ALI, MUHAMMAD-LEON SPINKS I ON SITE POSTER (1978)

HISTORY: On February 15, 1978 Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali defended his title against upstart Leon Spinks at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada. Spinks had won a gold medal in the Light Heavyweight division in the 1976 Olympics, but this was only his eighth professional fight. Despite his obvious inexperience Spinks gamely outfought an aging and out of shape Ali and won the title by 15 round decision. Spinks defeated Alfio Righetti by a 10-round unanimous decision on November 18, 1977. Before the bout, promoter Bob Arum said Ali, who was in attendance, had signed to fight the winner in Las Vegas on February 15, 1978. On November 5, 1977, Ken Norton (ranked No. 1 by the WBA and WBC) defeated Jimmy Young (ranked No. 2 by the WBA and WBC) by a 15-round split decision in a bout that was sanctioned by the WBC as a heavyweight title eliminator. The WBC sanctioned Ali's fight against Spinks on December 1, 1977, but said the winner had to fight Norton. Ali's purse was $3.5 million, and Spinks received $320,000. A sellout crowd of 5,298 produced a gate of $756,300.
The fight aired live on CBS and drew more than 70 million viewers. CBS paid $3.8 million to televise the bout. Spinks was a 10-1 underdog. All three official judges and the Associated Press scored the last three rounds for Spinks. The AP had Ali winning 143-142. Spinks became the first challenger to win the World Heavyweight Championship on a decision since Jim Braddock defeated Max Baer on June 13, 1935. Spinks entered the fight with a record of 6-0-1. With only seven pro fights, he was the most inexperienced boxer ever to win the World Heavyweight Championship. On March 18, 1978, the WBC stripped Spinks and awarded the title to Ken Norton. However, Spinks remained the WBA champion. Ali vs. Spinks I was named 1978 Fight of the Year by The Ring, and 15th round was named Round of the Year by the magazine. Spinks dominated Ali from beginning to end in terms of aggression, accuracy, and punches landed. Spinks landed 419 punches, more than any other foe Ali fought.-Ref-Bob Cannobio and Lee Groves, "Muhammad Ali: By The Numbers", 2018.  Post-Fight Quotes-Ali: "I gave the best I could. I knew he was a good fighter. It was a close fight. He was the aggressor. It could have gone either way." Spinks: "I knew I was always in it, and I knew I had to go all out in the last few rounds." Ali: "Next time, I'll have to get on my toes to beat him. My rope-a-dope didn't work. He was too strong. It was more a mistake in strategy."
Spinks: "I was very serious during the fight, but I also had a lot of fun. He kept saying things to me, trying to make me mad, but all he did was make me laugh. It was like he was telling me jokes. One time he called me a dirty name. I said, 'Oh, Ali, how could you say such a thing?' Can you imagine your idol calling you a dirty name?" Ali: "Winning the championship two times is rough. Only me and Floyd Patterson have done it. If I can win it a third time, I think I'll establish a record that won't be broken in a thousand years." Spinks: "I'm the latest, but he's the greatest." Ali: "I let him rob my house while I was out to lunch." Angelo Dundee, Ali's trainer: "I knew it was too close for comfort. I told him to stop fooling around. He was giving up too many rounds. But I heard the decision and I thought 'Well, what are you going to do; that's it.' I prepared myself for this day for a long time. I conditioned myself for it. I was young with him and now I feel old with him."On a star studded undercard WBC Featherweight champion Danny "Little Red" Lopez stopped David Kotey in the 6th round, future world light heavyweight champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad stopped Jesse Burnett in the 10th round, future world light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks won an 8 round decision over Tom Bethea and future world middleweight champion Alan Minter stopped Sandy Torres in the 5th round. Offered here is an original, on site poster for this event.                                                                   

FULL DESCRIPTION: This is an original, on site poster which names the fighters and pictures Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks. Bold color and print. Bold, clear images. Clean without staining. Not creased or torn.Professionally framed. 16" x 24." Very scarce Ali on site poster.