After barely escaping with a draw against Thomas Hearns on June `12, 1989, Sugar Ray Leonard agreed to fight Roberto Duran in his next bout. Duran had upset Iran Barkley in February to capture his middleweight belt, his fourth title in four different divisions. The third fight between both fighters was set for December 7, 1989 at the brand, spanking new Mirage Hotel and Casino on the strip in Las Vegas. As much as I had grown to resent Leonard, all was forgiven for this one, and I was back in his corner again to root him on against Duran.
It was a bitterly cold Thursday night in South Jersey, and I knew because I had spent the entire day cleaning the leaves in our yard. After an exhausting afternoon of yard work, there was nothing like a big fight to look forward to. It was back to the Pavilion in Cherry Hill to catch the action, only a 20 minute drive from our home.
Duran had once been known as “Hands of Stone’, but I referred to him as “Hands of Silly Putty”, because I just couldn’t stand him. He also got a gift decision over Barkley to set up the trilogy with Leonard, because I thought he lost to Iran. It been boxing, the bout was set, and I was sitting live to see it.
Leonard easily outboxed Duran from the start, and easily at that. Duran was slow, and lost most every single round. Even though Ray tried to relive the past with the fake bolo punches and all that crap, it was a no-contest. The only moment of excitement came in the 11th round, when a sharp right hand opened a huge gash over Leonard’s right eye. It was ironic because only seconds before Marvin Hagler mentioned, “The fight’s not over yet Tim. It only takes one punch to put your lights out.” Ray was lucky that the cut happened so late in the fight, because the blood poured from his eye, and it required plastic surgery to repair, it was that bad.
As it happened, Ray boxed one last round to take the unanimous decision, and incredibly Duran bitched that he thought he won the fight. That’s why I never liked the guy, because he never conceded anything, and was a crybaby. The bottom line was he lost, and Sugar Ray Leonard retained his championship. Whether or not he could be the fighter of the 80’s, only time would tell.
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