Today, the boxing world celebrates one of the truly great moments of its history. Twenty-five years ago -- September 16, 1981 -- Sugar Ray Leonard faced Thomas "Hitman" Hearns at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas in a bout that would TRULY live up to its nickname --"The Showdown."
This was the bout everyone wanted to see at that time; two guys in the absolute prime of their careers. Both men, of course, had stellar careers leading up to their contest; Leonard was 30-1 with 20 knockouts and had won the WBC Welterweight title twice --first stopping Wilfredo Benitez and then exchanging the title with Roberto Duran. Leonard also defended his first WBC title at the Capital Centre on March 31, 1980 against Davey "Boy" Green scoring one of the greatest knockouts I have ever seen in the fourth round of that contest.
Here's a somewhat overlooked fact: Three months prior to the first bout against Hearns, Leonard also won the WBA Junior Middleweight title with a ninth-round TKO over Ayub Kalule.
Hearns, meanwhile, was undefeated going into the contest with a record of 32-0 with 30 KO's. Included in that string was the devastating second-round knockout over Pipino Cuevas on August 2, 1980 to win the WBA Welterweight title.
There was no pay-per-view at that time, so if you wanted to see this fight, you had to go to a closed-circuit location near you. If memory serves me correct, that meant either the Capital Centre, maybe the DC Armory and, in Baltimore, the Baltimore Civic Center.
The details of the bout have been widely discussed over the years -- Hearns's ability to control the action through most of the bout, Leonard's trainer, Angelo Dundee telling Leonard "You're blowing it, Kid" after the 13th round and then Leonard digging deep to stop Hearns in the 14th round. It was just an epic struggle in which Hearns may have lost in the ring, but both men won in the hearts and minds of true boxing fans worldwide.
Just an aside history lesson here to the younger fans who may be reading: This was maybe the last time in boxing in which five tremendous competitors (Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Wilfredo Benitez) came along at the same time, in and around the same weight classes (welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight) and they all FOUGHT EACH OTHER!! Leonard fought all four of his rivals. So did Duran and Hearns. The only ones Hagler and Benitez didn't fight were each other. The battles between these gentlemen rank among the top bouts in any weight class in the history of the sport. It is a time that will never be duplicated in the sport.
Leonard, Hagler and Benitez are all in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Duran is finally eligible this year. Hearns will get in on his first year of eligiblity, five years after he stops fighting, whenever that will be.
Yes, it does make me feel a little old to realize it has been 25 years since this glorious bout. And when I realize that 2007 will mark the 30th year of Sugar Ray Leonard's professional debut, I feel even longer in the tooth.
But I feel very blessed to have come along at a time when boxing was this good. We know that battles like this helped Sugar Ray Leonard -- the greatest Beltway Boxer of all-time -- forge a legacy that has spawned fantastic boxing in this area ever since.
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5 comments:
Emm...Has it really been THAT long??? Wow. Yes, I was just a young lad in grade school, but remember it quite well. The 'golden age' indeed.
* I thought we kind of went through a second HVY 'golden age' in the 90's, but people thought I was nuts at the time.
BTW- Helluva story Mr.Jones! (Good thing that wasn't a 12-rounder perhaps! LOL)
BTW- Perfectly put, Gary. Short, succint, but captured the essence of the era in a few short paragraphs. It was a special time indeed.
Just out of curiousity, DJ, how crowded was the Civic Center that day? A few people told me they saw this bout at that location!
Wow! What a night! Or in my case I should say, what an afternoon! You see I was (“geographically speaking”) a few time zones "west" for this classic battle. (Like “Discombobulating” Jones, I was pursuing my Master's degree at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I know "tough duty" but somebody had to do it). Being originally from the “beltway area” (but in 1981 residing 6,000 miles from home) it was tough finding a lot of people to get with and really get “cranked up” about this (Hearns-Leonard) bout. The islands had, at that time, "The Hawaiian Punch" - Andy Ganigan, from Waipahu, Oahu as their "big name" rising star so in general, there was interest in the sport of boxing. I however, wanted more than "general interest". This fight was going to be a BIG DEAL!!! To make the story short, in my search to crank this fight up, I was lucky enough to find a brother from Detroit who was there as a member of the UH basketball team. He was from where Hearns made his pro debut; I was from where Leonard made his pro debut (Baltimore, MD). This was perfect! We immediately after meeting, locked in on the same date, 16 SEP 1981!! His money was on Hearns, mine was on Leonard! What a night!!! Well, what an afternoon! I remember living the Blaisdell Arena (where UH played their home basketball games) after that classic war between those two greats and it was still “light” outside (due to the time difference between Hawaii and Nevada). Nothing to do after a great win like that but to take my Detroit friend’s money and go to the beach in Waikiki and watch all of the sights!! I know, you are wondering, how did I ever finish that degree in a place like that?? I ask myself over and over again that same question. Back to the story, here’s “the walkout twist”, my winnings against my Detroit friend were short lived; he later won it all back from me betting on a fight one month later where he went with a guy called “The Hawaiian Punch” (Andy Ganigan) over my pick Sean O’Grady!!! That’s BOXING!!
10 count – I’m OUT!
FD
gary, this fight brings back so many memories for me also.
in 1981, i had just returned from living in detroit, where everyone was a tommy hearns fan. being from the d.c/md area, i was a ray fan. when tommy won the title from pipino cuevas in such devsting fashion, the whole city erupted.. my buddies ripped down my ray leonard poster and we fought for about 20 minutes, they were that serious about tommy in detroit. anyway, when i returned to d.c in 1981, i thought tommy was going to seriously hurt ray; i didn't bet anyone, i just picked tommy to win. i remember listening to the radio after every round for an update and it seemed that ray was going to lose the fight, but ray pulled it out..
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