The Brawl in Montreal: 40 Years Later
Posted: 20 Jun 2020, 17:49
On Friday, June 20th, 1980 in Montreal, Canada, Roberto Duran of Panama took the the WBC World Welterweight crown from champion Sugar Ray Leonard of Palmer Park, MD.
It was, and still is, THE MOST ANTICIPATED FIGHT in the history of boxing that did not engaged heavyweight boxers. This is the super fight outside the heavyweight division that revolutionized the sport. Never before, a non-heavyweight fighter received heavyweight money. Leonard received an astonishing $10 million dollars! Something unheard of at the time. Duran ONLY received $1 million?
This angered Manos de Piedra. How come a fighter that has been fighting way before Leonard ever became pro and had an extraordinary record of 71-1, 56KOs will receive $9 million dollars less? Me, personally, I never got it. And probably never will. Duran was the former World Lightweight Champion. He defended the crown 12 times in almost 7 years. And when Leonard went pro for the first time, Duran was already, at least, a hall of fame boxer.
Duran, the best fighter pound per pound of the 70s decade, was a ferocious perfect fighting machine. A total complete fighter. In 1978, he jumped straight to welterweight. He did not looked as good in some fights at 147lbs. But, the fight that got him into the number one ranking spot was when he dominated former welterweight champ Carlos Palomino of California in 1979. Duran won by decision in 10.
Meanwhile, Sugar Ray was a fanastic fighting machine in his own right. Fast, strong, smart, great ring generalship, great foot speed and markeatable 5th Avenue appeal. He was the superstar that America needed after the retirement of the great Muhammad Ali. I saw him for the first time on live tv when he quickly dispatched top ranked contender Andy Price of Los Angeles, CA. Sugar Ray then became the American hero after he won the WBC World Welterweight crown from great Wilfred Benitez in 15 masterful close rounds. Leonard stopped Benitez in the last seconds of the 15th in November of 1979.
Duran at first, never liked Leonard. He hated him. He wanted to kick his ass. "He talked too much, like Ali", Duran said.
The fight came and Leonard, the champion, was the betting favorite. He supposed to be the stronger, faster, younger and taller foe. He had almost every single advantage except....experience.
The crowd of 47,000 fans at the Montreal Olympic Stadium never got disappointed. Neither the millions watching around the world. Duran and Leonard gave us one of boxing's all time classics. Each round was furious, fast and entertaining. Duran rocked Leonard in round 2 that the crowd went wild. He also rocked him in the 3rd and 4th rounds. Leonard bounced back in the 6th and 7th rounds using his fast hands.
But, Duran was relentless again in the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th rounds. Round 11th to me, was the best round of the fight. That was the round that showed that both had the heart, will and determination. Both were tired in that round because of the terrific pace of the previous 10. The rounds 12th to 15th showed that both had the championship spirit and heart. None of the two gave in an inch. Both displayed all their skills to the crowd.
Did Leonard fought his fight? In my view, yes he did! He gave the crowd everything he had against a guy that was in top shape. Duran was probably in the best fighting shape of his life. Both of them were. In my view, I can't see a welterweight, past or present or future, beating him that night. Duran was just that terrific. I believe that Sugar Ray was SURPRISED of how quick Duran was in hands and feet. He was surprised of his technical skills, specially in the in-fighting where Duran excelled.
Duran proved to a lot of people that he was much more than a brawling all-out performer. Duran showed that he could box, counterpunch, jab and in some instances, he knew how to pace himself for a difficult fight for 15 rounds.
In the last round of the fight, Duran knew that he had the fight won. So he boxed. In the last seconds, Duran motioned to Leonard, "Hit my chin!, hit my chin!, hit it!" And when the bell sounded, the only bad thing that he showed, (and I admit as his fan) that he did not embraced Leonard at the end. He told Leonard in his way to "fornicate off!". That was not good sporstmanship at all. No matter how you hate a man. If The man gave you a tough fight, you gotta give him his props. But, Duran had any of that. He still was mocking and shouting at Ray before the judges decision. Heck!, he even gave Benitez his balls like saying "suck them, you faggot!". But that was Duran, was he?
The decision came and at first Duran won by majority decision. It was changed to unanimous. It was the first time in 27 pro fights and in a long time from his amateur days that Sugar Ray tasted defeat. His face was a total mess. He looked like he was about to cry. But if he was a golden young boy that night, he became a man. He took his whupping like a man. And that he gave his all, and there was nothing else to it.
The crowd, especially the Latin crowd, went into a frenzy after the verdict. It was the first time ever, that almost all Latin American nations were rooting for a Latin fighter. Someone that they called their own. And the only one that could personify the image, was Roberto Duran.
In this fight and night, a boy became a man and a man became an all-time legend. Bon Jour, Montreal....Again!
It was, and still is, THE MOST ANTICIPATED FIGHT in the history of boxing that did not engaged heavyweight boxers. This is the super fight outside the heavyweight division that revolutionized the sport. Never before, a non-heavyweight fighter received heavyweight money. Leonard received an astonishing $10 million dollars! Something unheard of at the time. Duran ONLY received $1 million?
This angered Manos de Piedra. How come a fighter that has been fighting way before Leonard ever became pro and had an extraordinary record of 71-1, 56KOs will receive $9 million dollars less? Me, personally, I never got it. And probably never will. Duran was the former World Lightweight Champion. He defended the crown 12 times in almost 7 years. And when Leonard went pro for the first time, Duran was already, at least, a hall of fame boxer.
Duran, the best fighter pound per pound of the 70s decade, was a ferocious perfect fighting machine. A total complete fighter. In 1978, he jumped straight to welterweight. He did not looked as good in some fights at 147lbs. But, the fight that got him into the number one ranking spot was when he dominated former welterweight champ Carlos Palomino of California in 1979. Duran won by decision in 10.
Meanwhile, Sugar Ray was a fanastic fighting machine in his own right. Fast, strong, smart, great ring generalship, great foot speed and markeatable 5th Avenue appeal. He was the superstar that America needed after the retirement of the great Muhammad Ali. I saw him for the first time on live tv when he quickly dispatched top ranked contender Andy Price of Los Angeles, CA. Sugar Ray then became the American hero after he won the WBC World Welterweight crown from great Wilfred Benitez in 15 masterful close rounds. Leonard stopped Benitez in the last seconds of the 15th in November of 1979.
Duran at first, never liked Leonard. He hated him. He wanted to kick his ass. "He talked too much, like Ali", Duran said.
The fight came and Leonard, the champion, was the betting favorite. He supposed to be the stronger, faster, younger and taller foe. He had almost every single advantage except....experience.
The crowd of 47,000 fans at the Montreal Olympic Stadium never got disappointed. Neither the millions watching around the world. Duran and Leonard gave us one of boxing's all time classics. Each round was furious, fast and entertaining. Duran rocked Leonard in round 2 that the crowd went wild. He also rocked him in the 3rd and 4th rounds. Leonard bounced back in the 6th and 7th rounds using his fast hands.
But, Duran was relentless again in the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th rounds. Round 11th to me, was the best round of the fight. That was the round that showed that both had the heart, will and determination. Both were tired in that round because of the terrific pace of the previous 10. The rounds 12th to 15th showed that both had the championship spirit and heart. None of the two gave in an inch. Both displayed all their skills to the crowd.
Did Leonard fought his fight? In my view, yes he did! He gave the crowd everything he had against a guy that was in top shape. Duran was probably in the best fighting shape of his life. Both of them were. In my view, I can't see a welterweight, past or present or future, beating him that night. Duran was just that terrific. I believe that Sugar Ray was SURPRISED of how quick Duran was in hands and feet. He was surprised of his technical skills, specially in the in-fighting where Duran excelled.
Duran proved to a lot of people that he was much more than a brawling all-out performer. Duran showed that he could box, counterpunch, jab and in some instances, he knew how to pace himself for a difficult fight for 15 rounds.
In the last round of the fight, Duran knew that he had the fight won. So he boxed. In the last seconds, Duran motioned to Leonard, "Hit my chin!, hit my chin!, hit it!" And when the bell sounded, the only bad thing that he showed, (and I admit as his fan) that he did not embraced Leonard at the end. He told Leonard in his way to "fornicate off!". That was not good sporstmanship at all. No matter how you hate a man. If The man gave you a tough fight, you gotta give him his props. But, Duran had any of that. He still was mocking and shouting at Ray before the judges decision. Heck!, he even gave Benitez his balls like saying "suck them, you faggot!". But that was Duran, was he?
The decision came and at first Duran won by majority decision. It was changed to unanimous. It was the first time in 27 pro fights and in a long time from his amateur days that Sugar Ray tasted defeat. His face was a total mess. He looked like he was about to cry. But if he was a golden young boy that night, he became a man. He took his whupping like a man. And that he gave his all, and there was nothing else to it.
The crowd, especially the Latin crowd, went into a frenzy after the verdict. It was the first time ever, that almost all Latin American nations were rooting for a Latin fighter. Someone that they called their own. And the only one that could personify the image, was Roberto Duran.
In this fight and night, a boy became a man and a man became an all-time legend. Bon Jour, Montreal....Again!
