Leon Spinks the distinction until the Klitschko brothers became champions two decades later. In the 1980s Leon Spinks competed in several boxer vs. wrestler matches in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), including losing by submission to Antonio Inoki. In 1986 Spinks earned his last championship opportunity, fighting Dwight Muhammad Qawi for the WBA cruiserweight championship. Qawi had been defeated by Michael Spinks three years earlier for his WBC light heavyweight championship. However, Leon Spinks lost by TKO in the sixth round. During the fight, Qawi taunted Spinks as he beat him mercilessly in a corner. Spinks boxed for another eight years with mixed
Tommy Spinks Tommy Spinks Thomas Allen Spinks, known as Tommy Spinks (October 29, 1948 – August 26, 2007), was an American football wide receiver for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs who played from 1966 to 1969. A native of Shreveport, Spinks and Larry C. Brewer, who came to Tech from Minden High School, were the players who received the passes from the legendary Tech quarterback Terry Bradshaw, also a Shreveport native who went on to play successfully for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Spinks set two records in the 1968 Grantland Rice Bowl, when he caught 12 passes for 167 yards. After his Tech career,