Historians of the sport of boxing may recall the 1976 USA boxing team with fond memories.
Arguably one of the best boxing teams that ever competed in Olympic history.
Five gold medal winners on the team in total out of a seven man team in Montreal, Canada.
Sugar Ray Leonard won Gold, same with brothers Michael Spinks and Leon Spinks, and Leo Randolph at flyweight capturing top honors that summer.
Silver medalist was Charles Mooney at bantamweight.
Louis Curtis and Chuck Walker represented Team USA at light-flyweight and light-middleweight.
Both losing to their Polish counterparts.
The other Gold medalist that year was Howard Davis Jr, whom died in December of 2015.
Receiver of the Bronze medal, heavyweight John Tate passed away in 1998.
Now sadly, the latest member of the legendary team has passed on after a battle with cancer.
Leon Spinks.
Fellow team member Sugar Ray Leonard reacted to the news by saying on social media:
“Leon Spinks was one of the 5 of us who brought home a Gold Medal in The 1976 Olympics for the US Boxing team. Leon’s style was like none-other! Very few fighters could cope with Leon. I will miss you my friend! Rest In Peace.”
Indeed.
A style of his own with tremendous speed and intuitive sweet science ability at all levels in the sport.
Here was Spinks capturing Gold for America in 1976:
Rest in peace Leon Spinks.
