On This Date November 25, 1980: No Mas
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
Five months after losing the welterweight championship to Roberto Duran in a unanimous decision, Sugar Ray Leonard regains the title by getting Duran to cry out "No Mas!" Roberto Duran had returned to Panama a hero after winning the first fight in Montreal but came into the second fight at the Louisiana Superdome out of shape. Leonard focused after losing dominated the fight as Duran, tired and hurt, yelled "No Mas!" in the eighth round, ending the fight.
Roberto Duran was born on June 16, 1951, in El Chorillo, Panama. Duran grew up poor and often had to scrounge for food in dumpsters. At the age of eight, Duran began sparring with experienced boxers. He quickly learned the ropes and began making his own mark in the ring. He compiled an 18-3 record as an amateur and turned professional at the age of 16. Roberto Duran won his first 31 fights, winning the lightweight title in 1972 as he amassed a series of knockouts to earn the nickname "Hands of Stone." Duran held the lightweight title for eight years before stepping up in weight class to challenge Sugar Ray Leonard for the welterweight championship.
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Sugar Ray Leonard, at the time, was considered the best fighter pound for pound. Leonard was born on May 17, 1956, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Raised in Palmer Park, Maryland, near Washington D.C., he learned how to box at a local rec center. Sugar Ray Leonard became a golden gloves champion and won the Gold Medal as a light welterweight at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. After the games, Leonard turned professional and quickly rose up the ranks, winning the welterweight title by beating Wilfred Benitez on November 30, 1979, in Las Vegas.
Sugar Ray Leonard's second title defense came on June 20, 1980, against Roberto Duran at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Before the fight, Roberto Duran was able to psych out Leonard during the weigh-in by saying he would screw his wife after the fight. Focused on brawling, Sugar Ray Leonard was off his game as he tried to hurt Duran rather than beat him. Duran, meanwhile, had the perfect fight plan and controlled the match, winning by unanimous decision. After the fight, there was a brawl with Duran knocking out Leonard's brother.
Sugar Ray Leonard exercised the right for a rematch, which was set two days before Thanksgiving at the Louisiana Superdome. After his first win, Roberto Duran returned to Panama and was treated as a national hero. Duran would party over the next four months and gained 50 pounds. When it came time to prepare for the rematch, Duran had trouble making weight. Sugar Ray Leonard meanwhile watched a tape of the first fight every day. Leonard had begun to find Duran's weakness in Montreal in the later rounds, but it was too late to win the fight. Refocused and rededicated, Sugar Ray Leonard, with a 27-1 record, went down to New Orleans knowing he would win, as Roberto Duran at 72-1 was set up for failure.
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In the first fight, Sugar Ray Leonard stood stationary, trying to land the hardest punch. This time he moved and had Roberto Duran chasing air. Leonard meanwhile peppered Duran with an assortment of punches that showed he was the better boxer. In the seventh round, Sugar Ray Leonard dominated Duran and began to taunt him. It was clear that the champion was getting flustered. Late in the eighth round, Sugar Ray Leonard caught Duran flush in the face. At this point, Roberto Duran turned to referee Octavio Meyran and said "No Mas," Spanish for no more, quitting the fight.
Roberto Duran's call of "No Mas" would be a stain on his career. He would have big fights for titles in the super welterweight and middleweight divisions, but the second fight against Sugar Ray Leonard became his career's defining moment. Leonard and Duran would fight again in 1989. The fight was dubbed "Uno Mas." That fight for the super middleweight division was by Sugar Ray Leonard via unanimous decision.