Editor’s note: This video was originally published on USAToday.com.
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Leon Spinks, the 1976 Olympic champion who took Muhammad Ali’s heavyweight crown in his eighth pro fight, died Friday after a five-year battle with cancer, according to release from a public relations firm. He was 67.
The native of St. Louis shocked the world when he defeated a 36-year-old Ali to win the WBA and WBC titles on Feb. 15, 1978 at the Hilton in Las Vegas. Ali had begun to decline but Spinks earned the split-decision victory, fighting aggressively and outworking his legendary opponent.
Ali, fitter and more focused, won the rematch by a unanimous decision seven months later at the Superdome in New Orleans.
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