Sugar Ray Leonard

Sugar Ray Leonard

Sugar Ray Leonard is an American retired professional boxer and occasional actor. He was named Ray Charles Leonard, after his mother's favorite singer, Ray Charles...

 vs. Roberto Durán

Roberto Durán

Roberto Durán Samaniego is a retired professional boxer from Panama, widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. A versatile brawler in the ring, he was nicknamed "Manos de Piedra" during his career....

 II, also known as the No Más Fight, is one of the most infamous fights in the history of boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

. Taking place on November 25, 1980 at the New Orleans, Louisiana Superdome

Louisiana Superdome

The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...

 it was the second of three bouts between the pair. It gained its famous appellation in the end of the eighth round when Durán turned away from Leonard, towards the referee and quit by saying "No más" (Spanish for "No more").

Pre-Fight

Their first fight took place on June 20, 1980 in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

. Leonard was defending the WBC

World Boxing Council

The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...

 Welterweight Championship for the second time, and Durán who was the WBC #1 welterweight contender.

Leonard abandoned his usual slick boxing style and stood flat-footed with Durán. Leonard, angry with Durán over his numerous insults, wanted to beat Durán at his own game. The tactic resulted in a great fight but a losing effort. Durán won by a unanimous decision. The scores were 148-147, 145-144, and 146-144. The bitter words between the two fighters, coupled with the close result, virtually guaranteed a return match.

The 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 seven, Leonard started to taunt Durán. Leonard's most memorable punch came late in the round. Winding up his right hand, as if to throw a bolo punch

Bolo punch

A bolo punch is a punch used in Martial arts. The bolo punch is among the traditional boxing punches . Used many times and can cause powerful knockouts....

, 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, saying to referee Octavio Meyran

Octavio Meyran

Octavio Meyran Sanchez is a former Mexican boxing referee.During his career Meyran took charge of over twenty world title fights. Among the bouts he refereed were the infamous No Más fight between Roberto Durán and Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980, Wilfredo Gómez's WBC Featherweight title-winning effort...

, "No Más" ("no more" in Spanish). Leonard was the winner by a technical knockout at 2:44 of round eight, regaining the WBC Welterweight Championship. Leonard led by scores of 68-66, 68-66 and 67-66.

Post-Fight

Durán claimed 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."

Durán's stature in his home country, Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

, 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

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

) were ordered off the air. It took almost three years before people started to forgive him.

On June 16, 1983, Durán's 32nd birthday, he knocked out undefeated Davey Moore in the eighth round to win the WBA

World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

 Junior Middleweight Championship. In Panama, there was rejoicing in the streets.

Leonard and Durán fought a third and final time on December 7, 1989 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, with Leonard retaining the WBC Super Middleweight Championship in a lopsided twelve-round unanimous decision.