Cory Spinks

Cory Spinks was a former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2013, holding multiple world championships in two different weight classes. During his career, Spinks fought 47 times, winning 39, eight of which came by knockout. He faced no contests and draws, whereas he lost eight fights. His nickname is "The Next Generation," and he was born on February 20, 1978. Spinks stands at 5 feet 9+1/2 inches tall, has a reach of 71 inches, and fought in different weight classes such as Light welterweight, Welterweight, Light middleweight, and Middleweight.

Spinks began his professional boxing career in 1997 and made his debut  against Hector Leguillow, which he won via unanimous decision. He won his first twelve consecutive fights from his debut, with five of those coming via stoppage. After which he had 31 more professional fights, ending his career with a record of 39-8, including a total of 11 knockout wins.

The highlight of Spinks' boxing career was when he unified the WBC, WBA, IBF, and The Ring and lineal welterweight titles in December 2003 by defeating Ricardo Mayorga by majority decision, having been a 5 to 1 underdog before the fight. He was an undisputed welterweight champion from 2003 to 2005 and held the IBF junior middleweight title twice between 2006 and 2010.

One of Spinks' successful title defenses was against former world champion Zab Judah, which happened on April 10, 2004. Spinks won the fight via 12 round unanimous decision, winning the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, and The Ring welterweight titles. Spinks successfully defended the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, and The Ring welterweight titles against Miguel Ángel González on September 4, 2004. He won the fight via 12 round unanimous decision.

However, Judah won their February 2005 rematch, which was also the first major fight held in St. Louis in over 40 years. Spinks was knocked down midway through the ninth round, and after another right-left combination sent him sprawling into the ropes, the official finally halted the bout with 11 seconds left.

In July 2006, Spinks won his fifth championship, the IBF Junior Middleweight Title, in a fight with Roman Karmazin, despite having some rough moments in the bout, with the final scorecards reading 114-114, 115–113, and 115–113 for Spinks. On May 19, 2007, Spinks challenged Jermain Taylor for the World Middleweight Title but lost via a split decision.

In March 2008, Spinks lost the IBF Junior Middleweight Championship via controversial split decision in his fight against Verno Phillips. Nonetheless, he reclaimed the vacant IBF Junior Middleweight Championship the following year in a close split-decision victory over fellow St. Louis native Deandre Latimore. Spinks fought back after suffering a 1st round knockdown to win the fight by the scores of 115-112 Spinks, 115-112 Latimore, and 114-113 Spinks.

However, on August 7, 2010, Spinks lost the IBF Junior Middleweight Championship to mandatory challenger Cornelius Bundrage at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The fight was decided by a technical knockout in the fifth round. Additionally, Spinks suffered two more losses before retiring from professional boxing after his fight against Carlos Molina in February 2013.

Spinks had a total of eight losses in his professional boxing career of 47 fights. Six of his losses happened in title fights, and two happened as non-title bouts. Antonio Díaz defeated Spinks via 12 round split-decision on December 12, 1998, resulting in Spinks' first loss, which ended his 13-fight win streak. He has been stopped three times and lost five times via decision.

In summary, Spinks' professional boxing career spanned more than 15 years, from 1997 to 2013. During that time, he received six world titles at two weight classes and won 39 fights out of 47. Although he had three losses via knockout, he also had 11 knockout wins. Spinks retired from professional boxing with a record of 39-8, with his last fight being a non-title bout against Mexican boxer Carlos Molina on February 1, 2013.

Cory Spinks Fight Record