11/25/2024
Date: November 25, 1980
Location: Louisiana Superdome | New Orleans, Louisiana
Headline: Sugar Ray Leonard stops Roberto Durán in the eighth round of their WBC Welterweight Championship rematch, after Durán says “No más.”
Their rivalry began on June 20, 1980, in Montreal, when Leonard, the reigning WBC Welterweight Champion, faced Durán, the division’s top contender. Leonard, known for his slick, mobile boxing style, chose to fight Durán toe-to-toe, abandoning his usual strategy. This played into Durán’s strengths as a ferocious pressure fighter, and he narrowly edged Leonard in a unanimous decision.
The fight elevated Durán’s reputation as one of boxing’s toughest warriors, while Leonard’s decision to engage in Durán’s style of fight was widely questioned. A rematch was inevitable.
The second encounter between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Durán, fought on November 25, 1980, at the Superdome in New Orleans, remains one of the most infamous moments in boxing history.
Five months later, the two met again in New Orleans. This time, Leonard had a different plan. Drawing from the lessons of their first encounter, Leonard employed his superior speed and movement to frustrate and outclass Durán. “The whole fight, I was moving, I was moving,” Leonard recalled. “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.”
By the seventh round, Leonard began to taunt Durán. In a memorable moment, he wound up his right hand theatrically as if to throw a bolo punch, then snapped a quick left jab to Durán’s face, delighting the crowd.
The breaking point came in the eighth round. With Leonard in complete control, Durán abruptly turned his back and waved his glove, signaling to referee Octavio Meyran that he was done. Allegedly saying “No más,” Durán shocked the boxing world. Leonard was declared the winner by technical knockout, regaining the WBC Welterweight Championship.
At the time of the stoppage, Leonard led by narrow margins on all three judges’ scorecards. Despite Durán’s claims of stomach cramps caused by poor preparation—he reportedly ate too much after the morning weigh-in—many, including his manager Carlos Eleta, dismissed the explanation. “Durán didn’t quit because of stomach cramps,” Eleta said. “He quit because he was embarrassed.”
Durán’s trainers were equally stunned. Ray Arcel, a seasoned boxing trainer, lamented, “That’s it. I’ve had it. This is terrible. I’ve handled thousands of fighters and never had anyone quit on me.” Co-trainer Freddie Brown echoed the disbelief: “I was shocked. There was no indication he was getting weak.”
Durán later denied saying “No más” and blamed broadcaster Howard Cosell for popularizing the phrase. He claimed he was mumbling to himself, “No sigo, no sigo, no sigo,” but the damage to his reputation was done.
Leonard relished the victory, asserting that he had broken Durán’s will. “I did everything I said I was going to do, and he couldn’t accept it. He was frustrated, confused. I did everything I could to make him go off, like a clock wound up too tight. He got wound up so tight, he blew a spring. I made him quit,” Leonard said. “To make a man quit, to make Roberto Durán quit, was better than knocking him out.”
Leonard’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, described the atmosphere in their dressing room as jubilant and starkly different from the disappointment of the first fight: “We were sky-high in the dressing room. Different from last time. Everything was cool, smooth, good.”
The aftermath was brutal for Durán, particularly in his home country of Panama. Once a national hero, he became a target of public outrage. Advertisements featuring Durán were pulled from the air, and his stature as a revered figure was tarnished.
Durán announced his retirement immediately after the fight, declaring, “I am retiring from boxing right now. I don’t want to fight anymore.” However, he would later return to the ring, continuing a career that spanned decades.
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