Thad Spencer is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 heavyweight

Heavyweight

Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...

 boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

.

A native of Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, Spencer made his professional boxing debut in May 1960. After building up a 31-5 record, which included wins over contenders Doug Jones

Doug Jones (boxer)

Doug Jones is a former American heavyweight boxer.- Boxing career :Doug "Pugilism" Jones started off his career successfully with 18 consecutive wins against mostly lightly regarded opponents, until his first loss occurred at the hands of Eddie Machen. He lost his next two fights, and the third a...

, Brian London

Brian London

Brian London, born Brian Sidney Harper, 19 June 1934, in West Hartlepool, is a retired English heavyweight boxer. He was British and Commonwealth Heavyweight champion from 1958 to 1959, and had two world heavyweight title fights...

 and Amos Lincoln, he was highly regarded enough to be a part of the eight-man WBA

World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

 elimination tournament, held after Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

 had been stripped of the title. Spencer won a 12 round decision over former title-holder Ernie Terrell

Ernie Terrell

Ernie Terrell is an American singer, record producer, and former World Boxing Association heavyweight boxing champion. At , he was very tall, by the standards of the day....

 in August 1967 and was then matched against Jerry Quarry

Jerry Quarry

Jerry Quarry , nicknamed "Irish" or “The Bellflower Bomber,” was an Irish-American heavyweight boxer. Quarry was rated by Ring Magazine as the most popular fighter in the sport, 1968–1971, and was one of the biggest stars of arguably the greatest era in the history of the heavyweight division.-...

 in the semi-finals. Despite entering the bout as a 6/4 favourite, Spencer lost to Quarry by a 12th round TKO

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

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Spencer lost his next three fights by knockout, to Leotis Martin

Leotis Martin

Leotis Martin was an American boxer, the first ever NABF heavyweight champion and best known for his victory over former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. Martin was a good puncher and a fairly skilled heavyweight who fought from 1962 to 1969...

, Billy Walker

Billy Walker (boxer)

Billy Walker is a retired English Heavyweight boxer and actor. He was born in London in 1939 and turned professional in 1961 after 39 amateur bouts. His nickname was “Golden Boy”. His professional record was 21 wins , 8 losses and 2 draws...

 and Mac Foster, and was never a serious title contender again. He continued boxing until 1971, though without winning another bout, and finished with a record of 32-13-1.

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