Date: 15th March 1983
Venue: Wembley Arena, Wembley, London
Title: WBC World Flyweight Title
Promoter: Mickey Duff & Harry Levene
Tv: BBC
Eleoncio Mercedes
(
12
-
6
-
2
)
Weight: 111½ lbs
Charlie Magri
(
27
-
2
-
0
)
Weight: 111½ lbs
On Tuesday 15th March 1983 at Wembley Arena in London, Charlie Magri of London took on Eleoncio Mercedes of the Dominican Republic for the WBC World Flyweight title. The fight was promoted by Mickey Duff, Mike Barrett & Harry Levene and was aired on BBC.
Mercedes, who was defending his title for the first time, weighed in at 111½ lbs, while Magri also weighed in at 111½ lbs. The referee for the bout was Ray Solis.
In the early rounds, Mercedes appeared to be the stronger fighter, landing several powerful punches. However, in the later rounds, Magri began to gain momentum and took control of the fight.
In the seventh round, Magri landed a devastating punch that opened a cut above Mercedes' eye. The referee stopped the fight at 1:14 in round 7 of 12, awarding Magri the victory by TKO and the WBC World Flyweight title.
This was a significant win for Magri, who had previously won the European Flyweight title in 1980 and defended it on four further occasions. He suffered a shock defeat by journeyman Jose Torres but rebounded to defeat Torres in a rematch prior to challenging Mercedes.