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.

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

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:

Superdome (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Confirmed bouts:

Broadcasting

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benítez, Leonard

1979 in boxing
1979 in sports in Nevada
November 1979 sports events in the United States
Boxing matches at Caesars Palace
Benítez
Boxing matches refereed by Carlos Padilla Jr.
Welterweight championship matches
Boxing on ABC
Boxing on BBC
Boxing on ITV