Milton McCrory vs Carlos Trujillo

Milton McCrory retained the World Boxing Council welterweight championship by stopping Carlos Trujillo in the third round at the Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco, on July 14, 1985. McCrory, the unbeaten champion from Detroit, weighed 147 pounds, while the Panamanian challenger was one pound lighter at 146. Trujillo was knocked down in each of the three rounds and was under sustained punishment when the contest was brought to an end. The official time was recorded as 3 minutes 6 seconds of the third round.

McCrory entered the contest with 26 victories and one draw and was making the fifth defence of the title he had won from Colin Jones in Las Vegas in August 1983. Their first meeting five months earlier had ended in a draw, but McCrory won the return by split decision and had since defended successfully against Milton Guest, Gilles Elbilia and Pedro Vilella. At six feet tall, with long arms and a sharp left jab, he was an unusually large welterweight. Emanuel Steward had developed him at Detroit’s Kronk Gym, where his straight punching and controlled movement were used to exploit his considerable advantages in height and reach.

Trujillo arrived with a reputation as a strong and willing puncher, but he was unable to establish himself against the champion’s long reach. McCrory took the centre of the ring from the opening bell and immediately began measuring the challenger with the left jab. Trujillo attempted to move inside, where he hoped to work around the taller man’s body and head, but McCrory kept him at the end of straight punches and stepped away whenever the Panamanian tried to close the distance.

The first knockdown came before Trujillo had been allowed to settle. McCrory caught him cleanly during an exchange and sent him to the canvas. Trujillo rose and continued, but the champion did not abandon his measured approach in search of a quick finish. He returned to the jab, maintained the proper distance and brought the right hand behind it whenever the challenger moved forward. Trujillo remained determined but found few openings and was unable to penetrate McCrory’s defence with anything of consequence.

McCrory continued to dominate in the second round. Trujillo tried to increase his pressure and force a closer contest, but his advances left him exposed to the champion’s straight punches. McCrory scored another knockdown and again allowed the challenger to rise before resuming his attack. Trujillo showed courage and remained willing to exchange, even though he was being beaten to the punch and had no effective answer to the champion's speed or reach. McCrory was never required to retreat for long and finished the round firmly in control.

The third followed the same course. McCrory jabbed from the outside, waited for Trujillo to commit himself and then struck with both hands. The challenger’s defence had become increasingly loose, and the champion began landing combinations with greater frequency. Rights and lefts to the head drove Trujillo backwards until he was trapped against the ropes. McCrory continued punching as the challenger attempted to cover, leaving him unable to return a meaningful blow.

Trujillo went down for the third time near the end of the round. He regained his feet, but his legs were uncertain, and he remained in no condition to protect himself. Referee Rudy Ortega stopped the bout rather than allow McCrory to resume the attack. Trujillo was helpless on the ropes during the final assault, and the champion had not been seriously threatened at any stage.

The victory advanced McCrory’s record to 27 wins and one draw and completed a convincing defence against a challenger who had been unable to turn the contest into the close-range fight he required. McCrory’s jab determined the distance, his right hand punished Trujillo’s attempts to advance, and his combinations brought a knockdown in every round. The performance was brief but orderly, with the champion maintaining his balance and selecting his punches rather than relying upon uncontrolled aggression.

Afterwards, Trujillo acknowledged that McCrory’s punches had been harder than he expected and described him as a great champion. McCrory, meanwhile, spoke of his ambition to become the unified welterweight champion. His principal rival was Donald Curry, who held the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation titles and was widely regarded as the leading welterweight of the period.

The victory in Monaco proved to be McCrory’s final successful defence of the WBC championship. He met Curry at the Las Vegas Hilton on December 6, 1985, in a contest intended to establish one undisputed welterweight champion. Curry stopped him in the second round. Against Trujillo five months earlier, however, McCrory had been in complete command, using his height, speed and straight punching to dispose of the challenger in little more than nine minutes.