Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks fight in boxing history, grossing some $70 million, of which Tyson earned a record purse of around $20 million and Spinks $13.5 million. Tyson won the fight, knocking out Spinks in 91 seconds. Michael Spinks became a professional boxer shortly after he won the gold medal at middleweight in the 1976 Summer Olympics. Initially, Spinks was more concerned with assisting his brother Leon's rise to the heavyweight championship, but was later convinced to turn pro himself. In 1981 Spinks fought Eddie Mustafa Muhammad for the WBA light heavyweight championship and defeated him by decision to win his first world title.
Scipio Spinks shuttled between Class AAA and the major league club for the next few seasons. The hard-throwing Spinks had control problems but also struck out an average of one batter per inning in the American Association. In April 1972, Spinks was traded to the Cardinals for Jerry Reuss. He started the season with the major league club and pitched well. By midseason, he was third in the National League in strikeouts, behind only Steve Carlton and Tom Seaver. Spinks finished with a 2.67 ERA. Spinks was exceptionally fast for a pitcher, and for that reason the Cardinals frequently used him as