Editing Michael Spinks (section)

{{short description|American boxer (born 1956)}}
{{Infobox boxer
| name = Michael Spinks
| image = Michael Spinks 1987.JPG
| caption = Spinks in 1987
| realname = Michael Spinks
| nickname = Jinx
| weight = {{plainlist|
*[[Light heavyweight]]
*[[Heavyweight]]
}}
| height = 6 ft 2+1/2 in<ref name=tysonspinks>''[[HBO Sports]]'' tale of the tape prior to the [[Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks|Mike Tyson fight]].</ref>
| reach = 76 in<ref name=tysonspinks />
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|07|22}}<ref name="BritannicaSpinks"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/spinks.html | title=Michael Spinks }}</ref>
| birth_place = [[St. Louis, Missouri]], U.S
| style = [[Orthodox stance|Orthodox]]
| total = 32
| wins = 31
| KO = 21
| losses = 1
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [[amateur boxing]] }}
{{MedalCountry | {{USA}} }}
{{MedalOlympics}}
{{MedalGold | [[1976 Summer Olympics|1976 Montreal]] | [[Boxing at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Middleweight|Middleweight]]}}
}}

'''Michael Spinks''' (born July 22, 1956){{efn|[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] gives Spinks birthdate as July 13th.<ref name="BritannicaSpinks">{{cite encyclopedia |author1=The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica |title=Michael Spinks AMERICAN BOXER |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-Spinks |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=13 June 2018 |quote=Michael Spinks, (born July 22, 1956, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.), American boxer …}}</ref> [[The New York Times]] gave his birthdate as July 13 in an article published in 1987<ref name="NYT19871018">{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Dave |title=Sports of The Times; Not Really the Undisputed Champion |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/18/sports/sports-of-the-times-not-really-the-undisputed-champion.html |access-date=14 June 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 18, 1987 |page=5005005 |language=en |quote=In contrast, Spinks, depending on how often he fights until then, might be a little rusty. He will surely be a little older. He'll turn 32 on July 13.}}</ref> and [[World Boxing Association]] published an article on his 60th birthday on July 22, 2016.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Clarence George |title=Light Heavyweight Great Michael Spinks Turns 60 |url=http://www.wbaboxing.com/boxing-news/light-heavyweight-great-michael-spinks-turns-60#.WyK6XS_mbLF |publisher=World Boxing Association |access-date=14 June 2018 |language=en |date=13 July 2016 |quote=Michael Spinks, generally considered among the greatest light heavyweights of all time, celebrates his 60th birthday today.}}</ref> In 2010 [[Sports Illustrated]] included Spinks in a list of persons born on July 22nd.<ref name="SportsIll20110722">{{cite magazine |author1=No author |title=Back in Time: July 22 |url=https://www.si.com/more-sports/photos/2010/07/22back-in-time-july-22#6 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |access-date=13 June 2018 |date=July 22, 2010 |quote=BORN ON THIS DAY … Michael Spinks (1956) …}}</ref>}} is an American former [[professional boxer]] who competed from 1977 to 1988. He held world championships in two [[weight class (boxing)|weight classes]], including the [[Undisputed championship (boxing)|undisputed]] [[light heavyweight]] title from 1983 to 1985, and the [[lineal championship|lineal]] [[heavyweight]] title from 1985 to 1988. As an [[amateur boxing|amateur]] he won a gold medal in the [[middleweight]] division at the [[1976 Summer Olympics]].

Nicknamed "Jinx", which spawned the nickname of his [[straight right hand]], "the Spinks Jinx",<ref>Lotierzo, Frank J., "Michael Spinks: A Real Champion" ''Viewing Boxing From Ringside'', Tom Donelson, Editor (Writers Club Press, 2002), p. 112</ref><ref name="Spinks Jinx">{{cite web |last=Lotierzo |first=Frank J. |title='Spinks Jinx' Charmed and Unparalleled at Light Heavyweight |website=East Side Boxing |url=http://www.eastsideboxing.com/boxing-news/lotierzo2402.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418171514/http://www.eastsideboxing.com/boxing-news/lotierzo2402.php |archive-date=April 18, 2012 |access-date=February 2, 2015}}</ref> Spinks is the brother of former world heavyweight champion [[Leon Spinks]], and uncle of [[Cory Spinks]], a former [[welterweight]] and [[light middleweight]] champion.

After a successful amateur career, which culminated in his Olympic gold medal win, Spinks went undefeated in his first 31 professional fights, beating [[Dwight Muhammad Qawi]], [[Eddie Mustafa Muhammad]], [[Marvin Johnson (boxer)|Marvin Johnson]] and [[Eddie Davis (boxer)|Eddie Davis]] en route to becoming the undisputed light heavyweight champion. After defending the title against 10 different fighters, Spinks moved up to heavyweight, and as an underdog defeated long-reigning [[International Boxing Federation|IBF]] heavyweight champion [[Larry Holmes]] (whose own 48–0 record up to that point was one victory short of tying [[Rocky Marciano]]'s 49–0 unblemished record); in doing so, Spinks became the first reigning light heavyweight world champion to win the heavyweight title. In his final fight, Spinks was [[Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks|knocked out]] by [[Mike Tyson]] in 91 seconds, the only defeat of his professional career.

Spinks has been inducted into the [[International Boxing Hall of Fame]] and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. The International Boxing Research Organization and [[BoxRec]] rank Spinks among the 10 greatest light heavyweights of all time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibroresearch.com/?p=56 |title=Light-heavyweight |publisher=IBRO |access-date=2011-06-13 |archive-date=2014-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109161059/http://www.ibroresearch.com/?p=56 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://boxrec.com/ratings.php?country=&sex=m&division=Light+Heavyweight&status=E&SUBMIT=Go |title=World all light-heavyweight ratings |publisher=BoxRec |access-date=2011-06-13}}</ref>