Roberto Durán vs. Sugar Ray Leonard II

Roberto Durán vs. Sugar Ray Leonard II, billed as "The Super Fight" and later popularly known as the No Más Fight, was a boxing match which took place on November 25, 1980, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, United States. It was the second of three bouts between the pair. It gained its name from the moment at the end of the eighth round when Durán turned away from Leonard towards the referee and quit by apparently saying, "No más" (Spanish for "No more").

The Super Fight
DateNovember 25, 1980
VenueLouisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana
Title(s) on the lineWBC, The Ring and lineal titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Roberto Durán Ray Leonard
Nickname "Manos de Piedra" "Sugar"
Hometown Panama City, Panama Palmer Park, Maryland, U.S.
Pre-fight record 72–1 27–1
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 146 lb (66 kg) 146 lb (66 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBC/The Ring/lineal
Welterweight Champion

Pre-fight

Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Durán had first fought on June 20, 1980, in Montreal. Leonard was defending the World Boxing Council (WBC) Welterweight Championship for the second time. Durán was the WBC No. 1 welterweight contender. Leonard abandoned his usual slick boxing style and stood flat-footed with Durán. Durán won by unanimous decision, with scores of 148–147, 145–144, and 146–144.

Fight

The rematch took place November 25, 1980, at the Superdome in New Orleans. Leonard used his superior speed and movement to outbox and befuddle Durán. "The whole fight, I was moving, I was moving", Leonard said. "And Voom! I snapped his head back with a jab. Voom! I snapped it back again. He tried to get me against the ropes, I'd pivot, spin off and Pow! Come under with a punch."

In round 7, Leonard started to taunt Durán. Late in the round, winding up his right hand, as if to throw a bolo punch, Leonard snapped out a left jab and caught Durán flush in the face. In the closing seconds of the eighth round, Durán turned his back to Leonard and quit, waving his glove and apparently saying to referee Octavio Meyran, "No más" ("No more" in Spanish). Leonard was the winner by a technical knockout (TKO) at 2:44 of round 8, regaining the WBC Welterweight Championship. Leonard led by a small margin of 68–66, 68–66, and 67–66 on the judges scorecards at the time of the TKO.[1]

Post-fight

Durán has said that he never said the words No mas to anyone following the bout. He blamed the broadcaster Howard Cosell for coming up with it and claiming he said it. He said he was only mumbling to himself "No sigo, no sigo, no sigo", meaning "I'm not carrying on".[2] He has said that he quit because of stomach cramps, which started to bother him in the fifth round. He said the cramps occurred because he took off weight too quickly, then ate too much after the morning weigh-in, but his manager, Carlos Eleta, said Durán always ate that way before a fight. "Durán didn't quit because of stomach cramps", Eleta said. "He quit because he was embarrassed."[3] Leonard claimed credit for having forced Durán to give up, and took great satisfaction in it. "I made him quit", Leonard said. "To make a man quit, to make Roberto Durán quit, was better than knocking him out."[4]

Durán's stature in his home country, Panama, took a dramatic dive after the fight. The immediate reaction was shock, followed by anger. Within hours, commercials featuring Durán (in both Panama and the United States) were ordered off the air.[5] On June 16, 1983, Durán's 32nd birthday, he knocked out undefeated Davey Moore in the eighth round to win the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship. In Panama, there was rejoicing in the streets.[6]

Leonard and Durán fought a third and final time on December 7, 1989, in Las Vegas, with Leonard retaining the WBC Super Middleweight Championship in a lopsided twelve-round unanimous decision.[7]

Media

The fight - along with the Leonard/Durán rivalry in the 1980s - was highlighted in the 30 for 30 episode No Más from 2013.

Both the first fight between Duran and Leonard and this bout are featured prominently in Hands of Stone, a 2016 biopic about Duran.

References
  1. Sports Illustrated December 8, 1980
  2. "Roberto Duran tells the real story behind the 'No mas' bout". New York Daily News.
  3. Donald Dewey (10 January 2014). Ray Arcel: A Boxing Biography. McFarland. p. 175. ISBN 9780786490875.
  4. Nack, William (1980-12-08). "Sports Illustrated, December 8, 1980". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
  5. Roberto Durán Speaks: The Untold Story Is Finally Revealed!, Bill Brubaker, New York Daily News 1981
  6. Sports Illustrated June 7, 1983
  7. Sports Illustrated December 18, 1989
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