Cory Spinks rose to boxing stardom by unifying the welterweight division on December 13, 2003, when he defeated Ricardo Mayorga by majority decision. He later lost his titles when he was TKO'd by Zab Judah in February 2005 in front of a hometown crowd in St. Louis, Missouri. He has not fought since the loss to Judah.
He is the son of Leon Spinks, former heavyweight champion, and the nephew of Michael Spinks.