Comments (0) Best Local Boxer - 2006
Cory Spinks
What a difference six pounds makes. As a welterweight, Cory Spinks had to starve himself to stay below 147. Eating nothing but apples in the days leading up to his February 2005 title defense, Spinks was no match for a fresh Zab Judah. The loss kicked off a trying year for Spinks, a year in which his wife stabbed him amid press speculation that the former champ was one fight away from the scrap heap. Six pounds heavier and one weight class higher, it was a very different Spinks who stepped into the ring in July against International Boxing Federation junior-middleweight champ Roman Karmazin. Having spent the previous introspective weeks in Ohio training under coach Kevin Cunningham and accompanied by up-and-coming local brawler Devon Alexander, Spinks appeared strong and comfortable in his more-natural weight class and won the twelve-rounder by majority decision. A bout with Floyd "Pretty Boy" Mayweather now seems predestined, though that marquee match-up will have to wait until Spinks faces 38-year-old journeyman Rodney Jones.
