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One Punch from the Promised Land: Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks, and the Myth of the Heavyweight Title
It was 1976 when Leon and Michael Spinks first punched their way into America’s living rooms. That year, they became the first brothers to win Olympic gold in the same Games. Shortly thereafter, they became the first brothers to win the heavyweight Leon toppled The Greatest, Muhammad Ali; Michael beat the unbeatable Larry Holmes. With a cast of characters that includes Ali, Holmes, Mike Tyson, Gerry Cooney, Dwight Qawi, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and dozens of friends, relatives, and boxing figures, ONE PUNCH FROM THE PROMISED LAND tells the unlikely story of the Spinks brothers. Their rise from the Pruitt-Igoe housing disaster. Their divergent paths of success. And their relationship with America. The book also uncovers stories never before made the big paydays, the high living, the backroom deals. It’s not afraid to tackle an issue rarely Does the heavyweight title deliver on its promise to young men in the inner city? This is the definitive story of Leon and Michael Spinks. And a cross-examination of heavyweight boxing in 20th century America.
337 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2013
3 people are currently reading
579 people want to read
About the author
John Florio
7 books40 followersJohn Florio was raised in Flushing, NY. He credits the streets of Queens as one of his earliest influences, along with black-and-white movies, old superhero comics, Sports Illustrated, Humphrey Bogart, and the Hardy Boys.
A fan of pop fiction and creative nonfiction, Florio is the author of the historical crime novels, Sugar Pop Moon and Blind Moon Alley. With Ouisie Shapiro, he has written the nonfiction books: Marked Man, Doomed, War in the Ring, One Nation Under Baseball, and One Punch from the Promised Land. Florio and Shapiro also contribute to The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Nation, and ESPN.
Florio holds an MFA from the University of Southern Maine, an MA from New York University, an MBA from St. John’s University, and he is pursing a DFA at the University of Glasgow. He currently serves on the faculty of the Stonecoast MFA creative writing program at the University of Southern Maine.
Visit John Florio at johnfloriowriter.com.
A fan of pop fiction and creative nonfiction, Florio is the author of the historical crime novels, Sugar Pop Moon and Blind Moon Alley. With Ouisie Shapiro, he has written the nonfiction books: Marked Man, Doomed, War in the Ring, One Nation Under Baseball, and One Punch from the Promised Land. Florio and Shapiro also contribute to The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Nation, and ESPN.
Florio holds an MFA from the University of Southern Maine, an MA from New York University, an MBA from St. John’s University, and he is pursing a DFA at the University of Glasgow. He currently serves on the faculty of the Stonecoast MFA creative writing program at the University of Southern Maine.
Visit John Florio at johnfloriowriter.com.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 19, 2020
You don't necessarily have to be a boxing fan to enjoy this book. There are quick recaps of the fights but overall it's really a human interest story that happens to center around boxing. If you recall the storybook events of the gold medal performances at the 1976 Olympics and their later professional careers that's a bonus but not a necessary element.
The book moves along at a quick and steady pace, providing just enough background and behind-the-scenes details to inform and entertain the reader without breezing past essential moments. The story of the Spinks brothers begins with their childhoods and takes us through the conclusion of their professional careers. It's all told chronologically and continues throughout in a nice straight line. Leon takes up the majority of the early professional stories and Michael is more prominent later.
Boxing may be the most singularly quotable sport in existence and here the author doesn't disappoint. It's also a sport with a reputation for sketchy dealings and shady characters and, again, the author delivers. But this isn't to suggest the book is a gratuitous anecdote fest. The colorful aspects of boxing are presented as they occurred within the stories of the Spinks brothers, not as distracting or sensationalized filler.
If you're looking for a change of pace that won't bog you down this book may be a good choice.
The book moves along at a quick and steady pace, providing just enough background and behind-the-scenes details to inform and entertain the reader without breezing past essential moments. The story of the Spinks brothers begins with their childhoods and takes us through the conclusion of their professional careers. It's all told chronologically and continues throughout in a nice straight line. Leon takes up the majority of the early professional stories and Michael is more prominent later.
Boxing may be the most singularly quotable sport in existence and here the author doesn't disappoint. It's also a sport with a reputation for sketchy dealings and shady characters and, again, the author delivers. But this isn't to suggest the book is a gratuitous anecdote fest. The colorful aspects of boxing are presented as they occurred within the stories of the Spinks brothers, not as distracting or sensationalized filler.
If you're looking for a change of pace that won't bog you down this book may be a good choice.
December 10, 2025
I loved this book. The up and down story of two brothers destined for lives of poverty, crime and very possibly early death … their climbs out of that environment, although via two very different paths, their challenges, troubles, dedication, commitment, successes & ultimate failures. It’s also the story about the underbelly of the world of professional boxing and possibly, although I assume to a much lesser degree, the world of professional sports, especially of those least equipped to thrive in that world, despite their ability, desires & talents. They’re most likely to be used and taken advantage of by wheelers, dealers and the unscrupulous. Highly recommended!
August 3, 2013
I won this book on a giveaway. I am 54 years old and the perfect age to recall the Spinks brothers career. I remember vividly sitting in my friends apartment anticipating the showdown between Mike Tyson and Michael Spinks. The book gave me great insight into the lives of Leon and Michael Spinks. Most boxing fans know a bit about Leon's career, and I won't give away anything in the review, but the book goes way beyond the headlines and provides a behind the scene story that followers of the sport need to read. I came away with a new found respect for Michael Spinks. The author did a good job of explaining how promoters handle their prize fighters. All the big names are in this book; Ali, Don King, Bob Arum, Sugar Ray, etc.. I learned a great deal from the book and it's a must have for anybody that wants to learn about the Spinks brothers rise to fame and fortune. Nicely done Mr. Florio!
April 28, 2021
Boxing fans of a certain age are certainly familiar with the Spinks brothers, Leon and Michael. Both won gold medals in the 1976 Olympics and both went on to professional careers in which both of them became the heavyweight champion of the world. At that time, the title held much prestige in sports as well as boxing. How both of them got there and their careers and lives after achieving this feat are covered in this excellent book by John Florio.
Rising in the sport out of their poverty-stricken area of the Pruit-Igoe projects in St. Louis, both Leon and Michael achieved success in the sport, although Michael wanted to pursue a profession aside from boxing, as Florio describes well. This is especially true for both brother's stories when one considers Florio did not obtain interviews with either brother and instead talked to many contacts to the Spinks' as well as extensive research. The result of this is an interesting take on not only the brothers' boxing careers but also their lives before and after boxing.
The divergent paths are well-illustrated by Florio as after the Olympics, Leon wanted to turn pro right away while Michael was not as anxious to do so. Leon then pulled off one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, winning the heavyweight title over Muhammad Ali in only his eighth professional fight in February 15, 1978. His reign was very short as seven months later, Ali won back the title in the rematch. Both during and after his reign, Leon was drinking and partying excessively, leading him to some more destructive behavior and trying to schedule bouts with questionable opponents and promoters.
Michael's path, while more deliberate and also including a light heavyweight title, also included a win over a legendary champion, Larry Holmes. While Michael had more sustained success during his reign, he also lost the title in a famous bout when he lost to Mike Tyson in June 1988. Unlike Leon, that was the last fight for Michael, retiring soon after that bout. While Michael was more careful with his health and money, he too suffered after boxing when he learned that his long-time advisor Butch Lewis had taken much of his winnings.
However, both brothers seem to be upbeat now, despite the difficulties. This book was written before Leon's cancer diagnosis, so that part is not covered and at times, the author does seem a little harsh on Leon in his lack of responsibility to account for his issues when he was boxing. Nonetheless, this is a book that a boxing fan who knows about the Spinks brothers will want to pick up as it is a wonderful read on a pair of famous brothers of the "sweet science."
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
Rising in the sport out of their poverty-stricken area of the Pruit-Igoe projects in St. Louis, both Leon and Michael achieved success in the sport, although Michael wanted to pursue a profession aside from boxing, as Florio describes well. This is especially true for both brother's stories when one considers Florio did not obtain interviews with either brother and instead talked to many contacts to the Spinks' as well as extensive research. The result of this is an interesting take on not only the brothers' boxing careers but also their lives before and after boxing.
The divergent paths are well-illustrated by Florio as after the Olympics, Leon wanted to turn pro right away while Michael was not as anxious to do so. Leon then pulled off one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, winning the heavyweight title over Muhammad Ali in only his eighth professional fight in February 15, 1978. His reign was very short as seven months later, Ali won back the title in the rematch. Both during and after his reign, Leon was drinking and partying excessively, leading him to some more destructive behavior and trying to schedule bouts with questionable opponents and promoters.
Michael's path, while more deliberate and also including a light heavyweight title, also included a win over a legendary champion, Larry Holmes. While Michael had more sustained success during his reign, he also lost the title in a famous bout when he lost to Mike Tyson in June 1988. Unlike Leon, that was the last fight for Michael, retiring soon after that bout. While Michael was more careful with his health and money, he too suffered after boxing when he learned that his long-time advisor Butch Lewis had taken much of his winnings.
However, both brothers seem to be upbeat now, despite the difficulties. This book was written before Leon's cancer diagnosis, so that part is not covered and at times, the author does seem a little harsh on Leon in his lack of responsibility to account for his issues when he was boxing. Nonetheless, this is a book that a boxing fan who knows about the Spinks brothers will want to pick up as it is a wonderful read on a pair of famous brothers of the "sweet science."
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
October 11, 2013
I won this book as part of Goodreads' First Reads program.
I'm only a casual boxing fan, but I jump at every chance I get to watch a good fight. So I thought I would enjoy the book, but not quite as much as I actually did. A good biographical nonfiction should read like a story, letting you experience the subject's life rather than feel like you are being told it. This book does that very well, letting the reader share in the joys of Gold medals and Heavyweight Titles and despair at Leon's downfall and Michael's abrupt boxing end. In fact, the image of Mike Tyson staulking away from a prone Michael Spinks is just such a heartbreaking image that pretty much sums up how the Spinks' brothers boxing careers ended.
For not interviewing either Leon or Michael, the book does a great job of sourcing and tracking their under-appreciated careers. The only think I would question is the portrayal of Leon. Sure, a lot of the blame for how his life turned out rests squarely on his shoulders; but I think he is as much a victim of the sport as he is his own worst enemy. I would have loved to have seen the authors go into a little more detail on the many vultures in the world of boxing and really explore why the Heavyweight Title is such a myth for young, poor boxers.
I gave the book 4 stars for wonderfully highlighting a couple of lost champions who went toe to toe with Ali, Holmes, and Tyson, and became the first brothers to win Olympic Gold and the Heavyweight Title.
P.S. Imagine if Leon and Michael were one fighter. The bravado, swagger, and in-ring tenacity of Leon combined with the patient, level headed, training obsessed Michael. That would have been one tough boxer.
I'm only a casual boxing fan, but I jump at every chance I get to watch a good fight. So I thought I would enjoy the book, but not quite as much as I actually did. A good biographical nonfiction should read like a story, letting you experience the subject's life rather than feel like you are being told it. This book does that very well, letting the reader share in the joys of Gold medals and Heavyweight Titles and despair at Leon's downfall and Michael's abrupt boxing end. In fact, the image of Mike Tyson staulking away from a prone Michael Spinks is just such a heartbreaking image that pretty much sums up how the Spinks' brothers boxing careers ended.
For not interviewing either Leon or Michael, the book does a great job of sourcing and tracking their under-appreciated careers. The only think I would question is the portrayal of Leon. Sure, a lot of the blame for how his life turned out rests squarely on his shoulders; but I think he is as much a victim of the sport as he is his own worst enemy. I would have loved to have seen the authors go into a little more detail on the many vultures in the world of boxing and really explore why the Heavyweight Title is such a myth for young, poor boxers.
I gave the book 4 stars for wonderfully highlighting a couple of lost champions who went toe to toe with Ali, Holmes, and Tyson, and became the first brothers to win Olympic Gold and the Heavyweight Title.
P.S. Imagine if Leon and Michael were one fighter. The bravado, swagger, and in-ring tenacity of Leon combined with the patient, level headed, training obsessed Michael. That would have been one tough boxer.
October 31, 2015
I got this book because I went to high school with Ousie Shapiro - who may or may not remember me.
I greatly enjoyed this book. It is about boxing, but it is about more. It is a story of divergent lifestyles coming out of living in the projects. Michael and Leon both had boxing talents, but each took a separate path after they recieved fame and fortune.
This is recommended
Best line in the book: "Lupe Guerra and Rick Kellar, were hardly household names, even in the Guerra and Kellar households."
BTW - I also learned that the Zamboni ice rink cleaning machine was invented by a man named Zamboni - Frank Zamboni.
I greatly enjoyed this book. It is about boxing, but it is about more. It is a story of divergent lifestyles coming out of living in the projects. Michael and Leon both had boxing talents, but each took a separate path after they recieved fame and fortune.
This is recommended
Best line in the book: "Lupe Guerra and Rick Kellar, were hardly household names, even in the Guerra and Kellar households."
BTW - I also learned that the Zamboni ice rink cleaning machine was invented by a man named Zamboni - Frank Zamboni.
February 8, 2017
Escape from Pruitt-Igoe:
Michael and Leon Spinks were brothers who grew up in the roughest section of Saint Louis to become world-champion boxers. Aside from having that in common, one would be hard-pressed to find two men of more disparate temperament and constitution.
Michael Spinks had a long and illustrious career as both an amateur and a light-heavyweight champion. He also campaigned successfully as an undersized heavyweight and is unfairly judged solely by his spectacular loss to Mike Tyson (who mowed down everyone in his wake in his prime without blinking). Michael was quiet, modest, and frugal with his boxing winnings, slowly building his career in the shadows of louder and more famous boxers.
Leon, on the other hand, shot onto the scene like a rocket, fighting Muhammad Ali after just a handful of wins and becoming world champ in short order. He had his demons though. He did drugs, shirked training camp, slept with anything on two legs, and eventually lost his mind, his money, and one time his dentures in a drunken night of revelry. His mercurial impulses took him from sporting a mink coat and driving luxury automobiles to unloading trucks in a McDonald's parking lot and having to borrow money for a sandwich. No matter his personal faults, however, the portrait of "Neon" Leon Spinks that emerges from this book is ultimately a favorable depiction of a man incapable of self-pity, in love with life and overflowing with joy irregardless of what the world throws at him (and it threw everything, including the kitchen sink).
This book does a good job of showing how, even though Leon and Michael were totally different from one-another, their love and loyalty as brothers never waned or faltered. The work is filled with solid info for both those who already know boxing inside and out, and for anyone coming to the subject cold or just looking for a compelling biography about brotherhood and betrayal. Rare photos and interviews with everyone who was anyone in boxing in the seventies and eighties make this a worthy addition to any collection. It also contains some even-handed, none-too-strident meditations on the meaning of the black American athlete in American culture. Recommended.
Michael and Leon Spinks were brothers who grew up in the roughest section of Saint Louis to become world-champion boxers. Aside from having that in common, one would be hard-pressed to find two men of more disparate temperament and constitution.
Michael Spinks had a long and illustrious career as both an amateur and a light-heavyweight champion. He also campaigned successfully as an undersized heavyweight and is unfairly judged solely by his spectacular loss to Mike Tyson (who mowed down everyone in his wake in his prime without blinking). Michael was quiet, modest, and frugal with his boxing winnings, slowly building his career in the shadows of louder and more famous boxers.
Leon, on the other hand, shot onto the scene like a rocket, fighting Muhammad Ali after just a handful of wins and becoming world champ in short order. He had his demons though. He did drugs, shirked training camp, slept with anything on two legs, and eventually lost his mind, his money, and one time his dentures in a drunken night of revelry. His mercurial impulses took him from sporting a mink coat and driving luxury automobiles to unloading trucks in a McDonald's parking lot and having to borrow money for a sandwich. No matter his personal faults, however, the portrait of "Neon" Leon Spinks that emerges from this book is ultimately a favorable depiction of a man incapable of self-pity, in love with life and overflowing with joy irregardless of what the world throws at him (and it threw everything, including the kitchen sink).
This book does a good job of showing how, even though Leon and Michael were totally different from one-another, their love and loyalty as brothers never waned or faltered. The work is filled with solid info for both those who already know boxing inside and out, and for anyone coming to the subject cold or just looking for a compelling biography about brotherhood and betrayal. Rare photos and interviews with everyone who was anyone in boxing in the seventies and eighties make this a worthy addition to any collection. It also contains some even-handed, none-too-strident meditations on the meaning of the black American athlete in American culture. Recommended.
May 8, 2017
Very well written book. I usually drop "sports books" after 100 pages, but the storytelling in this one is not of that genre, and worked for me the whole way through. Tragic and sad story of these brothers.
August 31, 2013
I won this book through the First Reads program.
As a boxing fan I was familiar with the Spinx brothers, but didn't get to see much of their careers. This book was very informative. I knew Michael would eventually win 30 some fights before losing to Tyson, but didn't really know anything about Leon's career other than that he was heavyweight champion, and I knew nothing about their background and why they became boxers. This book doubles as a biography for the Spinx brothers as well as an inside look at the business side of boxing. Being able to see the machinations that go into the rankings and putting together fights was fascinating.
As a boxing fan I was familiar with the Spinx brothers, but didn't get to see much of their careers. This book was very informative. I knew Michael would eventually win 30 some fights before losing to Tyson, but didn't really know anything about Leon's career other than that he was heavyweight champion, and I knew nothing about their background and why they became boxers. This book doubles as a biography for the Spinx brothers as well as an inside look at the business side of boxing. Being able to see the machinations that go into the rankings and putting together fights was fascinating.
August 30, 2013
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This book shows you the highs and lows of the boxing game and all that are affected. But more than that this is a book about life. It's about the life of the Spinx brothers and those around them. You get a keen insight into their mindset. Also you see the closeness of relationships and sharks that prey on these warriors. You see one brother live a smart life and the other throw everything away. If you are a boxing fan I would highly recommend this book.
October 14, 2013
In 1976 Leon and Micheal Spinks, were the first brothers to win the Olympic gold medal. Then the brothers went on to win Heavyweight Title. Leon won over Muhammad Ali and Michael won over Larry Holmes. Went from poverty to big pay days and fame. Then the story of the drop from it. Tells of success and relationship to America. This story is for those with interest in heavyweight boxing in 20th century America. A very detailed story of the times. A good read.
Want to read
May 22, 2013I just entered to win this book for the fun of it than I put it inside the donate to the cancer center box. won this book from goodreads.com/first read
February 13, 2014
Much morer than I anticipated. While I would have preferred more in-depth interviews and primary sources, a compelling story of these two fighters from my middle youth.
October 28, 2013
An excellent inspirational story that gives people even from some of the poorest, drug, and gang ridden neighborhoods in America faith and hope of having a successful future.
May 12, 2014
I am a big boxing fan and enjoyed this book very much. Very inspirational story about the Spinks brothers. It's amazing how different they were. Highly recommend to fans of the sweet science.
November 8, 2013
Fantastic!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews