Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Bobby Hayman
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Ray Leonard 147 lbs beat Bobby Haymon 144 lbs by RTD in round 3 of 10
- Date: 1978-04-13
- Location: Capitol Center, Landover, Maryland, USA
- Referee: Harry Cecchini
Notes
- 15,272 fans attended the fight at the Capital Centre. It was the largest crowd ever to see an indoor boxing card in Maryland. The previous record of 12,472 was set by Muhammad Ali vs. Jimmy Young, which took place at the Capital Centre on April 30, 1976.
- Leonard knocked Haymon down in a corner at the 1:55 mark of the third round. Leonard dropped him again at the end of the round. Haymon, who was draped over the bottom strand of ring ropes, was dragged to his corner by his handlers. Haymon was ruled unfit to continue, and Leonard was awarded a TKO victory.
- The TKO sparked a heated protest by Haymon's handlers, who insisted their fighter had been hit after the bell had sounded to end the round. A television replay supplied by the Capitol Centre showed that Leonard landed a hard right as the bell sounded and then dropped Haymon with a left hook as referee Harry Cecchini started to step in.
- The Associated Press reported:
- Under Maryland State Athletic Commission rules, if Leonard actually landed his punch before the bell, the referee was compelled to count Haymon out.
- "That's what Cecchini should have done," commission secretary Jack Cohen said. "It should have gone in the books as a knockout, but under the circumstances, it has to be a third round TKO because he didn't answer the bell for the fourth (round)."
- Bobby Haymon is the brother of boxing adviser/manager Al Haymon.
Quotes
- Sugar Ray Leonard: "I hit him before the bell. He was on his way down."
- Dominick Polo (Hayman's manager): "Leonard hit him three times after the bell. I talked to the officials, and they said they couldn't do anything about it. That's because they had 15,000 people here, and they didn't have the guts to do anything about it."
- Referee Harry Cecchini: "As soon as the bell rang, I jumped right in there. You expect them (Hayman's handlers) to say those things. It's the only defense they've got."