Michael Spinks (born July 13, 1956) a native of St. Louis, Missouri, is a former boxer who was champion in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight division. He now lives in Greenville, Delaware. He was the first light heavyweight champion to the heavyweight title. His nickname, Jinx, rhymed with his last name, and his right also earned a nickname: The Spinks Jinx. His older brother, Leon Spinks, beat Muhammad Ali for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Spinks had a 93-7 amateur boxing record, with 31 wins by knockout. He won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1976 in Montreal.

Spinks then turned professional with a win over Eddie Benson, knocked in a round on April 17, 1977 in Las Vegas. Spinks began with a 31 fight winning streak that almost until the end of his career. After four more wins, Spinks eindproduct'77 with the first battle that began a gradual climb in opposition quality: an eight-round decision over Gary Summerhays, a popular young boxer of the moment.

In 1978, Spinks won two fights, including an eight-round decision over former world title challenger Tom Bethea means, under the same card where his brother Ali Leon Dethroned as world Heavyweight champion in Las Vegas.

1979 saw Spinks gets less than three minutes of action in a boxing ring, with his only fight that ends in a first round knockout of Marc Hans, but in 1980, Spinks took his climb to the top to another level when he beat future world super middleweight champion Murray Sutherland, David Conteh and edge effects conte suppose Ramon Ronquillo and Alvaro Yaqui Lopez (who challenged for a world title four times). Of his five wins that year, three came by knockout, Sutherland and Johnny Wilburn are the only ones who lasted the distance.

By 1981, Spinks was a top ranked competitor, and after the defeat of the former and future world Light Heavyweight champion Marvin Johnson by a knockout in four rounds, the WBA Spinks made their number one challenger, and so, on July 18 of that year, he met WBA's Light Heavyweight champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, again in Las Vegas. Spinks fell Mustafa Muhammad in round 12 and went on to world Light Heavyweight champion with a 15-round decision win. He defended the title once in'81, beating Vonzell Johnson by a knockout in seven.

After four successful defense in 1982, including a knockout win in a rematch with Sutherland, Spinks was a superstar, at least in the boxing world. He started on the covers of magazines and boxing boxing fans began clamoring for a unification fight with WBC world champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi. Tragedy affected his life, however, when in January 1983, his 24-year-old woman died in a car accident, which Spinks the single parent of his two-year-old daughter.

Meanwhile, the fight all the fans wanted was asked for by boxing critics and magazine editors, too. On March 18, two months after the death of his wife, Qawi and Spinks met in a boxing ring. The fight was broadcast by HBO World Championship Boxing, and according to the book The Ring: Boxing the 20th century, Spinks had a very difficult time to overcome before they even start: His daughter asked him, while in his dressing room, when her mother would come to watch the battle. Spinks broke almost in tears, but soon had to recover and you are in the ring, where he and Qawi fought to unify the crown. Spinks was almost floors in round eight, but he remained upright and won a unanimous 15-round decision to the undisputed world Light Heavyweight champion. He defended the title again before the end of the year, against Oscar Rivadeneira in Alaska, with whom he beat by a ten-round knockout.

Spinks fought only once in 1984, the loss of his crown with a twelve-round majority decision over Eddie Davis. He and Qawi were only a few weeks away from the control of a second in September of that year, but this fight got called off when Qawi was injured during training.

In 1985, Spinks beat David Sears and Jim McDonald, both by knockout in title defenses, before challenging Larry Holmes for the World Heavyweight Championship in a battle by the IBF. Holmes was trying to tie Rocky Marciano's record of 49-0 as the Heavyweight champion, but it was Spinks history that night, winning a fifteen-round unanimous decision and the first world Light Heavyweight champion ever to win the World Heavyweight Title. With this, Michael and Leon was the first pair of brothers ever to be world Heavyweight champions.

In 1986, Spinks and Holmes fought a rematch, and had almost the same result, this time Spinks winning by a 15-round split decision. After that he retained the World Heavyweight Championship again, by a knockout in four against Steffen Tang City. In 1987 he was stripped of the IBF crown for refusing to fight their mandatory challenger Tony Tucker, and the acceptance of a higher bid to fight Gerry Cooney Title Bout in third place. Spinks gevloerd Cooney in five rounds, and after Mike Tyson had unified the Heavyweight belts, fans started clamoring for a battle between them as much as Spinks still recognized as the legitimate champion. The fight took place in June 1988, with Tyson knocking Spinks twice on his way to a first round knockout. Spinks was the first defeat in the ring, his last as he retired after the fight.

Spinks had a record of 31 wins, 1 loss and 21 wins by knockout as a professional.

In Ring Magazine's list of 100 largest Puncher of all time, Spinks was ranked 42nd.

In Ring Magazine's list of the 80 best fighters of the last 80 years, issued in 2002, Spinks ranked 41st.