Michael Spinks
"Jinx"
Top 100 · #85 · 54.6 points- Born
- 1956
- Died
- —
- Nationality
- USA
- Career
- 1977–1988
The first reigning light heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight title, beating Larry Holmes.
Titles & Honours
- Olympic Gold (1976)
- Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion
- IBF Heavyweight Champion
Career Timeline
1977–1988- Milestone
Olympic Gold (1976)
Year from profile honours.
- Milestone
First recorded professional bout
vs Eddie Benson · W TKO
- Signature fight
vs Dwight Muhammad Qawi
W UD · Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.. Archive selection: one of the first three wins over distinct fighters profiled here, not an expert-selected signature fight.
- Milestone
25th recorded win
vs Eddie Davis · UD. Newspaper decisions excluded.
- Signature fight
vs Larry Holmes
W UD · Riviera, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.. Archive selection: one of the first three wins over distinct fighters profiled here, not an expert-selected signature fight.
- Signature fight
vs Gerry Cooney
W TKO · Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.. Archive selection: one of the first three wins over distinct fighters profiled here, not an expert-selected signature fight.
- Milestone
Latest recorded bout
vs Mike Tyson · L KO. Not necessarily the retirement date.
Title wins · dates not yet documented
Derived from the current archive and profile honours. Title-reign years are not exact bout dates; title claims are not independently verified. Signature fights use existing profile selections, or clearly labelled wins over other archived fighters when no selections exist. Year-only dates retain their original precision.
Photo Archive
2 archival photographs under their original licences.
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Fight-by-Fight Record
| Date | Result | Opponent | Method | Round | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977-04-16 | W | Eddie Benson | TKO | 1 | The Aladdin , Paradise, Nevada , U.S. |
| 1977-05-07 | W | Luis Rodriguez | UD | 6 | Kiel Auditorium , St. Louis, Missouri , U.S. |
| 1977-06-01 | W | Joe Borden | KO | 2 | Forum , Montreal, Quebec , Canada |
| 1977-08-23 | W | Jasper Brisbane | TKO | 2 | Spectrum , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , U.S. |
| 1977-09-13 | W | Ray Elson | KO | 1 | Grand Olympic Auditorium , Los Angeles, California , U.S. |
| 1977-10-22 | W | Gary Summerhays | UD | 8 | The Aladdin, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
| 1978-02-15 | W | Tom Bethea | UD | 8 | Las Vegas Hilton , Winchester, Nevada , U.S. |
| 1978-12-15 | W | Eddie Phillips | KO | 4 | Westchester County Center , White Plains, New York , U.S. |
| 1979-11-24 | W | Marc Hans | TKO | 1 | Metropolitan Sports Center , Bloomington, Minnesota , U.S. |
| 1980-02-01 | W | Johnny Wilburn | UD | 8 | Louisville Gardens , Louisville, Kentucky , U.S. |
| 1980-02-24 | W | Ramon Ranquello | TKO | 6 | Steel Pier , Atlantic City, New Jersey , U.S. |
| 1980-05-04 | W | Murray Sutherland | UD | 10 | Concord Resort Hotel , Thompson, New York , U.S. |
| 1980-08-02 | W | David Conteh | TKO | 9 | Riverside Centroplex , Baton Rouge, Louisiana , U.S. |
| 1980-10-18 | W | Yaqui Lopez | TKO | 7 | Convention Hall , Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1981-01-24 | W | Willie Taylor | TKO | 8 | Martin Luther King Arena , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , U.S. |
| 1981-03-28 | W | Marvin Johnson | KO | 4 | Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1981-07-18 | W | Eddie Mustafa Muhammad | UD | 15 | Imperial Palace , Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
| 1981-11-07 | W | Vonzell Johnson | TKO | 7 | Playboy Hotel and Casino , Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1982-02-13 | W | Mustafa Wassaja | TKO | 6 | Playboy Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1982-04-11 | W | Murray Sutherland | TKO | 8 | Playboy Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1982-06-12 | W | Jerry Celestine | TKO | 8 | Playboy Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1982-09-18 | W | Johnny Davis | TKO | 9 | Sands , Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1983-03-18 | W | Dwight Muhammad Qawi | UD | 15 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1983-11-25 | W | Oscar Rivadeneyra | TKO | 10 | Pacific Coliseum , Vancouver, British Columbia , Canada |
| 1984-02-25 | W | Eddie Davis | UD | 12 | Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1985-02-23 | W | David Sears | TKO | 3 | Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1985-06-06 | W | Jim MacDonald | TKO | 8 | Riviera , Winchester, Nevada, U.S. |
| 1985-09-21 | W | Larry Holmes | UD | 15 | Riviera, Winchester, Nevada, U.S. |
| 1986-04-19 | W | Larry Holmes | SD | 15 | Las Vegas Hilton, Winchester, Nevada, U.S. |
| 1986-09-06 | W | Steffen Tangstad | TKO | 4 | Las Vegas Hilton, Winchester, Nevada, U.S. |
| 1987-06-15 | W | Gerry Cooney | TKO | 5 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1988-06-27 | L | Mike Tyson | KO | 1 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
Showing 32 of 32 recorded fights · last updated 2026-10-11. Imported record tables are not independently verified and may be incomplete. Early-era logs include newspaper decisions (NWS), which are not counted in the official totals above.
Record notes
Fight record last retrieved: 2026-10-11. Title histories remain subject to archival review.
Historical-era totals differ between record-keeping conventions (newspaper decisions, exhibitions).
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