39 years ago
Barry McGuigan vs Danilo Cabrera
Date: 15th February 1986
Venue: The Royal Dublin Society, Ballsbridge, Dublin
Title: WBA World Featherweight Title
Promoter: Barney Eastwood
Referee: Eddie Eckert
Tv: BBC Sport
Barry McGuigan
(
28
-
1
-
0
)
Weight: 125½ lbs
Danilo Cabrera
(
23
-
2
-
0
)
Weight: 125¼ lbs
On February 5th, 1986, the Royal Dublin Society played host to the highly-anticipated featherweight title fight between champion Barry McGuigan and challenger Danilo Cabrera. The Irishman, who had won the WBA title eight months earlier from Panama's Eusebio Pedroza, was making his second defence of the title.
The fight was a back-and-forth battle, with both fighters having their moments. However, it was McGuigan who ultimately came out on top, stopping Cabrera in the 14th round. The end of the fight was chaotic, as referee Eddie Eckert of Miami ruled that the challenger could not continue after he had been knocked down and scrambled to retrieve his mouthpiece from the canvas. The 6,300-capacity arena erupted at the end of the 8th round, believing the champion had won, but the bell had already sounded.
During the exchanges in round nine, Cabrera opened a cut under McGuigan's left eye, giving the champion a scare. Realizing he was in danger, McGuigan went all out for victory and launched his final all-out attack in the 14th round. The scores at the end of the 14th round were overwhelmingly in favour of McGuigan, with judges Ed Levine, Rogelio Perez, and Luis J Rodriguez scoring the fight 127-121, 129-120, and 129-122 respectively.
Cabrera was a 10-day substitute for Fernando Sosa of Argentina, who broke a finger in training. Cabrera's manager Hector Rivera felt the referee allowed McGuigan to steal the title and that the champion won it because of his low punches.
McGuigan felt he was thumbed in the eye in the 2nd round and again later on, he signalled to referee Eddie Eckert that Cabrera was doing this.
Ultimately, it was a hard-fought victory for McGuigan, who retained his WBA featherweight title in front of his home crowd. The fight was one of the most exciting and memorable of the year and solidified McGuigan's status as one of the best featherweights in the world.
Barry McGuigan vs Danilo Cabrera on YouTube
