By Sam Gregory: The April 24 edition of ShoBox: The New Generation will feature Cory Spinks, 36-5 (11) reunited with his long time trainer Kevin Cunningham; together they will take on the IBF No. 6 ranked contender Deandre “The Bull” Latimore, 19-1 (16) for the vacant IBF Jr middleweight title at Scottrade Center in St Louis.
Last year Spinks made headlines when he had a falling out with his long time trainer and manager just weeks before he lost a split decision with Verno Phillips in St Louis.
According to reports in the St Louis Post Dispatch it was promoter Don King who made the call that “started the healing process and brought fighter and trainer back together after last year’s split.”
“King told Cunningham that Spinks needed his guidance. Cunningham said there were no hard feelings. And just like that, The Post Dispatch reported, they teamed up to prepare for Friday night’s bout with Deandre Latimore for the IBF Jr middleweight championship at Scottrade Center”.
Trainer Kevin Cunningham had started training Cory Spinks when the young fighter was just 16 years old but Cunningham never showed any animosity publicly or otherwise over the split. According to the trainer, It’s like as a kid you grow up under your parents, and you get to a certain age and want to branch out, make some of those decisions on your own,” Cunningham said. “I have no problem with that. Since we got back together, we’ve learned to co-exist. He’s pretty much his own man now, and I’m just dealing with the training duties.”
Other than a ten day hiatus to go home to St Louis for the birth of his daughter, Cory Spinks spent three months with Cunningham training in Florida.
Kevin Cunningham let it be known that a loss to Latimore this Friday night “would end Spinks’ career” and he reiterates that on a daily basis to his fighter. The trainer also said he’d rather be training in a high altitude and he’s had better training camps with Spinks.
Spinks, who is going into this fight with a record of 36 wins and 5 loses with only 11 knockouts, speaks with little emotion when he mumbled a barely audible, “I have to win this fight.” His wife Christy however said she sees “a difference in her husband.”
“You can tell he’s happy now,” she said with their new daughter Chloe on her lap. “After he lost his title, he was down for a while. He needed this to get him back. He and Kevin work good together. They complete each other, period. They were missing each other.”
Spinks said he clearly isn’t ready to retire from professional boxing at this point in his life also noting that he’d like to achieve the same status as his father Leon Spinks who is the former heavyweight champion and his uncle Michael, former light heavyweight champ.
Speaking of the ten day hiatus he took to witness the birth of his new daughter Spinks said, “That’s what I’m most proud of. Looking at my daughter, I look at them and want to provide them with a life I didn’t have.”
Now that he’s back with Cunningham in his corner Spinks said of his trainer, He knows my style and what type of boxer I am. And I love the way he works on fights and having game plans. He works on the game plan and I just execute.”