Boxing is an art that can’t be pursued by everyone. The sport which entertains everyone but, no one knows how it feels when you hitten hard on your face. It is a field in which you need a lot of strength, a lot of practice, and a determination to improve yourself better day by day. This quality will make you a successful professional boxer. In every field, a vast competition has been developed and if you want to be in a competition you have to keep moving, and moving better than others. Michael Spinks have all the qualities mentioned above and hence he is one of the successful boxers of the era. Michael has only a single defeat in professional boxing in the heavyweight championship. He lost to Mike Tyson in just 91 seconds. After that, he took the decision to end up in his professional boxing carrier.
Let us see, the daily routine of Michael Spinks, some of his stats, some of his facts. Let us learn from the great boxer Michael Spinks by having an eye on his daily routine.


Table of Contents
Who is Michael Spinks
- American boxer Michael Spinks was born on the 13 July 1956 in St Louis, Missouri.
- The family lived on Pruitt-Igoe housing estate, which was demolished in 1976, was a tough place to grow up in.
- He started boxing lessons at a local gym.
- From a young age, Spinks was the man of the house: his father abandoned the family when Spinks was four, and his older brother Leon was not as responsible as Spinks.
- Michael Spinks immediately showed talent as a boxer and won the Golden Gloves Middleweight Championship in 1974 when he beat Wilber Cameron in Colorado.
- Michael Spinks finished with a 93-7 amateur record with 35 knockouts.
- He turned professional in 1977. He won his first title fight in 1981 when he defeated Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and gained the World Boxing Association’s light heavyweight title.
Real name | Michael Spinks |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Jinx |
Weight(s) | Light heavyweight, Heavyweight |
Height | 6 ft 2+1⁄2 in (189 cm) |
Reach | 76 in (193 cm) |
Nationality | American |
Born | July 13, 1956 (age 65) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S |
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 32 |
Wins | 31 |
Wins by KO | 21 |
Losses | 1 |


Personal Life
- Spinks was born to parents Leon Spink’s Sr. and Kay Francis Spinks. Prior to this, he is a brother to Leon Spinks and an uncle to Cory Spinks.
- Spink has been married to Sandy Massey until her death in 1993. Nonetheless, the couple shared one gorgeous daughter named Michelle Spinks. She was born on 08/30/1972 and is 48 years as of 2021.
1956 | Born July 13, 1956, in St. Louis, Missouri |
1976 | Competes in first and only Olympics |
1977 | Begins professional boxing career |
1980 | Spinks’s daughter, Michelle, born December 3 in Philadelphia |
1983 | Spinks’s wife, Sandy Massey, is killed in an automobile accident |
1988 | Loses IBF heavyweight title to Mike Tyson in ninety-one seconds, June 27 |
1988 | Retires from boxing |
Critics are a sign that you are making progress. Your success is having an impact on another person’s emotions.
Michael Spinks Net Worth:
Spinks is one of the rare professional boxers who retired with his money and health fully intact. He earned approximately $24 million pre-tax during his career. For most of his career his finances were managed by promoter Butch Lewis. Upon Lewis’ death in 2011, Spinks filed a lawsuit against the promoter’s estate alleging that tens of millions of dollars Spinks earned in the ring were mismanaged. The lawsuit alleged the Lewis used Spinks’ money on personal expenses for himself and his children. Spinks’ lawyers alleged that Lewis allowed the boxers’ health insurance to lapse and caused $50,000 worth of monthly bills to go unpaid. Spinks allegedly had to use pension and retirement funds, at significant tax penalties, to pay down debt and monthly bills. Spinks was seeking damages to be paid from the roughly $8.5 million left in Lewis’ estate. It’s unclear if the lawsuit was resolved.
In 1985 Michael paid $316,000 for a 3-acre property in Wilmington, Delaware that has a 7,000 square-foot main home and large guest house. Today the house is worth $1.5 – $2 million. He owns the property without a mortgage, as far as we can tell.
He has current net worth of $5 Million.


Morning of Michael Spinks
- Wakes up early
Michael Spinks is a morning Lark, he thinks that only morning bird can catch a worm. After waking up early he gets started with his daily workout routine. Morning excerise is always beneficial for him. - Breakfast time
For breakfast Sprinks had three poached eggs, shredded wheat, wheat toast, tea and fruits, or oatmeal, wheat pancakes, tea and fruits. And a diet full of nutrients which provides him energy for workout. Diet is very important in case of boxing as, it provides strength. A good diet and practise makes a good wrestler. - Back to grind
After completing his breakfast he takes a little rest and then get back to his grind for completing his training routine. He is hardworker and punctual to his training which differs him from others.
Afternoon of Michael Spinks
- Lunch time
After completing his training he takes some rest after that he have his rich diet lunch. His lunch usually contains broiled fish, green vegetables, baked potato, wheat toast, salad with lemon juice and vinegar, fruit and hot tea. - Relaxing time
After Lunch he takes a little rest in which he do whatever he wants and free ups his mind, as relaxing a body is a part of workout. A person should be physically and mentally fit to be completely fit.
Evening of Michael Spinks
- Gym time
At 4:30 p.m. he did his regular boxing training at the gym. He always think that practising with someone who is better than you can make you more perfect, hence he always practise with a person who is better than him in any of the skill. - Dinner time
After finishing his all drills he have his dinner with his family at around 7.30 p.m. , he usually takes dinner as same as lunch, just broiled chicken or turkey was substituted for the fish. - Winds up his day
After having lunch, he spends his time with his family and then winds up his day early. He gets early to bed as he get tired of hectic workout. He takes a deep sleep and from next morning, cycle repeats.
“You always be like, I hope I’m ready.”
Workout routine of Michael Spinks
- Monday – Early morning walking and jogging, followed by sprint work, then explosive calisthenics.
- Tuesday – Running work then weight training with 30-to 50-pound dumbbells.
- Wednesday – Rest day.
- Thursday – Running then weight training.
- Friday – Running then explosive calisthenics.
- Saturday – Running then weight training.
- Sunday – Rest day.
“I had the greatest sparring partners, I had the greatest sparring team. And these guys they wrapped me up a lot. I never got the chance to get off on them.”
Awards and accomplisment
1976 | National Golden Glove Championships |
1976 | Olympic middleweight boxing Gold Medal |
1981 | World Boxing Association light-heavyweight champion |
1983 | World Boxing Council light-heavyweight champion |
1985 | International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion |
“Boxing is the best job in the world to let off steam, and people are in trouble when Tyson wants to let off steam.”
Facts about Michael Spinks
- He successfully defended his title five times before earning the vacant world title by winning a 15-round decision over Dwight Qawi in 1983.
- Spinks fought Mike Tyson in June 1988, losing in just 91 seconds; it was the fourth shortest heavyweight title match in history.
- At the 1974 World Games in Cuba, Michael Spinks captured the bronze medal as a light heavyweight.
- Michael Spinks made it to the 10th grade before dropping out of school and joining the Marine Corps.
- Michael Spinks became a professional boxer shortly after he won the gold medal at middleweight in the 1976 Summer Olympics.


Things to learn from Michael Spinks
- You can bullshit yourself, but you can’t bullshit the fight game.
- Film your training. Study it to see what you’re doing wrong. One objective viewing of yourself practicing is worth ten fights. It’s worth even more if you go over it with someone better than you. They will see mistakes you didn’t even know existed.
- You learn from people better than you. If you can’t subdue your ego and listen to their advice, you were doomed before you even began.
- The implications of the 10,000 hour rule might be under debate, but the value of practice isn’t. Perfect practice makes perfect technique.
- Pain is the great equalizer in fighting. No matter how much better than you someone is, if you can cause them pain, you stand a chance.
- You’re never as good or as bad as you think you are. This is why it’s important to focus on improving your skills rather than on your record. One man’s undefeated record is another man’s 8-2 depending on who, when, and where he fought.
- Find people you can trust. Keep them close. This process can be long and painful, but a garden is more beautiful when it’s free of weeds and snakes.
“If you don’t take chances, you can’t do anything in life.”
Quotes
- “…There’s No Fighter Smarter Than Me.”
- “My Punches Are Just As Hard in Chicago As in New York.”
- I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’
- To become a champion, fight one more round.
- If you lose a big fight, it will worry you all of your life. It will plague you – until you get your revenge.