Leon Spinks ~ "The Road To Muhammad Ali"

[Bill Paxtom]

~ LeDoux Holds Spinks To Draw, Outmuscles Olympic Champ ~

~ Rugged LeDoux Felt That He Was Shafted Again ~

~ LeDoux First Roadblock For Spinks, Rugged Brawler Slugs Way To Disputed Draw ~

Scott LeDoux
"I hurt Leon about a half-dozen times. Especially from the 6th Round and on."

"I'm getting shafted again. Leon now gets '2' big money fights, and I get an off-site
bout in Nowhere-Land. That's the way the business is. Some guys are chosen, and
other like me get railroaded."

"I signed for this bout on October 3rd, and had 3-Weeks to get ready. But 1-Week
into Training, I got sick and had a 'bad flu'. I had to take a week off, but I still wanted
this bout."

"I was still a bit weak coming into this bout, and I was maybe at 80% strength. But I
still was in command over the second-half of the bout. Sure I thought that I had won.
Don't you."

"CBS-Sports was fair to me. They gave me $3000 in up-front 'Training Expenses', and I
got a Fight Purse of $25,000. But if they want me to fight Leon again, then I'll ask for
double that amount."

[Bill Paxtom]

October 24, 1977

~ Spinks Draws, But Ali Still On Horizon ~

Leon Spinks

"I can accept the Draw, but I thought that I won. I landed more punches, and I
was the one making the fight throughout the first 5-Rounds."

"He came on from the 6th-Round and on, but I held my own. Scott is a good puncher,
but he never really hurt me. But, he's a veteran and he pulled lot of tricks in there.
He's a smart fighter, and knows how to fight real good inside."

"I can only depend on the Judges to score the bout. I only worry about the work inside
the Ring. But, a 'Draw' hurts nobody."

"This was my first 10-Rounder, and I'm still trying to adjust myself to that pace."

"I was originally supposed to face Kevin Isaac in an 8-Rounder. He was my size, and
it was for 8-Rounds which I felt that I was ready for."

"Then Kevin pulled out, and Scott was brought in as a replacement. I was a bit worried
because of his size {30 lbs. heavier than me}, but I felt that I could handle him in an
8-Rounder."

But, the 'Main Event' between Bernardo Mercado and Greg Johnson was cancelled, and
they bumped our bout from 8-Rounds to 10-Rounds. I wasn't at my best from the 8th
Round and on, because his size and strength made a difference."

[Bill Paxtom]

Friday ~ November 4, 1977

~ Leon Spinks To Fight Italian Champion - Alfio Righetti ~

Leon Spinks > is set to fight a 10-Round Elimination Bout with Italian Champion - Alfio Righetti on
Friday Night, November 18th at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

Spinks with a record of 5-0-1 {5 KO's} has been listed as a {3-1} Betting-Favorite.

Spinks {Age; 24 years, 4 months} has been promised a Championship Bout with Muhammad Ali
in February 1978 if he can defeat the 'undefeated' Italian.

Leon will receive a Fight Purse of { $30,000 } for this bout which will be televised on CBS-TV.
Spinks will also receive up-front Training Expenses of { $3000 }, as well as Travel Expenses and
amenities.

The Italian - Alfio Righetti > {Age; 25 years, 2 months} is a 6' 3" tall, lanky boxer. Alfio is undefeated
with a record of 27-0-0 with {14 KO's}. The Italian Champion has posted a string of victories of unkown
fighters but is a Ring Hero in his Country.

Alfio will receive a Fight Purse of { $10,000 } from CBS-TV, but will also receive { $80,000 } for the
ancillary fee for the Italian Television Broadcast rights.

Alfio also has a { $90,000 } 'option' with Top Rank, for a bout in Europe.

Alfio is a policeman in the small Adriatic Sea-Coast town of Rimini. The Italian has been a Professional
since May 1974 {3 1 2/ years} and had a good amateur career where he posted a record of 43-3. He
has never been floored or stopped in any of his bouts.
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Wednesday ~ November 9, 1977 {New York, New York}

~ A Boxer Who Can Beat Leon Spinks ~

Alfio Righetti, the Italian heavywieght Champion arrived here in new York today. The undefeated boxer
will spend 1-day here and will spar at Gleason's Gym to show off his boxing skills, before taking a
flight to Las Vegas.

The 6' 3" boxer/counter-puncher is not a big-hitter, but he is very accurate with his fast left-jabs and
counter right-hand leads.

When asked what his style is, the Italian responded with > "I'm a fast boxer with good movement and a
tight defense."

Asked about what his best punches are, Alfio added > "Lots of left-jabs, and a right-hand lead."

Alfio Righetti >
"The key to winning is to stay calm and be patient. I pick my spots to punch, and I capitalize on my
opponent's mistakes. Of course my best attribute is counter-punching."

[Bill Paxtom]

Friday ~ November 18, 1977

Caesar's Palace ~ Las Vegas, Nevada

Television Broadcast > CBS-TV

Leon Spinks ~ 5-0-1 {5 KO's} ~ 6' 1" ~ 201 lbs. ~ Reach; 76" ~ {Age; 24 years, 4 months}
#15 WBA ~ #14 WBC
vs.
Alfio Righetti ~ 27-0-0 {14 KO's} ~ 6' 3" ~ 217 lbs. ~ Reach; 80" ~ {Age; 25 years, 2 months}
#9 WBA ~ #9 WBC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~ The Skinny ~

Betting-Favorite > Leon Spinks {3-1}

Originally, Leon Spinks had signed on August 12th to face Alfio Righetti on September 13th at
the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on the undercard of the Carlos Palomino vs.
Everaldo Costa Acevedo 'WBC Welterweight Championship' bout.

The bout was to be televised by CBS-TV as well.

Alfio, has been the #9 WBC-ranked Heavyweight since June 1977.

Alfio, and his country-mate Lorenzo Zanon were both being discussed as opponents for World Champion
Muhammad Ali as early as January 1977, but both were not ranked in the WBC Top 10.

But, Alfio moved into the picture on March 3, 1977 when he defeated {W Dec 12} 'veteran' Dante Cane
to capture the Italian Heavyweight Championship.

On June 2, 1977 - Fight Promoter signed Alfio to face Muhammad Ali in mid-July for the Championship.

But, the financial backing fell apart, and that was the end of that.

[Bill Paxtom]

~ Leon Spinks vs. Alfio Righetti ~

'The Bout'

Rounds 1 and 2 >

Leon was the aggressor, as he attacked with wild-barrages and drive Alfio around the
perimeter of the Ring.

Leon landed with both overhand rights, and left-hooks. But Alfio stayed calm, and laid
back on the Ropes, and rolled with most of the punches.

Trainer - Sam Solomon yelled from the corner, for Leon to > 'pace himself'.

George Benton was also working Leon's corner.

Round 3 >

Leon still attacked, but paced himself a bit better. Leon was still throwing hard-punches,
but Alfio was still doing a good job of blocking and/or rolling with the punches.

Leon used a hard-punching attack, but there was little finesse. Again, Leon was aggressive,
and used a belting body-attack throughout the Round.

But, Alfio was able to tag Leon coming in with straight right-hands a few times, to keep him honest.

Round 4 >

Alfio was able to get back into the bout, as he used smart counter-punching tactics. Though he
never stopped moving backwards, Alfio was successful in tagging Leon with left-jabs. Each time that
Leon made a fast-rush, he was met by left-jabs and a moving Alfio.

Leon was again aggressive, but he missed with many punches. Now he was forced to focus on the
body, as each time that he come in high, he was met by a sharp left-jab to the face.

And Alfio started moving side-to-side, which threw Leon's timing off. Alfio again caught Leon
coming in with straight right-hand leads to the face.

Rounds 5 and 6 >

A repeat of Round 4, as Alfio was exhibiting good movement, while smartly scoring with a
steady-flow of 'crisp' left-jabs.

The clever Italian was again using counter-punching tactics, mixed in with accurate
right-hand leads.

And when he stopped moving, Alfio would nail Leon coming in with fast 2-Punch' combinations
to the head.

Scorecards after 6-Rounds >
* Art Lurie .......... 28-26 > {4-2-0 in Rounds}
* Lou Tabat ........ 27-27 > {3-3-0 in Rounds}
* Harold Buck ..... 27-27 > {3-3-0 in Rounds}