The first closed-circuit boxing broadcast I ever saw live, was the June 20, 1980 fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran. I was in Dallas, Texas for the month of June 1980 in residence training for my first airline job, and bought a $20 ticket to see ‘The Brawl in Montreal’ at the Tarrant County Coliseum in Fort Worth. After taking a bus to DFW airport, I hopped on a transfer bus to Fort Worth to catch the bout.
The arena was racially charged, with a lot of tension between the blacks and latinos in the crowd. All I remember is that I wanted Ray to win so bad, and was really crushed when he lost a tough, bruising battle to the Panamanian Duran.
Leonard made the mistake of trying to go toe to toe with Duran, and got hammered along the ropes too much. By the end of the fight, he was boxing and winning the rounds, but it was too late. Originally wanting to retire, he reconsidered after a vacation in Hawaii with his wife, and sought a rematch with Duran as soon as possible.
November 25, 1980 was agreed upon, with the Superdome in New Orleans as the site. I was working at a local department store at the time, while I continued to search for the right airline job. To see the rematch, I bought a $35 ticket, drove the hour to Atlantic City Convention Hall, and took my seat on the floor.
Ray had vowed to fight “My way, this time”, and starting doing just that as the opening bell rang. He used lateral movement and a good jab to win the early rounds, and stayed off the ropes, not allowing Duran to punish him like he did in Montreal. Leonard was also landing stinging right hands to Roberto’s face, and after 6 rounds, I had him comfortably ahead. In the seventh, Ray began to show signs of cockiness, and at one point faked a bolo punch, and instead landed a hard left jab to Duran’s face. As ‘The Hands of Stone’ sneered in anger, Leonard shuffled and feinted him, proving he was in total control. Late in the eighth round, after both men exchanged blows, Duran inexplicably turned, shook his fist, and walked to his corner. When referee Octavio Meyran questioned him, he again shook his fist, saying I quit, and unbelievably it was all over. Duran had quit! I was speechless in my seat as Ray ran to the ring corner, and leapt on the ropes with his arms thrust into the air. After I came to grips what had just happened, it was still incredible to believe. Duran had quit. After the fight, he made up some crap that he had a stomach ache, but it was nonsense then, and still is today. Sugar Ray had embarrassed him, and he quit like a coward.
I was on a high for weeks after this one, and was thrilled that Ray was the welterweight champ again. As the year 1980 came to a close, boxing was becoming more and more important to me by the day. Some 45 years later, it still remains one of the most memorable nights I ever spent watching a fight in my whole life.
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