CADILLAC â For a sliver of time in the late 70s and early 80s, Caberfae Ski Resort looked a little like the boxing movie âRocky IV,â where franchise hero Rocky Balboa secludes himself somewhere in the frigid north to prepare for his upcoming bout with the Russian powerhouse Ivan Drago.
Cadillacâs real-life version of Rocky Balboa was Leon Spinks, who in 1978 shocked the boxing world by defeating the legendary Muhammad Ali to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Spinks, 67, died on Saturday.
In the spring of 1979, Spinks had just lost the title to Ali after holding it only a few months. His next bout was with the South African Gerrie Coetzee.