Leon Spinks ~ "The Road To Muhammad Ali"

[Bill Paxtom]

Professional Debut

Saturday ~ January 15, 1977

The Aladdin Hotel ~ Las Vegas, Nevada

Television Broadcast ....... CBS-TV

"Fight Bill Posting"

Leon Spinks ~ 0-0-0 {0 KO's} ~ 6' 1" ~ 196 lbs. ~ {Age; 23 years, 6 months}
vs.
Bob Smith ~ 20-2-2 {13 KO's} ~ 6' 1" ~ 185 lbs. ~ {Age; 24 years, 5 months}

Fight Purses
* Leon Spinks ..... { $10,000 } + Travel Expenses and amenities.
* Bob Smith ............ { $800 } + One 'Round-Trip' airline ticket from New York to Las Vegas, and amenities.
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'The Skinny'

Leon Spinks >
Leon Spinks, who was Honorably Discharged from the United States Marines in December 1976
is now 18 lbs. heavier than he was when he won the Gold Medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics
in July in the Light-Heavyweight Division {178 lbs.}.

Leon's amateur record is listed at 178-7 {133 KO's}, including numerous Titles, including;
* {2} All-Military
* {3} National AAU
* 1975 Pan Am Games {Silver Medal}
* 1976 Olympics {Gold Medal}

Leon is being handled by Butch Lewis, and is Trained by Sam Solomon. Leon has only trained for
11-Days {in Wilmington, Delaware} for this bout.

Mitt Barnes of St. Louis, Missori is Leon's {Manager}.

Originally, Leon was only offered { $5000 } for his Professional Debut. But Leon turned it down.

Leon will receive a fight purse of { $10,000 } for his Professional Debut in this scheduled 6-Round bout.

As of January 11th {Monday} and opponent for Leon has not been selected.

Bob Smith >
'Lightning' Bob Smith is a southpaw Light-Heavyweight, who usually fights at 180 to 185 lbs.

Bob, who is a 'Butcher's Helper' in Brooklyn, New York is contacted on Tuesday Morning, only {4-days} before
this bout. He is told that he will be Leon Spinks' opponent for his Professional Debut.

Bob arrives in Ls Vegas on Friday Morning, and will only have 1-Day to prepare and get accilimated in Las Vegas.

Bob {who weighs 185 lbs.} is told that the 'Fight Contract Weight' will be 180 lbs. > Bob said, that he
could easily lose 5 lbs. in One-Day out in Las Vegas by working out.

'Lightning' Bob Smith claims he has won 22 of 25 bouts.. Another posting has his record at 6-1-1 {5 KO's}
in his previous '8-Bouts' dating back to April 1976.

Bob does have 'one' good win, which was a {Dec 8} over Rochelle Norris on August 19, 1976 in Queens, New York.

Bob Smith will receive a Fight Purse of ...... { $800 }.

Bob Smith >
"I came here at 185 lbs. But don't worry. I can make 180 lbs. easy. As for fighting Leon, this will be easy. He's a
rank Amateur who fights crazy. He needs to spend some time at Joe Frazier's Gym in Philadelphia like me. That
is where you learn on how to fight. Not in the Ring on Television."

"I only had 3-Days notice for this bout, but I'm in shape. My record, well I've won 22 of 25, and scored
13 KO's. I could hit pretty good until I got married in September 1974. Then, I only had 1-Bout in almost
2-Years. When I came back, I had lost my punch. But I've gone {6-1-1} since April 1976."