Terence George Spinks MBE (28 February 1938 – 26 April 2012) was an English

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, who won the gold medal in the

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

division (– 51 kg) at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. In the final he defeated

Mircea Dobrescu Mircea Dobrescu (5 September 1930 – 6 August 2015) was a flyweight boxer from Romania. He competed at the 1952, 1956, and 1960 Olympics and won a silver medal in 1956, losing to Terence Spinks on points.ABA ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...

flyweight champion.

1956 Olympic results

*Round of 32: Defeated Samuel Harris (Pakistan) on points *Round of 16: Defeated

Abel Laudonio Abel Ricardo Laudonio (30 August 1938 – 12 August 2014) was an Argentine lightweight boxer. As an amateur he competed in the 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won a bronze medal in the lightweight division in 1960. In 1961, he turned professional and ...

(Argentina) on points *Quarterfinal: Defeated Vladimir Stolnikov (Soviet Union) on points *Semifinal: Defeated René Libeer (France) on points *Final: Defeated Mircea Dobrescu (Romania) on points (won gold medal)

Pro career

Spinks had 49 professional bouts of which he won 41. He had his first professional bout in April 1957, against Jim Loughrey, at

Harringay Arena Harringay Arena was a sporting and events venue on Green Lanes (London), Green Lanes in Harringay, North London, England. Built in 1936, it lasted as a venue until 1958. Construction Harringay Arena was built and owned by Brigadier-General Al ...

, winning on a stoppage for a cut eye. In September 1960, Spinks fought for the British featherweight title, against the holder

Bobby Neill Robert Neill (10 October 1933 – 15 February 2022) was a Scottish boxer who was British Featherweight Champion between 1959 and 1960. Early life Neill was born in Edinburgh on 10 October 1933,Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, and Spinks won the title when the fight was stopped in the seventh due to cuts suffered by Neil. In November 1960, the two men had a re-match at the Empire Pool,

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

. Spinks retained his new title by knocking Neill down three times in the fourteenth, with him finally being counted out. In May 1961, Spinks defended his title for the second time, against the Welshman,

Howard Winstone Howard Winstone, MBE (15 April 1939 – 30 September 2000) was a Welsh world champion boxer, born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. As an amateur, Winstone won the Amateur Boxing Association bantamweight title in 1958, and a Commonwealth Games Gold Me ...

. The fight was at the Empire Pool, and Winstone won by a technical knockout in the tenth round. After losing his title, Spinks continued fighting, but never challenged for a title again. He had his last fight in December 1962 against Johnny Mantle, winning by a technical knockout in the eighth. After his boxing career ended Spinks became a trainer, coaching the South Korean team at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. He witnessed the

Black September Black September (), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was an armed conflict between Jordan, led by Hussein of Jordan, King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by chairman Yasser Arafat. The main phase of the fight ...

terrorists approaching the Israeli quarters before the Munich massacre and raised the alarm.

After boxing

After his boxing career ended, Spinks life took a turn for the worse. He became seriously ill, became a heavy drinker and, in his own words, was living "like a tramp". He was taken in by his cousin in

Chadwell Heath Chadwell Heath is an area in East London, England. It is split between the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and the London Borough of Redbridge, around west of Romford and east of Ilford, and north-east of Charing Cross. History Topon ...

where he lived for 19 years until his death.

Honours

He was awarded the MBE in the 2002 New Years Honours List.

Death

Spinks died at his home in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

on 26 April 2012, after a long illness. More than 200 ex-boxers, including Bobby Neill and several more of Terry's former opponents, attended his funeral at

East London Cemetery The East London Cemetery and Crematorium are located in Plaistow in the London Borough of Newham. It is owned and operated by the Dignity Funeral Group. History The cemetery was founded in 1871 and laid out in 1872 to meet the increasing dem ...

. Author and sports historian

Norman Giller Norman Giller (born 18 April 1940, Stepney, East End, London) is an English author, a sports historian and television scriptwriter, who in October 2015 had his 100th book published. His 101st book, ''July 30, 1966 Football's Longest Day'', was pu ...

, his long-time friend, said in the eulogy: "Terry hung up his gloves in 1962 but we have never hung up our memories of one of the most accomplished fighters to come out of the East End boxing factory."

References

External links

databaseOlympics
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spinks, Terry 1938 births 2012 deaths Featherweight boxers Flyweight boxers Boxers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for Great Britain English Olympic competitors Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Members of the Order of the British Empire Olympic medalists in boxing British boxing trainers English male boxers Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Boxers from the London Borough of Newham 20th-century English sportsmen