Wilfred Benítez vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

Wilfred Benítez vs. Sugar Ray Leonard was a professional boxing match contested on November 30, 1979, for the WBC and The Ring welterweight titles.

Wilfred Benítez vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

Date	November 30, 1979
Venue	Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Title(s) on the line	WBC and The Ring welterweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Wilfred Benítez Ray Leonard Nickname El Radar ("The Radar") Sugar Hometown San Juan, Puerto Rico Palmer Park, Maryland, U.S. Purse $1,200,000 $1,000,000 Pre-fight record 38–0–1 (24 KO) 25–0 (16 KO) Age 21 years, 2 months 23 years, 6 months Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) Weight 144+1⁄2 lb (66 kg) 146 lb (66 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition WBC and The Ring Welterweight champion 2-division world champion WBC/The Ring No. 2 Ranked Welterweight
Result
Leonard won via 15th round TKO

Background

In late 1979 Top Rank promoter Bob Arum organized a two-city boxing event (with one card taking place in Nevada's Caesars Palace and the other in New Orleans' Superdome) headlined by an anticipated bout between reigning WBC welterweight champion Wilfred Benítez and "Sugar" Ray Leonard. Benitez had won the title earlier in the year, becoming a 2-division champion at only 21 years old, while Leonard had won all 27 of his fights after turning pro following an Olympic gold medal in 1976, and had emerged as a top contender for the welterweight title and one of boxing's most popular fighters. In addition to the Benitez–Leonard bout, the card in Las Vegas also featured Vito Antuofermo defending his undisputed middleweight title against Marvin Hagler. The card in New Orleans featured a WBA light heavyweight title fight between Victor Galindez and Marvin Johnson

Benítez's father and trainer Gregorio had written an article for The Ring magazine titled "Why Benitez Will Lose His Title" in which he claimed his son was not training hard enough for the fight and stating that he wouldn't work his son's corner "Even if they gave me $200,000." Gregorio later admitted that he had written the article to motivate his son for the fight.

Benitez earned $1.2 million while Leonard netted $1 million, making their fight the richest non-heavyweight bout in boxing history at the time.

The fights

Antuofermo vs. Hagler

Vito Antuofermo vs. Marvin Hagler

Title(s) on the line	WBA, WBC and The Ring undisputed middleweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Vito Antuofermo Marvin Hagler Nickname Marvelous Hometown Brooklyn, New York Brockton, Massachusetts Purse $190,000 $40,000 Pre-fight record 45–3–1 (19 KO) 46–2–1 (38 KO) Age 26 years, 9 months 25 years, 6 months Height 5 ft 7+1⁄2 in (171 cm) 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) Weight 158+1⁄2 lb (72 kg) 158+1⁄2 lb (72 kg) Style Orthodox Southpaw Recognition WBA, WBC and The Ring undisputed Middleweight Champion WBA/The Ring No. 1 Ranked Middleweight WBC No. 2 Ranked Middleweight
Result
Split Draw

In the chief support Undisputed middleweight champion Vito Antuofermo made his first defence against Marvin Hagler. Antuofermo was a 4-1 underdog.

The fight

Hagler would dominate much of the fight with his jab and hooks, although Antuofermo would come on strong late as both men would come out swinging. At the end of 15 rounds, Judge Dalby Shirley had it 144–142 for Antuofermo, Duane Ford 145–141 for Hagler and Hal Miller had it 143–143 meaning Antuofermo retained the title on a split draw.

Aftermath

Soon after the decision been announced when Bob Arum, shouted at ringside that there would be an immediate rematch, despite Alan Minter being in line for a title shot regardless of the victor.

"The WBC will not be led by promoters," responded José Sulaimán, the WBC president. "We will have our convention in a week, and we will talk about it. There is no doubt Hagler deserves another chance. But after Minter."

Main Event

In a close, tactical fight, Leonard scored a technical knockout with only six seconds remaining in the 15th and final round. Leonard scored the only two knockdowns of the fight, first sending Benítez down on the seat of his pants with a well-timed left jab in the third round. The second knockdown came in the 15th round. With Benítez behind on the scorecards, he fought aggressively, but Leonard held his ground and went toe-to-toe with the champion. With 30 seconds remaining in the round, a Leonard left uppercut sent Benítez down on his knees. Though clearly hurt, Benítez was able to get back up and continue, but after Leonard landed two more punches, the referee Carlos Padilla stopped the fight and Leonard won by technical knockout at 2:54 of round 15. At the time of the stoppage, Leonard was ahead on all three of the judge's scorecards with scores of 137–133, 137–130 and 136–134.

Aftermath

Speaking after the bout Leonard's trainer Angelo Dundee said "From a technical standpoint, there was more done in this fight than I've seen done for a long time. You saw two smart, scientific fighters—two champions in the ring at the same time. They brought the best out of each other."

Leonard was linked to bouts with WBA champion Pipino Cuevas and former lightweight champion Roberto Duran.

Fight card

Caesars Palace (Paradise, Nevada)

Confirmed bouts:

Weight Class	Weight		vs.		Method	Round	Notes
Welterweight	147 lb	Ray Leonard	def.	Wilfred Benítez	TKO	15/15	Note 1
Middleweight	160 lb	Vito Antuofermo	vs.	Marvin Hagler	D	15/15	Note 2
Light Middleweight	154 lb	Roger Leonard	def.	Rudy Robles	SD	8/8

^Note 1 For WBC, The Ring and lineal welterweight titles
^Note 2 For WBA, WBC, The Ring and lineal middleweight titles

Superdome (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Confirmed bouts:

Weight Class	Weight		vs.		Method	Round	Notes
Light Heavyweight	175 lb	Marvin Johnson	def.	Victor Galindez	KO	11/15	Note 1
Middleweight	160 lb	Thomas Hearns	def.	Mike Colbert	UD	10/10
Light Middleweight	154 lb	Clinton Jackson	def.	Larry Rayford	TKO	7/8

^Note 1 For WBA light heavyweight title

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
United Kingdom	BBC/ITV
United States	ABC