The challenger gives chase, aiming a punch at Duran but being restrained by the referee. After attempting a final telegraphed flurry, he holds a hand up and walks away from Leonard casually. He seemed to be willing his arms to do what they had in the first fight, but was met with the constant rat-a-tat-tat of Leonard’s speedy combinations in return. In the eighth, Duran gave desperate chase. Leonard was barely blocking by now, instead offering his face to Duran before jerking it just out of range and firing back with his own shots. The North Carolina slickster spun his right arm to throw his famed ‘bolo punch’, before turning it into a series of jabs that rocked Duran’s head on its axis. But the effect on his psyche was more severe than the effect of Leonard’s punches. His evening had not featured a savage beating, rather it was a frustrating out-foxing for the proud Panamanian. One of boxing’s great masters of physical chess, ‘Sugar’ Ray was a picture of measured calm as Duran’s swings got wilder and more desperate.Īpproaching the halfway stage, the champion was still in the fight. The exchanges now happened on Leonard’s terms, and whether he started them or not, he was always the one to end them with a swift flurry before moving away. Instead, he timed Duran’s brutal rushes, catching El Cholo coming in with sharp jabs and uppercuts. Leonard would not be drawn into a wild throwdown this time. The venue was not the only thing different about this rematch. The pair met five months after their furious first bout, this time in the vast expanse of the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. ‘Sugar’ Ray trusted his own instincts, and would be glad he had when all was said and done. Dave Jacobs, one of Leonard’s trainers, resigned because he believed his man should fight a tune-up before getting back into the ring with the only man to defeat him. Leonard petitioned to get Duran back in the ring as soon as possible, at a cost. Reports suggest the new champion gained as much as 50 pounds while celebrating his triumph over ‘Sugar’ Ray, a fact the now-former champion was all too aware of. Unfortunately, he partied and ate like one. A brawl was exactly what Montreal got that night, and by the end, they had a new welterweight champion. Leonard’s slick boxing was negated by the rough-and-ready battle that broke out. In one of the great welterweight wars, Duran drew the ‘Sugar’ man into Panama City street fight. Not for the last time, ‘Hands of Stone’ would upset the odds in spectacular fashion. The jump in weight, and the world class nature of his opponent, meant few gave the fearsome Duran a chance against Leonard. The Olympic gold medalist had a flawless record as a pro, and had beat Wilfred Benitez and Dave ‘Boy’ Green. This would lead to the Brawl In Montreal, against 27-0 welterweight king ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard. Having scorched the earth of the 135-pound class, Duran’s next stop was welterweight. Duran would defend his title eleven times, in addition to taking on multiple non-title fights in between, during the most imperious phase of his glorious career. The Panamanian had ripped through the lightweight division like a scythe through corn, never looking back after capturing the title from Scotsman Ken Buchanan in 1972. If you were making a cartoon depicting the sort of vicious, unrelenting badass boxing alone can produce, you might avoid drawing Duran for fear it would be too on the nose. ‘El Cholo’ was the picture of a boxing hard man. On this day in 1980 he had stepped through the ropes for the rematch. Roberto Duran had beaten the great ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard in a huge upset in his last fight to win the welterweight championship of the world. He had reigned as lightweight champion for eight years. He had won 71 of 72 fights in a blistering career.
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