Fight:13343

Billy Costello versus Juan LaPorte 10 Round Middleweight Bout on Inaugural Legends Card

Former WBC light welterweight champion Billy Costello came out of retirement for the 'Legends' card. Costello had to run and sweat off pounds to just make the 160 pound middleweight limit in his bout against former world featherweight champion Juan Laporte. Final bout for both. Costello won a ten round split decision. Observers thought LaPorte won.

The bout was the preliminary bout to the main event of Larry Holmes versus Bonecrusher James Smith. The North Carolina card was the idea of Smith, a North Carolina native who came up with the concept of staging fight cards for former champions and famous fighters ages 35 to 50 to promote the sport. Smith lost to Holmes on the card, which proved to be the only card ever staged with the 35-50' seniors' boxing concept. While a concept discussed from time to time, safety issues have prevented the concept of creating a boxing 'seniors belt category', Also on the card, former world heavyweight champion Greg Page stopped Tim Witherspoon, another former champion, after Witherspoon tore a back muscle and did not answer the bell for the eighth round. Witherspoon had lost five in a row. Page later incurred permanent brain injuries in a fight with Dale Crowe. Costello later became a boxing judge.