Larry Holmes defends his WBC heavyweight crown for the 10th time from challenger Leon Spinks on June 12th, 1981 at Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

Spinks would fight for a heavyweight crown only on one other occasion, losing to Larry Holmes in 1981. He retired in 1995 at the age of 42 with a pedestrian 26-17-3 record, including 14 knockouts.

Larry Holmes went 48-0 before losing to a fighter whose sibling triumphed over Muhammad Ali. ‘The Easton Assassin’ was a tremendous competitor inside the ring, renowned for his classy jab and ring IQ.

Despite facing off with a number of legendary heavyweights, there was one man who Holmes never crossed paths with at any stage of his career, although he famously dubbed this late-great heavyweight as ...

Larry Holmes vs. Leon Spinks The build-up to this fight was full of trash talk from Leon Spinks, which seemed to anger Holmes, who proceeded – to beat up Spinks and knock him out in round three.

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 ...

Spinks would lose the rematch to Ali in New Orleans and fought for the title only once after that, when he was stopped in the third round in 1981 by Larry Holmes. He continued fighting on and off ...

Spinks would lose the rematch to Ali in New Orleans and fought for the title only once after that, when he was stopped in the third round in 1981 by Larry Holmes.

Spinks would lose the rematch to Ali in New Orleans and fought for the title only once after that, when he was stopped in the third round in 1981 by Larry Holmes.

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 ...