The U.S. Olympic boxing team won seven medals on the night of July 31, 1976. The haul for the American fighters included five gold, one silver, and one bronze.
Several members of the 1976 team went on to win professional championships, including Boxing of Fame member Michael Spinks and his brother Leon Spinks. After turning professional, Leon Spinks won the heavyweight championship, defeating none other than Muhammad Ali.
Other gold medal winners on the 1976 U.S. Olympic boxing team include Leo Randolph who won the bantamweight title; lightweight Howard Davis, winner of the Val Barker Tropy (awarded to the Olympic boxing athlete who exemplifies style during competition); and Sugar Ray Leonard, who won the gold as a light welter weight. Leonard had a spectacular professional career and is considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all time.
MONTREAL-Digging and blasting like prospectors who know exactly what they’re doing, American boxers shook loose an avalanche of gold tonight in the Olympic finals at the Forum. When the last stick of dynamite had been detonatedby Leon Spinks in the light heavyweight class, the young team many experts thought would be outslugged by East Europeans and Cubans had walked off with five gold medals. They could have used a pack-mule to lug the gold, because no other United States boxing team has ever won any more of it than they did tonight before an appreciative standing room crowd of 20,000.
Steve Cady, NY Times, read more
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