40 years ago

Date: 21st April 1984

Title: WBA & IBF World Welterweight Titles

Promoter: Top Rank & Robert Sawyer

Tv: ABC Wide World of Sports

Donald Curry
( 18 - 0 - 0 )
Weight: 147 lbs

Elio Diaz
( 31 - 0 - 0 )
Weight: 145½ lbs

On Saturday, April 21, 1984, the Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, played host to the highly anticipated welterweight championship fight between Donald Curry and Elio Diaz. The fight was promoted by Top Rank and Robert Sawyer and aired on ABC Wide World of Sports. The stakes were high as Curry was defending his WBA World Welterweight Title for the third time and his IBF Welterweight Title for the first time.

The fight started with a bang as Diaz was downed in the first round by Curry. Despite this early setback, Diaz showed great resilience and recovered quickly. The following rounds were hard-fought, with both fighters landing clean punches, but Curry remained in control, dictating the pace of the fight.

In the fifth round, Diaz was down again, this time from a strong right hand by Curry. Diaz continued to fight on, but it was clear that he was struggling against the relentless attack of Curry. Diaz was downed again in the seventh round, and his corner decided that he could not continue. Referee Stanley Christodoulou waved off the fight, giving Curry the victory by 7th-round retirement.