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Leon Spinks, who won Olympic gold and then shocked the boxing world by beating Muhammad Ali to win the heavyweight title in only his eighth pro fight, has died. He was ICvil, who lived his later years in Las Vegas, died Friday night, according to a release from a public relations firm.

He had been battling prostate and other cancers. His wife, Brenda Glur Spinks, and a few close friends and other family members were by his side when he died. A lovable heavyweight with a drinking problem, Spinks beat Ali by decision in a round fight in to win the title.

He was unranked at the time, and picked as an opponent because Ali was looking for an easy fight. He got anything but that, with an unorthodox Spinks swarming over Ali throughout the fight on his way to a stunning win by split decision. The two met seven months later at the Superdome in New Orleans, with Ali taking the decision this time before a record indoor boxing crowd of 72, and a national television audience estimated at 90 million people. 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 by Larry Holmes.

Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of Louisville

He continued fighting on and off into the mids, finishing with a record of Spinks, with a big grin that often showed off his missing front teeth, was popular among boxing fans for both his win over Ali and his easygoing personality. But he burned through his earnings quickly, and at one point after retiring was working as a custodian at a YMCA in Nebraska, cleaning locker rooms.

Spinks was found to have brain damage caused by a combination of taking punches to the head and heavy drinking, though he functioned well enough to do autograph sessions and other events late in his life. Continue to the full article at Huffpost. She was ]