Longtime Detroit resident and former heavyweight boxing champ Leon Spink’s dead at 67

**CassTechGrad** · February-07-21, 09:44 AM

UPI. January 16, 1981

"Detroit Mich: Leon Spinks, the former heavyweight boxing champion, told police today he was attacked on a Detroit city street and awakened hours later in a motel to find he had been robbed of $45,000 worth of clothes, jewelry and other items.
Spinks told authorities he had been hit on the head and stripped of his clothes and left on a bed at the Cranbrook House motel on 8 Mile near the Lodge and that his gold dental plate was among the items taken.

Spinks, who bought a house in Detroit a few years ago, told police he was leaving a west side bar last night when he was struck on the head. He told the police he did not see who attacked him.”

Later that year the bank evicted Spinks from his $125,000 house on W. Outer Drive just off Grand River in the Rosedale Park section of Detroit for failing to make his mortgage payments. Thomas Hearns ended up buying the house for $55,000.

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**Zacha341** · February-07-21, 09:50 AM

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/06/u...xer/index.html

**Danny** · February-07-21, 10:27 AM

The man who beat Muhammed Ali! with a TKO!

**Meddle** · February-07-21, 10:45 AM

Perhaps the OP selected the wrong link to post?

**Richard** · February-07-21, 11:34 AM

Back in the early 90s I was sitting at the bar of a hotel nightclub that I used to frequent in Orlando.

A couple of seats over the was this guy that everybody kept coming up to and asking for his autograph,after about an hour or so he asked me how come I was not asking him for his autograph?

I told him,I do not know who you are,why the *uck would I ask you for your autograph,he laughed and slid down to the empty bar stool next to me and we had drinks while shooting the breeze.

Next person that came up and asked him for his autograph,he told them to get it from his brother,which was me,the look on people’s face was priceless because it was clear we were not brothers.

Night goes on and we were both 6 sheets into the wind and as he gets up to leave he asked me,so do you want my autograph?

I told him no,he laughed and handed me a bar napkin with his autograph on it,then I knew who he was ,pretty cool moment in time spent with a pretty cool person that was genuine.

**401don** · February-07-21, 12:06 PM

Originally Posted by Richard

Back in the early 90s I was sitting at the bar of a hotel nightclub that I used to frequent in Orlando.

A couple of seats over the was this guy that everybody kept coming up to and asking for his autograph,after about an hour or so he asked me how come I was not asking him for his autograph?

I told him,I do not know who you are,why the *uck would I ask you for your autograph,he laughed and slid down to the empty bar stool next to me and we had drinks while shooting the breeze.

Next person that came up and asked him for his autograph,he told them to get it from his brother,which was me,the look on people’s face was priceless because it was clear we were not brothers.

Night goes on and we were both 6 sheets into the wind and as he gets up to leave he asked me,so do you want my autograph?

I told him no,he laughed and handed me a bar napkin with his autograph on it,then I knew who he was ,pretty cool moment in time spent with a pretty cool person that was genuine.

Cool story. He really did shock the world at the time. I seem to recall he tended bar at a dive bar on Fort st. near the bridge for a while?

**Hamtragedy** · February-10-21, 04:41 PM

I think Neon Leon had an idea that he was the butt of endless jokes. He did nothing short of shocking the world when he beat "The Champ" on a split decision out of thin-air, but I don't know if he was prepared for the constant media attention for both his feat and/or misfortunes, the latter far outnumbering the former.

He used to own a bar near Grand River and Montrose. If he didn't own it he frequented it. Gangster Fun, the old local ska-band [[and a good one at that) had a show in there one night in the late 80s, and in walked Neon Leon in what we only described as "a full length dog-skin coat." He was affable and talked to everyone.

To reference the original post, that may have been the incident where they took his wallet, which had all of his personal affects in it, including his gun-permit. They also stole his bridge [[he was missing his two front teeth). I can't quote him exactly, but it a became legendary source of amusement, not only when we were in high-school but later on in college from people that had no Detroit ties, and I'm paraphrasing here "I ain't got no driver's license, I ain't got no gun-permit, and I ain't got no teefeses." We got a lot of mileage out of that.

**Zacha341** · February-10-21, 06:04 PM

^^^ Yes, good points Hamt! That was a popular joke in the D for ages: '...no teefeses'.... It's good that he was able to laugh about his tauntings. RIP.

**401don** · February-10-21, 06:08 PM

Originally Posted by Zacha341

^^^ Yes, good points Hamt! That was a popular joke in the D for ages: '...no teefeses'.... It's good that he was able to laugh about his tauntings. RIP.

He didn't laugh about them. He was deeply troubled by them and they contributed to his alcoholism and other problems. I listened to Stephen Brunt, long-time Toronto boxing sportswriter discuss him with other boxing writers for almost an hour on the radio yesterday.

**Zacha341** · February-10-21, 06:13 PM

Yes, I get that. But he was affable about it at points. Very sad indeed about the drinking and other issues and good that people are talking about his life beyond the silly stuff. I support that.

It's hard to be in the lime-light of success and then come down from with cruel people waiting. Thankfully most of the jokes I heard years back predated the vileness that is part of internet.

**Hamtragedy** · February-11-21, 12:07 AM

Originally Posted by 401don

He didn't laugh about them. He was deeply troubled by them and they contributed to his alcoholism and other problems. I listened to Stephen Brunt, long-time Toronto boxing sportswriter discuss him with other boxing writers for almost an hour on the radio yesterday.

Yeah, I get it 401. I've heard nothing of him on sportsradio here, being right after the superball. That would be a great listen from the boxing community. He almost seemed troubled from the get-go, or at least the butt of unending and unflattering anecdotes. Kind of like Detroit itself. For a few quick weeks after beating Ali, he was ours. Beyond that, he disappeared into obscurity, probably thankfully, save for the legends. We never heard from his brother Michael Spinks, Kronk Boxing paid him very little attention because we were wrapped up in the likes of "The Motor City Cobra" later known as "Hitman Hearns." Hilmer Kenty, also a Rosedale Park resident received nothing but praise from the local press. But not Leon. We were always left to wonder what became of him beyond the early 80s, like, did Don King just keep most of the purse or was it just not very large to begin with? But most of us just plain forgot about him.

RIH Neon Leon.