whatever ali is a legend

[Samsun55]

his name is ali you fucking asshole...

show some respect you cunt!

[bodybuilder88ahi]

yeah totaly right

[vrambo]

Wow this was kind of embarassing to watch... poor Ali looked like a noob. =(

[nastylefthook1]

leon kicked cassius clay,s ass,,,,,good job leon,,,,we will always remember you for shutting up that loud mouth braggart,,,you might work at mcdonalds,,but clay is a mumbling bumbling ol fool

[cbaldwinjr]

That's pretty tacky stuff coming from a guy spouting on an internet message board. How about some class...

[Jorsalfar]

Leon and his brother had the same type of style: aggressive, energetic and fast as hell! They were not hard punchers, but they showered their opponents with such quick punches that nobody stood a chance avoiding them, not even Ali nor Holmes. Although I like big punchers, I also admire their technique and speed.

[talleyho12]

i like his head movement to grant21999 almost tyson like.but tysons are better

[968OAK]

This fight was very sad you can tell spinks didnt want to fight him.

[007rocksalotmann]

Why woulndt he? It was his chance to become champ.

[grant21999]

I really like the head movement of Spinks. It was great.

[007rocksalotmann]

Yeah, we can only imagine what Ali would have done to Spinks in his prime

[andreacheor2]

andreacheoor andreacheoor2 andreacheor2

[007rocksalotmann]

No,

[mrtvman]

cool

[007rocksalotmann]

Fuck you