42 years ago

Date: 15th February 1982

Venue: Centennial Coliseum, Reno, Nevada

Title: WBC & WBA World Welterweight Titles

Promoter: Main Events

Tv: HBO World Championship Boxing

Ray Leonard
( 31 - 1 - 0 )
Weight: 146 lbs

Bruce Finch
( 28 - 3 - 1 )
Weight: 145 1/4 lbs

Former amateur rivals Sugar Ray Leonard and Bruce Finch met in the ring for the second time to contest Leonard's WBC & WBA World welterweight titles at the Centennial Coliseum in Reno, Nevada. Leonard won their first meeting by way of a 3 round points decision in 1973.

This was Leanard's first defence of the WBA title he took from Thomas 'Hitman' Hearns in his last outing five months earlier.

A sellout crowd of 7,330 at Centennial Coliseum watched as Leonard lost the first round but then came out in the 2nd and dropped Finch twice. He dominated again in the 3rd, dropping Finch before forcing referee Mills Lane to call a halt to the fight at 1:50 of the round.

It would be 27 months before Sugar Ray fought again due to a detached retina. Having relinquished his undisputed world welterweight titles, Leonard faced the Ring magazine's eighth-ranked welterweight contender Kevin Howard who managed to floor Leonard in the 4th round, the first time in his professional career.