# Cory Spinks

Cory Spinks (born Cory Calvin; February 20, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2013. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed welterweight title from 2003 to 2005, and the IBF junior middleweight title twice between 2006 and 2010. Additionally, he challenged once for the lineal middleweight title in 2007.

## Early life and amateur career

Spinks is the son of former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks and nephew of former world heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks. He has an amateur record of 78–3, and won the National Golden Gloves and National Police Athletic League welterweight titles in 1997.

## Professional career
### Undisputed welterweight champion

Spinks went 29–2 in his first 31 contests, only losing to Antonio Díaz (regarded as a controversial decision by some boxing analysts and ringside observers) and Michele Piccirillo, whom he defeated by decision in a re-match.
However, Spinks rose to boxing stardom by unifying the WBC, WBA, IBF, and The Ring and lineal welterweight titles on December 13, 2003, when he defeated Ricardo Mayorga by majority decision. Spinks was a 5 to 1 underdog going into the fight with Mayorga. The judges scored the fight 114–112, 117–109, 114-114, favoring Spinks.

### Spinks vs. Judah I, II

Spink's first Welterweight title defense came on April 10, 2004, against former world champion Zab Judah. Spinks controlled the action over the first four rounds. In the later rounds, however, Judah's quick left hands began to find their target. Both men hit the deck late, but all three scorecards favored Spinks, as the champion won with scores of 116–111, 114–112, 114–112.
Spink's second Welterweight defence came when the two fighters met in a February 2005 rematch. The second fight was the first major bout in St. Louis in more than 40 years, and it was a 22,000+ sellout at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Spinks received star treatment during introductions, with rapper Nelly accompanying him into the ring and leading the crowd in a singalong.
Midway through round 9, Judah landed a huge left that hurt Spinks, with a follow-up putting him on the canvas. Spinks rose, but Judah rushed in with a series of hard punches that left Spinks defenseless on the ropes. Judah tried to get the official to step in, but the bout continued until another right-left sent Spinks sprawling into the ropes, where the official finally halted the bout with 11 seconds left, transferring the undisputed Welterweight Championship to Judah.

### IBF junior middleweight champion

On July 8, 2006, Spinks earned his fifth world title, the IBF Junior Middleweight Championship (also called Super Welterweight by some sanctioning bodies), in a fight with reigning champion Roman Karmazin at the Savvis Center. Despite having some rough moments in the bout, Spinks beat Karmazin by majority decision with final scorecards of 114-114, 115–113, and 115–113.

### Unified middleweight title challenge

On May 19, 2007, Spinks moved up one weight class to Middleweight with a challenge against World Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. Taylor held on to the title, defeating Spinks in a split decision.

### Losing and regaining the IBF title

On March 27, 2008, in a fight with Verno Phillips at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Spinks lost the IBF Junior Middleweight Championship via controversial split decision.
On April 24, 2009, Spinks reclaimed the vacant IBF Junior Middleweight Championship in a close split-decision victory over fellow St. Louis native Deandre Latimore. Spinks fought back after suffering a 1st round knockdown to win by the scores of 115-112 Spinks, 115-112 Latimore and 114-113 Spinks. The fight was held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
On August 7, 2010, after a five-month delay due to scheduling conflicts, Spinks lost the IBF Junior Middleweight Championship in a fight with mandatory challenger Cornelius Bundrage at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The fight was decided by a technical knockout in the fifth round.
On January 28, 2012, Spinks defeated Sechew Powell by unanimous decision to become the #1 and mandatory contender for Bundrage's IBF Junior Middleweight Title, his second consecutive victory since coming back from the loss to Bundrage. The fight took place at The Shrine Mosque in Springfield, Missouri.

## Professional boxing record

| 47 fights | 39 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 11 | 3 |
| By decision | 27 | 5 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 47 | Loss | 39–8 | Carlos Molina | UD | 12 | Feb 1, 2013 | UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 46 | Loss | 39–7 | Cornelius Bundrage | TKO | 7 (12), 2:32 | Jun 30, 2012 | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S. | For IBF junior middleweight title |
| 45 | Win | 39–6 | Sechew Powell | UD | 12 | Jan 28, 2012 | Abou Ben Adhem Shrine Mosque, Springfield, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 44 | Win | 38–6 | Shakir Ashanti | UD | 10 | Jun 25, 2011 | Family Arena, St. Charles, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 43 | Loss | 37–6 | Cornelius Bundrage | TKO | 5 (12), 1:28 | Aug 7, 2010 | Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | Lost IBF junior middleweight title |
| 42 | Win | 37–5 | Deandre Latimore | SD | 12 | Apr 24, 2009 | Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | Won vacant IBF junior middleweight title |
| 41 | Loss | 36–5 | Verno Phillips | SD | 12 | Mar 27, 2008 | Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | Lost IBF junior middleweight title |
| 40 | Loss | 36–4 | Jermain Taylor | SD | 12 | May 19, 2007 | FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | For WBC, WBO, and The Ring middleweight titles |
| 39 | Win | 36–3 | Rodney Jones | UD | 12 | Feb 3, 2007 | Silver Spurs Arena, Kissimmee, Florida, U.S. | Retained IBF junior middleweight title |
| 38 | Win | 35–3 | Roman Karmazin | MD | 12 | Jul 8, 2006 | Savvis Center, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | Won IBF junior middleweight title |
| 37 | Loss | 34–3 | Zab Judah | TKO | 9 (12), 2:49 | Feb 5, 2005 | Savvis Center, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | Lost WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, and The Ring welterweight titles |
| 36 | Win | 34–2 | Miguel Ángel González | UD | 12 | Sep 4, 2004 | Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | Retained WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, and The Ring welterweight titles |
| 35 | Win | 33–2 | Zab Judah | UD | 12 | Apr 10, 2004 | Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | Retained WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, and The Ring welterweight titles |
| 34 | Win | 32–2 | Ricardo Mayorga | MD | 12 | Dec 13, 2003 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | Retained IBF welterweight title; Won WBA (Undisputed), WBC, and The Ring welterweight titles |
| 33 | Win | 31–2 | Michele Piccirillo | UD | 12 | Mar 22, 2003 | Casinò, Campione d'Italia, Italy | Won IBF welterweight title |
| 32 | Win | 30–2 | Rafael Pineda | TD | 7 (12), 3:00 | Aug 23, 2002 | Jai-Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, U.S. | Won vacant WBA Fedelatin welterweight title; Split TD after Spinks cut from accidental head clash |
| 31 | Loss | 29–2 | Michele Piccirillo | UD | 12 | Apr 13, 2002 | Casinò, Campione d'Italia, Italy | For vacant IBF welterweight title |
| 30 | Win | 29–1 | Charles Ward | UD | 8 | Dec 6, 2001 | Adam's Mark Hotel, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 29 | Win | 28–1 | Larry Marks | UD | 12 | Aug 17, 2001 | DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Won vacant USBA welterweight title |
| 28 | Win | 27–1 | Leonard Townsend | TD | 4 (10), 2:18 | Mar 23, 2001 | Sportscenter, Owensboro, Kentucky, U.S. | |
| 27 | Win | 26–1 | Dennis Allen | TKO | 2 (10), 2:17 | Feb 23, 2001 | Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas, U.S. | |
| 26 | Win | 25–1 | Luis Vazquez | UD | 10 | Dec 15, 2000 | Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. | |
| 25 | Win | 24–1 | Edgar Ruiz | UD | 10 | Nov 17, 2000 | Peppermill, Reno, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 24 | Win | 23–1 | Jorge Vaca | TKO | 7 (12), 1:35 | Sep 17, 2000 | Harrah's, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | Won vacant WBO–NABO welterweight title |
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | Ken Manuel | TKO | 3 (6), 2:00 | Jan 18, 2000 | The Ambassador, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 22 | Win | 21–1 | Sammy Sparkman | UD | 8 | Nov 26, 1999 | New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | |
| 21 | Win | 20–1 | Verdell Smith | UD | 10 | Jul 12, 1999 | Harrah's, North Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 20 | Win | 19–1 | Rodolfo Gomez | UD | 8 | Jun 11, 1999 | Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | |
| 19 | Win | 18–1 | Mark Hammon | KO | 9 (12), 1:33 | May 17, 1999 | Harrah's, North Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | Won vacant IBA Continental junior welterweight title |
| 18 | Win | 17–1 | Teddy Worth | UD | 6 | Apr 22, 1999 | Adam's Mark Hotel, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
| 17 | Win | 16–1 | Ken Manuel | TKO | 2 (6), 1:20 | Apr 3, 1999 | Civic Arena, St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 16 | Win | 15–1 | John Stewart | KO | 1 (6), 1:20 | Mar 11, 1999 | Heart Banquet Center, St. Charles, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 15 | Win | 14–1 | Larry Kenney | DQ | 6 (6), 1:45 | Mar 2, 1999 | The Ambassador, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 14 | Loss | 13–1 | Antonio Díaz | SD | 12 | Dec 12, 1998 | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S. | For IBA junior welterweight title |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Mike Cooley | KO | 1 (6), 1:55 | Oct 6, 1998 | The Ambassador, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Ken Durham | TKO | 4 (6) | Oct 1, 1998 | Harrah's, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Javier Guadalupe Suazo | UD | 6 | Sep 18, 1998 | Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Clifton Woods | KO | 3 (6), 1:42 | Aug 4, 1998 | The Ambassador, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Abraham Bruno | UD | 6 | Jun 14, 1998 | Etess Arena, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Reggie Strickland | UD | 4 | Jun 2, 1998 | The Ambassador, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Juan Antonio Gonzalez | UD | 4 | May 16, 1998 | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S. | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Andre Hawthorne | UD | 4 | Apr 7, 1998 | The Ambassador, Jennings, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Carlos Horacio Nevarez | UD | 4 | Mar 19, 1998 | Thornton, Colorado, U.S. | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Lamont Buchanan | KO | 1 (4), 2:18 | Feb 3, 1998 | The Ambassador, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Jim Williams | TKO | 2 (4), 1:34 | Jan 23, 1998 | Grand Casino, Tunica, Mississippi, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | David Turner | UD | 4 | Dec 2, 1997 | The Ambassador, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Hector Leguillow | UD | 4 | Nov 21, 1997 | Station Casino, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | |

## Titles in boxing
### Major world titles

* WBA (Undisputed) welterweight champion (147 lbs)
* WBC welterweight champion (147 lbs)
* IBF welterweight champion (147 lbs)
* IBF light middleweight champion (154 lbs) (2×)

### The Ring magazine titles

* The Ring welterweight champion (147 lbs)

### Minor world titles

* IBA light welterweight champion (140 lbs)

### Regional/International titles

* WBA Fedelatin welterweight champion (147 lbs)
* USBA welterweight champion (147 lbs)
* NABO welterweight champion (147 lbs)

### Minor international titles

* IBA Continental light welterweight champion (140 lbs)

### Undisputed titles

* Undisputed welterweight champion