Bruce Curry vs Leroy Haley 2

A fall in the fifth round brought no knockdown and no count, but it came at a dangerous moment for Bruce Curry. Leroy Haley had just landed three right hands and two lefts without reply. As the former champion moved in, he pushed Curry to the canvas. The pause allowed Curry to recover, and a contest that had briefly threatened to turn Haley’s way continued to the full twelve rounds.

The pair met at the Showboat Hotel and Casino Sports Pavilion in Las Vegas on 19 October 1983, with Curry defending the WBC super lightweight title he had taken from Haley five months earlier. Their first meeting had gone unanimously to Curry on points. Since then the champion had travelled to Osaka and stopped Hidekazu Akai in the seventh round of his first defence. Haley had won the championship from Saoul Mamby in 1982 and defended it twice before losing to Curry. He now had a chance to recover it without waiting for either man to face another challenger.

Curry made the better start behind his left jab. He used it repeatedly to hold Haley at range and made the challenger give ground through the early rounds. Haley’s reply was to throw long punches from both hands, then move in with a flurry when one landed. That brought him his strongest passage in the fifth. His succession of rights and lefts stunned Curry before the push sent the champion down. Because it was not a knockdown, Haley gained no count on the scorecards and could not finish his attack at once. Curry resumed his work, and the advantage changed hands again.

The fight remained close enough for Haley’s heavier passages to matter. He caught Curry several times with long shots and followed them with combinations, while Curry’s jab continued to supply the steadier scoring work. In the eighth, Curry opened a cut at the outside corner of Haley’s left eye. It reopened in each of the remaining rounds. Haley nevertheless kept pressing for openings, and there was no stoppage or recorded knockdown before the final bell.

The judges were divided. Duane Ford scored it 115–113 for Curry and Chris Jordan 116–114 for Curry; Chuck Minker had Haley ahead 115–113. Referee Davey Pearl therefore raised Curry’s hand on a split decision. Curry had retained his title for the second time, but the narrow cards reflected the difference between his more consistent jab and Haley’s spells of sharper offence. For Haley, it was a second points defeat to Curry in as many meetings. For the champion it was his last successful defence: Billy Costello took the title from him in January 1984.

I can see why Leroy Haley wanted another go at Bruce Curry. He’d held the belt, lost it to Curry on points, and knew the champion could be reached when he closed the distance. In the rematch, Haley landed a run of clean shots in the fifth and had Curry in trouble. But he pushed him down as he moved in. No count, no finish, and Curry got the time he needed.

For me, Curry’s jab decided it. It kept Haley moving backwards early and gave Curry something reliable to return to whenever the fight got untidy. Haley’s longer shots were dangerous, and he had the better of some exchanges, but a burst of punches is no substitute for controlling the space between you. Curry also opened a cut beside Haley’s left eye late on and kept finding it.

I’d have given Curry the decision, narrowly. One judge favoured Haley, which tells you he did serious work, but Curry was the more consistent boxer. After beating Haley twice and stopping Hidekazu Akai between those fights, he had earned his place as champion.