Leon Spinks and John Tate, Obscure Heavyweight Champions
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
If I were to answer to who I think remain the most obscure heavyweight champions of record, I could rattle off a list from Tommy Burns to Ruslan Chagaev to Nicolai Valuev.
Any number of people from Michael Bentt to Mike Weaver have at one time or another had a piece of the heavyweight pie. In May 1955, Archie Moore actually won the world heavyweight title as recognized by Nevada, with a 15 round decision over Nino Valdes.
‘Neon’ Leon Spinks and ‘Big’ John Tate are two of the more modern era obscure heavyweight champions of note. Spinks only held the undisputed world heavyweight title for one fight when he won a 15 round decision over Muhammad Ali in March 1978. Tate won the vacant WBA version of the world heavyweight title in October 1979 by 15 round decision over Gerrie Coetzee, only to lose it to Mike Weaver five months later when he got kayoed by Mike Weaver in the fifteenth and final round.
Tate had a record of 34-3 with 23 knockouts between 1977 and 1988, and died at age 43 in 1998. Leon, also the brother of light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Michael Spinks, fought between 1977 and 1995, and had a record of 26-17-3 with 14 knockouts. In 1986, Leon fought for the WBA World Cruiserweight title and got stopped by Dwight Muhammad Qawi. Including that fight, Leon won only one of ten bouts between 1986 and 1988 and faded into obscurity. Leon tried wrestling, and in 1992 Leon won the Frontier Martial Arts World Wrestling title, the only such world boxing champion to win a pro wrestling title of any kind. Leon lives a quiet life with his wife Brenda today in Las Vegas.
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