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Roberto Duran vs Sugar Ray Leonard Autographs
An Action 16x20 Color photograph of Boxing
legends Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard.
Duran
& Leonard
£145.00
Sugar Ray Leonard went to the Olympic Stadium
in Montreal to defend his title against former lightweight
champion Roberto Duran, in the first superfight of the 1980s.
In a long, grueling contest, mostly fought against the ropes
or in corners, the more experienced Duran outmauled Leonard
and captured a unanimous decision. Leonard surprised many
observers by standing flat-footed with the Panamanian slugger.
Their rematch was held in New Orleans on November 25, 1980.
This time around, Leonard used far more lateral movement
and jabs, staying off the ropes whenever possible. In round
7, Leonard taunted Duran, dropping his arms and winding
up with a bolo punch. Neither fighter had absorbed much
punishment, and the fight was close up until the end. In
round 8, Duran turned around, walked to his corner and gave
up, saying the now famous words, "no más."
The sports world was stunned by Duran's actions. The controversy
regarding this bout and Duran's motivation for quitting
continues to this day.
But Leonard was a world champion again and, after avenging
his only defeat, once more was on top of the boxing world.
Roberto Duran became super middleweight champion after
beating Iran Barkley in 1989 but his reign was short lived
as he once again met Leonard for their third clash in December,
but lost in an extremely boring decision.
