After losing to Roberto Duran on June 20, 1980 in Montreal, Sugar Ray Leonard took his wife Juanita to Hawaii on vacation to relax. He needed a chance to heal his sore body and reassess his future. While running on the beach, Ray decided he wanted a rematch with Duran, with no other bouts in between. His idea was to return home, and tell Mike Trainer to go to work on getting Duran back in the ring in the fall. Leonard’s plan was to box Duran this time, not go toe to toe, and regain the welterweight championship.
At the time, I was working at a local department store in the TV department, while I still was searching for the right airline job. I worked with 3 or 4 guys who were serious boxing fans, and we whittled away the free time talking about ring news. When Tuesday, November 25, 1980 rolled around, I couldn’t wait to make the hour drive to Atlantic City Convention Hall to see the big fight live on closed-circuit.
I didn’t have a car at the time, but lived only a mile from my job, and was able to have my mom take me to work and pick me up. My dad had a big, beautiful Mercury Marquis, and I asked him if I could borrow it to go see the bout. He didn’t object, but I’m sure he was relieved when I got home safe later that night from Atlantic City.
It was the first time I had been to Convention Hall, and I didn’t mind paying $35 for my ticket one bit. I had a pretty close seat on the floor, and barely remember the undercard fights leading to the main even. Leonard had trained hard, appeared much more muscular when he climbed through the ropes, and was confident he would return back to Maryland with the title again. Duran looked pretty much the same, and as the opening bell began, thoughts flooded my mind.
Ray couldn’t afford a loss, and going right back into a rematch with Duran had risks. If Roberto won, Leonard’s career would have taken a totally different direction, and he would have been chasing other fighters like Hearns and Benitez, to get another belt. I was nervous quite frankly, and hoped Sugar Ray could pull of the victory.
Leonard boxed from outset, and refused to let Duran bully him onto the ropes. The action was brisk and exciting, with Ray dishing out more than he took. His quickness was apparent, and I was thrilled to see him winning the rounds with his jab and combinations. In the seventh round, Ray began taunting Duran, including faking a bolo punch, and nailing Roberto with a still jab. The champion seethed in anger, but the damage had been done.
Incredibly, at 2:44 of the eight round, Duran turned his back on Leonard after getting hit, and walked away. He signaled to referee Octavio Meyran, “No more”, and quit. Unbelievably, the macho of all macho men had quit! I leapt from my seat with joy, knowing Ray had embarrassed Duran, and was the new WBC Welterweight Champ.
The hour or so drive home went quickly, as thoughts of the fight raced through my mind. My dad was very relieved when I got home safely by the way, which made it a very successful night for both of us.
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