Net54baseball.com Forums - RIP Leon Spinks

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Just found out that Neon Leon succumbed to prostate cancer today. He was only 67.
I got to know him a bit over the years, first interviewing him in New Orleans ahead of his second fight with Ali, and again in 1985 when he came close to fighting 1984 Olympic silver medalist Willie de Wit. Connected again in Canastota, where he showed up for the HOF induction weekend every year. He was very personable, had a great sense of humor and was always a big hit with the fans. If an autograph seeker was pushy or rude, he would just sign "Fuck you! Leon Spinks". He'll be missed.

RIP Leon.

Saw him every year up in Canastota. Leon was never really a very healthy guy.

He loved the fans though.

He would hang out in hotel lobbies and at the casino during fights, just so fans would recognize him, and come up and ask for an autograph and bullshit a bit with him.

My Dad and I actually hung out with him for a weekend, at the 1st year of "The Bare-knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame", in Belfast, NY....of all places....around 2008-9 or so, with a few other fans who were up there to help promote the event.

We were watching some fights in a hotel suite, and I'll never forget him bellowing "THAT'S BUUUUUUUULLLLSHIT!", anytime something didn't seem quite right to him.

Leon made lots of mistakes in his life, but everybody around him always seemed to forgive him, and doted on him like he was a lovable little child.

I remember his son Cory (estranged at one time from him), wiping his nose for him, and chaperoning him around the IBHOF one year when Leon wasn't feeling very good at all.

Leon's wife was a saint. Nice lady, who was very patient, and made sure Leon got into as little trouble as possible. His younger brother Michael, always seeming like the big brother looking out of the corner of his eye at him.

Met him in 2006 , already the efects of boxing and bad living was showing