Ray Leonard vs Roberto Duran

Panamanian legend Roberto Duran won the WBC welterweight championship from Ray Leonard at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal on June 20, 1980, taking a unanimous decision after 15 hard rounds in which the champion chose to meet him at close quarters rather than box at long range. The verdict was close on all three cards, but Duran’s pressure, body punching, and steadier work through the first two-thirds of the contest were enough to give Leonard the first defeat of his professional career.

The fight brought Leonard back to the city where he had won his Olympic gold medal four years earlier, but the evening did not develop into the friendly homecoming some had expected. The crowd of 46,317 was lively and often favourable to Duran, who had made his presence felt in Montreal during fight week. Leonard, unbeaten in 27 professional contests, entered as champion and favourite. Duran, the former lightweight champion and the leading welterweight challenger, came in with a record of 71 wins and one defeat. Leonard weighed 145 lb, Duran 146 lb. Carlos Padilla was the referee.

There had been some concern over Duran’s condition before the fight when an abnormality showed on an EKG, and he was sent for a further heart examination. Dr Bernard Chaitman cleared him after determining that the findings were consistent with a highly trained athlete. Leonard also had his own minor health talk before the bout, but both men entered the ring in fighting shape. Bob Arum and Don King promoted the contest, which was shown by closed circuit in hundreds of locations in the United States and Canada. It was one of the richest fights staged to that time, with Leonard’s earnings far exceeding Duran’s purse of $1.5 million.

Leonard’s tactical decision was apparent almost at once. Instead of circling away and making Duran chase him, he stood nearer than expected and fired back when the Panamanian came in. In the opening round, Leonard landed a sharp left hook as Duran attacked, then moved off and came back to trade again. The round was brisk and competitive, but it also showed the line along which the fight would be contested. Duran wanted Leonard stationary, against the ropes or in the corners. Leonard seemed determined to prove he could hold his ground.

In the second round, Duran began to make that decision costly. He pressed hard, crowded Leonard, and landed a left hand that knocked the champion off balance and forced him to hold. Leonard was not badly hurt, but Duran had established the physical argument of the fight. In the third and fourth rounds, he kept forcing Leonard back, shortening the distance before Leonard could fully extend his jab and making the champion work at a pace and range that favoured the challenger. Duran was not simply rushing in. He was slipping as he came, leaning, rolling, and striking to the body before bringing his punches upstairs.

Leonard steadied matters in the fifth. He found more room, used quicker hands, and landed well to the body late in the round. For the first time, he appeared to turn some of Duran’s aggression against him, meeting him in exchanges and getting the better of a few. In the sixth, Leonard’s left hand became more important. He boxed more sharply, beat Duran to the punch, and made the challenger take notice of his hook. It was a strong spell for the champion and showed that Duran could not simply walk through him.

The seventh brought Duran back to closer quarters. He drove Leonard to the ropes again and worked inside with uppercuts and hooks. Leonard, to his credit, spun away at times and put Duran’s back to the ropes, but the heavier work in the exchanges often came from the challenger. The eighth was one of Leonard’s better rounds. He landed uppercuts, pushed Duran back, and for a spell took centre ring. His hand speed was still a telling weapon when he gave himself space.

In the ninth round, a clash of heads opened a cut above Leonard’s right eye. The wound appeared to bother him, though it did not prevent him from fighting back. Duran continued to force the pace, and the exchanges at the end of the round were severe for both men. In the tenth, Leonard stunned Duran with a left hook, but Duran answered with a right hand and resumed his pressure. Leonard finished the round with sharp blows of his own, but the impression remained that Duran was making more of the fight take place on his terms.

The eleventh was fought at a punishing pace. Duran forced Leonard to the ropes and kept him there with strength, leverage, and a high work rate. Leonard tried to answer in bursts and did spin away on occasion, but Duran stayed with him and kept punching. Leonard attempted to close strongly, as he often did in close rounds, but Duran replied and appeared to land the cleaner, harder blows.

The twelfth was closely contested, with neither man able to take complete command. Leonard boxed in patches, and Duran pressed whenever the champion paused. By the thirteenth, Duran was still coming forward with purpose. A left hand snapped Leonard’s head back, and another hook landed cleanly, yet Leonard absorbed both and answered. The round ended with both men exchanging heavily, Duran landing dangerous hooks and Leonard replying with fast combinations.

In the fourteenth, Leonard tried to lift the pace and had moments of success, but Duran still found room for heavy counters, particularly with the left hook. Leonard’s courage and durability were by then beyond question. He had taken Duran’s best punches, fought hard inside, and continued to answer. What was also clear was that Duran had made him fight a different fight from the one many expected.

The final round belonged more to Leonard in activity than to Duran, who boxed with the confidence of a man believing his earlier work had secured the title. Leonard threw freely and tried to force a decisive closing three minutes. Duran slipped, moved, and at times taunted rather than pressing for more. At the final bell, Leonard raised his arms, but Duran reacted angrily, convinced the decision was his.

There was confusion when the result was first announced as a majority decision because Angelo Poletti’s score had been wrongly read as even. The mistake was later corrected, and Duran was confirmed as the unanimous winner. Harry Gibbs scored it 145-144, Angelo Poletti 148-147, and Raymond Baldeyrou 146-144, all for Duran. In rounds, Baldeyrou had it 6-4-5, Gibbs 6-5-4, and Poletti 3-2-10.

There were no knockdowns, and the fight was close enough to produce differing opinions at ringside, but Duran’s victory rested on sustained pressure and his success in denying Leonard the kind of fight that best suited him. Duran averaged more punches thrown and landed per round, and while Leonard’s accuracy and hand speed kept him in contention throughout, the challenger’s physical command and early lead proved decisive. Afterwards, Duran called Leonard the best man he had fought and said the champion had hit him hard more than once. Leonard, for his part, admitted he had fought flat-footed and said he would not change it, adding that he had shown he could take the big punch. In defeat, Leonard had proved his toughness. In victory, Duran had produced the finest win of his career.

One of my favourite fights ever. I was 18 years old when I watched this fight, and a lifelong admiration for both fighters started. I couldn't even tell you who I preferred, really. Duran was so ferocious and animalistic. He brought that love for the barbaric side of the sport out that you, probably don't like to admit to, but all true boxing fans have.

Leonard, on the other hand, was just pure class. The closest thing to Muhammad Ali I ever saw. I was also a huge fan of Ray Robinson, and I could still see where Leonard had stolen a few stylistic traits as well as his sugar moniker.

The build-up to this fight was something special as well, something that we probably don't see quite so much nowadays. Duran absolutely used everything and anyone, including Leonard's wife, as a target to get under the Americans' skin. He did this so well that by the time Leonard got in the ring, he was willing to throw away his stylistic advantages and have a slugfest with a man who had been born for this style of fighting.

The fight ebbed and flowed and was just action-packed. It was never a dull moment, but in most of the rounds, you could see how this type of warfare suited Duran so much more than Leonard.

It was a superb 15 rounds, and nobody begrudged Duran the victory. From the beginning of fight week, he bossed this thing. He turned Leonard's mindset to how he wanted it, made him fight his fight, and walked away with his WBC world welterweight title, and bestowing upon him the first defeat of his professional career.

Nostalgia is a strong emotion; it always makes you feel as if things were better back in your day, but I feel this era that was just starting in 1980 was one of the greatest of all time. It spawned Leonard, Duran, Hearns, and Hagler, as well as the superb Wilfredo Benitez. That’s why this fight is so special, because it was the forerunner to that great era