After his win over Earnie Shavers in September of 1977, Ali was told by the WBC that he would have to face Ken Norton for the fourth time, or lose his belt. Ali agreed to give it up, but still held the WBA version of the title, and was recognized by the public as the true champion. He hand picked 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist Leon Spinks, a neophyte with a record of 6-0-1, with 5 wins coming by knockout. Anyone with an iota of sense realized that Ali knew he couldn’t beat top fighters anymore, and figured Spinks would be an easy test.
The February 15, 1978 bout from the Hilton Center in Las Vegas, was broadcast on CBS TV, with Ali listed as a 10-1 favorite. It wasn’t long after the fight began, that you realized Spinks was no joke, and Ali was in trouble. The rope-a-dope didn’t work on Spinks, because he pounded away on Ali’s midsection, and racked up points. Ali couldn’t really stay on his toes anymore, and had to trade with Spinks more than he wanted to. At 36 years old, Ali was a shell of himself, and was in the toughest fight he had been in for years.
The champ showed grit and courage, but when the bell for the 15th round rang, I knew he had lost. Spinks had shocked a live worldwide tv audience, and Ali was beltless. In the post fight press conference, Ali was gracious in defeat, but you had to wonder if he should even fight again.
After a break, and some much needed rest, Ali started making excuses that he hadn’t trained properly, and that he wanted a rematch. It was set for September 15, 1978 at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Spinks accepted the rematch with Ali rather than face Ken Norton, the new WBC champ, and was listed as a 2 1/2 to 1 underdog going in. Ali trained like hadn’t in years, and I remember watching his interviews with David Susskind and Dick Cavett leading up the bout as he talked about it. I also noticed he always seemed tired, and that his speech was slow and slurred at times. He was already punch drunk, and really shouldn’t even have been fighting anymore.
I wheeled my mom’s 19 inch color tv into my bedroom to watch the bout live on ABC, with Cosell announcing constantly that Ali would be the first 3-time heavyweight champion should he defeat Spinks. Ali boxed and moved from the onset, was in obviously better condition, and won most of the rounds by jabbing, and holding. It was a crappy fight to watch, with Spinks appearing to be confused and lost. When the 15th round ended, it was clear that history had been made, Ali had recaptured the championship, but it was far from a scintillating thing to witness.
Ali was the new champion, but in June of 1979, thankfully announced his retirement from boxing. His record stood alone, and the self proclaimed “Greatest of all Times!”, could now enjoy the fruit of his labor. Unfortunately as with most fighters. Ali’s retirement was not permanent.
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