- 5/23/2025
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00:00:00And that is just down the road on HBO.
00:00:07He's a WBC wonderweight champion of the world, ladies and gentlemen.
00:00:11And producing, in the blue corner, fighting out of Palmer Park, Maryland.
00:00:16And he's waiting, no introduction, the world over.
00:00:20Here, the undisputed world's wonderweight boxing champion,
00:00:26the classy Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:00:31Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:00:33Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:00:37That's the other way, three four punches for the face now.
00:00:40How about it, Bob? Right above us once more.
00:00:42How about it?
00:00:47Nine minutes.
00:00:48You're blowing it now, son. You're blowing it.
00:00:51You've got to be quicker. You've got to take it away from him.
00:00:54Hearns has to tie him up or something.
00:01:05Hearns just trying to hang on here.
00:01:07Left hand sends Hearns back against the ropes again.
00:01:10And that's all. It's over.
00:01:12Go to your seat before this kid will fall apart. Go to your own seat.
00:01:17There's a right-handed fist attack.
00:01:19It's a right back. Now, way ahead of him.
00:01:22Decided not to let a right hand.
00:01:24It's there. It's a booming right hand.
00:01:26That's what's pulling Hearns down.
00:01:28I'm hoping that we can get together and make this big money that we've been talking about.
00:01:32Let's get this under control.
00:01:34And the people want to see it, Leonard.
00:01:37We don't want you to retire yet until you come at the marvelous one.
00:01:40It's got to be the big one, right?
00:01:41That is the biggest one.
00:01:44If you make that comeback,
00:01:47you might wind up the greatest of all times.
00:01:57And as I stand here, in one second, I'll tell you exactly what I'm going to do.
00:02:05A fight with this great man, this great champion,
00:02:09could be one of the greatest fights in the history of boxing.
00:02:14Talking about money, you're talking about Fort Knox.
00:02:17And this is the only man who can make that possible.
00:02:20Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
00:02:25But unfortunately, it'll never happen.
00:02:28Thank you, and God bless you all.
00:02:32Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome, for the first time in the ring,
00:02:35since February 15th, 1982, Sugar Ray Leonard!
00:02:44Yes, it's not a comeback, I'm back.
00:02:48It's just the actual challenge.
00:02:50And because I am healthy,
00:02:52and because I don't see myself as getting into the ring and jeopardizing anything,
00:02:57I've put personal wealth aside.
00:03:00I mean, what I'm doing now is still something that is within me.
00:03:04The drive, the hunger of professional competition,
00:03:08I still have that.
00:03:10So now, America's heartthrob is back in training,
00:03:13looking ahead to one of the most celebrated comebacks in the history of boxing.
00:03:17Sugar Ray Leonard has returned to dazzle the public
00:03:20and prove his prowess in the world of boxing.
00:03:23I still love the thrill of winning.
00:03:25I love the challenge, the competition.
00:03:28I just hate to lose.
00:03:31And now, we present Sugar Ray Leonard's first test
00:03:34on the long road to becoming a champion.
00:03:37Sugar Ray Leonard's first test on the long road back.
00:03:41On Saturday, February 25th,
00:03:43the former welterweight and junior middleweight champion
00:03:45will fight Kevin Howard in his first trip to the ring in two years.
00:03:50That'll be live, right here on HBO.
00:03:59Let's see Sugar Ray Leonard!
00:04:03The 1976 Olympic champion.
00:04:07The new champion, Sugar Ray Leonard!
00:04:14It all began in the Montreal Olympics of 76.
00:04:17A flashy Sugar Ray Leonard took the gold and took the American public.
00:04:21A celebrated pro career followed.
00:04:23It brought fame, money, and ultimately, the title.
00:04:27But America's heroes must also endure pain and suffering.
00:04:30Roberto Duran taught Sugar Ray Leonard a lesson in machismo.
00:04:34The title slipped away.
00:04:36Duran says no. I think Duran quit.
00:04:39You're golden now, son. You're golden.
00:04:42It was a time of high drama, celebration, mystery, and tragedy.
00:04:48But now infamous words, nomas, will linger forever in our minds
00:04:52and haunt the triumph of Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:04:56And of course, there was a dramatic showdown with Thomas Hearns.
00:04:59With one eye shut, Leonard unified the title.
00:05:02And suddenly, it seemed over.
00:05:04Ratna has to be reattached in order to function properly.
00:05:07Why jeopardize my health, my eyes?
00:05:10For history.
00:05:12Hey guys, I'm back.
00:05:14Tonight, the comeback begins on HBO.
00:05:18Come on, guys.
00:05:27We've got to be quicker.
00:05:29We've got to take it away from them.
00:05:30Okay?
00:05:47Tonight, Sugar Ray Leonard returns to the ring
00:05:50in a 10-round fight with Kevin Howard.
00:05:58It has been delayed and debated,
00:06:00but now a small New England city is the setting
00:06:03for one of boxing's most historic events.
00:06:07And we are live at the Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts
00:06:10as HBO Sports presents the comeback of Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:06:14Tonight, the former welterweight and junior middleweight champion
00:06:17returns to the ring in a 10-round fight
00:06:19with Kevin the Spoiler Howard.
00:06:21After two long years, a near-capacity crowd here at the Centrum
00:06:25and millions of spectators around the world
00:06:27anticipate the comeback of the most celebrated fighter in boxing today.
00:06:32It is high drama, not without its share of controversy.
00:06:35But tonight, the world watches an artist, Sugar Ray Leonard,
00:06:39given another opportunity to perform.
00:06:43Hello, everybody. I'm Barry Tompkins.
00:06:45And tonight, the man who usually helps tell the story for HBO is the story.
00:06:50Sugar Ray Leonard will lace on the gloves for the first time in more than two years,
00:06:54and that doubles duty for our expert analyst here at HBO, Larry Merchant.
00:06:58Larry, let's talk a little bit about the fact
00:07:00that most conversation centers tonight around the event,
00:07:04not so much around the fight.
00:07:06And that's understandable.
00:07:07Sugar Ray Leonard is a sort of Michael Jackson
00:07:10with two gloves instead of one and with muscles.
00:07:13He's the practically perfect prize fighter,
00:07:16a magical performer with a magical personality to go along with it.
00:07:21But now suddenly, he's also vulnerable.
00:07:24He has a flaw and a chili's eye,
00:07:27and that makes him an even more compelling dramatic figure.
00:07:31And of course, the eye perhaps talked about even more than the event,
00:07:34which is being greatly talked about.
00:07:35Dr. Michaels, the ophthalmologist, world-renowned,
00:07:38has said that the mandate towards whether or not Sugar Ray Leonard returns to the ring
00:07:41will not be based on medical reasons.
00:07:44Well, he is taking some risks.
00:07:46One is a risk to the eye, either tonight or at some time in the future.
00:07:50Another risk is to his reputation as a great fighter.
00:07:53He may not be as good after a two-year layoff.
00:07:56Or tonight or in some future fight,
00:07:58he may turn out to be more cautious and overprotective toward the eye.
00:08:03But in the end, risk is in the eye of the beholder, really.
00:08:07And risk takers are people who can't live without risk.
00:08:11For them, life isn't worth living without risk,
00:08:14and I respect their right to take risk.
00:08:16All right, I think we have to, of course, touch upon the other side of this event.
00:08:19That is Kevin, the spoiler of Howard.
00:08:22I asked Ray Leonard how he arrived at having Howard as an opponent.
00:08:25He said, well, he was available.
00:08:27I think he was handpicked because he was likely to give Ray Leonard something of a battle,
00:08:32but not likely to defeat him.
00:08:34I suspect that the outcome tonight will be, oh, spectacularly inconclusive.
00:08:40And so we come to the comeback.
00:08:42A philosopher once said, the two greatest foes of happiness are pain and boredom.
00:08:47Well, Sugar Ray Leonard has experienced both, and boredom was the worst.
00:08:53A.J. Liebling once wrote, a fighter's hostilities are not turned inward.
00:08:57They come out naturally with his sweat.
00:08:59And when his job is done, he feels good because he has expressed himself.
00:09:03And today, the tradition of Liebling's The Sweet Science
00:09:07rests with a 27-year-old fighter aptly named Sugar, Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:09:12His short career has transcribed a lifetime of memories,
00:09:15and now he makes a controversial return to the ring.
00:09:19The American public has focused its attention on Ray Leonard's eyes,
00:09:23desperately searching for answers.
00:09:25The trouble began a couple of weeks prior to the showdown with Thomas Hearns in September of 81.
00:09:31Sugar Ray's left eye was damaged in a Los Angeles gym.
00:09:34I was injured in training prior to the fight.
00:09:37One of my sparring partners accidentally hit me with his elbow.
00:09:41I took off for a few days so that the swell can go down
00:09:44because there was even talk of postponing the fight.
00:09:48If you go back and review the tapes, you'll see, before the fight even started,
00:09:54there was like a shiny area here, and Tommy just had, with his long arms,
00:09:59he tapped a few times, he activated, it blew up, and that was basically it.
00:10:04But to say he was one to give me that black eye or whatever, no.
00:10:10If it wasn't for the injury in training, I would have been clean completely.
00:10:15After earning Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year honors,
00:10:18Sugar Ray set out to defend his undisputed welterweight title.
00:10:22On February 15th of 1982, Leonard knocked out an amateurish club fighter, Bruce Finch,
00:10:28in just three rounds, even though the champion claimed Finch hit him harder
00:10:31than any of his previous opponents.
00:10:33There was no apparent further damage to the left eye.
00:10:37But as he prepared for a second defense in May of 82 with Roger Stafford, tragedy struck.
00:10:42Ray began to see wiggly lines while training in Buffalo,
00:10:45and he returned to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for surgery.
00:10:49The retinal detachment is a condition in which the retina,
00:10:53which perceives the light in the back of the eye, becomes separated from the wall of the eye.
00:10:58It was my hope that he would gain a full recovery,
00:11:01and as things turned out, that in fact happened,
00:11:04and in that eye the vision has returned to normal.
00:11:07And it's been my feeling that the eye is well healed and stable,
00:11:11and therefore he can make his career choices without those being mandated by medical necessity.
00:11:19Back in November 1982, Sugar Ray Leonard's decision was to retire.
00:11:24I must start off by saying to Dr. Ronald Michaels, thank you.
00:11:32You know why?
00:11:34Because very few people get a second chance.
00:11:38It was so easy to say, well, I'll prove I'm different, I'll walk away from the ring.
00:11:43But in doing so, I was not satisfying myself.
00:11:48And I really feel that I have to satisfy Ray Leonard before I satisfy my fans or family or friends.
00:11:54After two years of building a career as a commentator for HBO and CBS,
00:12:00Sugar Ray Leonard found that a ringside announced position just couldn't measure up to a stool in the corner
00:12:05or a flurry in the middle of the ring.
00:12:07He had his $40 million in ring earnings tucked away,
00:12:10and indeed his role as a celebrity continued without his activities as a boxer.
00:12:15But Sugar Ray Leonard was a boxing analyst whose body and mind were in the prime of condition.
00:12:21The sedentary life was soon to be a thing of the past.
00:12:25Ray Leonard thirsted for a comeback.
00:12:29I was getting bored, I really was.
00:12:31And at times when I would say that, hey, I feel great, I'm happy, I was psyching myself.
00:12:38But you can't fool yourself, that's so difficult, it's so hard to do.
00:12:43So on December 10th, 1983, Sugar Ray Leonard called a press conference after a boxing exhibition and made the announcement.
00:12:51It's not a comeback, I'm back.
00:12:53Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome for the first time in the ring since February 15th, 1982, Sugar Ray Leonard!
00:13:03And with my mind still geared to getting in shape, everything is working together.
00:13:08So why not do it full time?
00:13:11Get it all out at one time instead of waiting and wait until I get 35, 40 and say,
00:13:16what would have happened if?
00:13:18I don't want to be that way.
00:13:21On February 25th, Sugar Ray Leonard was scheduled to meet Kevin Howard after two years of inactivity.
00:13:27But once again, eye trouble threw his career into doubt.
00:13:30While being checked by Dr. Edward Ryan at the request of the Massachusetts Boxing Commission,
00:13:35perforations were diagnosed in Ray's right eye.
00:13:38Dr. Ryan performed a treatment in his office.
00:13:40It was noted that he did have small retinal tears in his right eye.
00:13:46It was felt that these should be treated prophylactically or as a preventative measure with freezing.
00:13:56We did that in order to scar these tears down, produce an adhesion in that area of the retina,
00:14:02such that fluid could not go through or percolate through these tears and produce a retinal detachment.
00:14:10I did a lot of soul searching.
00:14:12I did a lot of questioning.
00:14:14Abnormal areas had been noted previously during our examinations here, but were not thought to represent a threat.
00:14:21Mr. Leonard has been under periodic examinations here since his surgery in 1982.
00:14:27When seen by Dr. Ryan, it was felt that the areas in the right eye had deteriorated and that it was necessary to treat them.
00:14:35As the days went by, and even at home, my visits with Dr. Michaels,
00:14:43my questions were easily answered because I didn't continue to believe what I was reading or seeing or hearing on television.
00:14:52I believed my doctor.
00:14:54Dr. Ryan and I are in agreement that Mr. Leonard should be permitted to resume his boxing career.
00:15:00So now, Sugar Ray Leonard faces a new challenge.
00:15:03Millions of Americans are wondering why a wealthy young man would risk the precious sense of sight
00:15:09to achieve a historical greatness many believe he has already recorded.
00:15:14The answers may lie in the continuity of a boxer's instincts.
00:15:18The risk of injury never dies.
00:15:23When Sugar Ray Leonard was growing up in this modest home on what has become Ray Leonard Road,
00:15:28he knew the dangers of fists as a weapon.
00:15:32Yet he took that chance to obtain Olympic glory and fame as a budding professional.
00:15:37He used his inbred talents to master his opponents and perform for his loyal followers.
00:15:45That public adoration paid for a new home in Palmer Park, which housed new dreams and new hopes,
00:15:51dreams that were realized on November 30th of 1979,
00:15:55when Sugar Ray stopped Wilfred Benitez to win the WBC welterweight title.
00:16:01And yes, many Americans felt the bitter loss to Roberto Duran with the same pain as Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:16:07In order to achieve greatness, you must risk failure.
00:16:12And so he struggled through the mixed emotions of no box, recapturing the crowd.
00:16:22And he reached the pinnacle of success with an injured eye forewarning the perils to come.
00:16:29He has earned the spoils of victory by achieving his past greatness with an element of risk.
00:16:34Today he lives in a new home, and now there are new challenges and new dangers.
00:16:39And again, we have to ask, why?
00:16:42Some of my fans are all protective and really concerned. I love them for that.
00:16:47But I'm sure now they understand that I know exactly what I'm doing.
00:16:53I'm doing something from the heart, not for any financial reasons.
00:16:56I think if it was for those apparent reasons of finances, then I could see them opposed to the idea.
00:17:03As far as them saying, well, he's going to get hurt.
00:17:07I've never been hurt in the ring. Never been hurt in the ring.
00:17:10I think people, fans, have become really a part of me, and I've become a part of them.
00:17:17I think that's the reason. And again, I love them for it.
00:17:22But I have to love myself first.
00:17:27And so coming up, it is the comeback of Sugar Ray Leonard after more than two years against Kevin, the spoiler, Howard.
00:17:36Well, you heard Sugar Ray Leonard talk about the people he loved, the people close to him.
00:17:39Nobody closer than this lady.
00:17:41She is Juanita Leonard, eight months pregnant, carrying what Sugar Ray hopes is yet another boy.
00:17:48He has one already, and here's a look at him.
00:17:50That is Ray Leonard Jr.
00:17:52And here's a look at him.
00:17:53That is Ray Leonard Jr.
00:17:55Wants to be a football player, not too interested in the sport that his father has chosen.
00:17:59Juanita Leonard, of course, going along with a decision made by her husband, Ray Leonard.
00:18:03Not exactly to her joy.
00:18:06And does he look like his daddy?
00:18:08Sugar Ray Leonard Jr.
00:18:11Well, it is a multi-sided affair here in Worcester, as we've talked about already.
00:18:14And here with yet another look at another angle is Larry Merchant.
00:18:20The last big major event that happened in jolly old Worcester, Massachusetts,
00:18:25was near the turn of the century when Sigmund Freud made his only appearances and lectures here at Clark University.
00:18:33So I've been musing this week about what he would have thought about all this.
00:18:38And now I realize I've already told you.
00:18:41It was he who first said that life may not be worth living without risk.
00:18:46Sugar Ray Leonard is taking the risk.
00:18:48But he is trying to minimize it.
00:18:51Trying to minimize it by insisting that all of his prize fights in the future
00:18:56will be held with these thumbless gloves.
00:19:00As you can see, the thumb is sewn to the rest of the glove.
00:19:05Most fight injuries have occurred, injuries to the eye,
00:19:09have occurred when an inadvertent or deliberate thumb lands in the eye.
00:19:15So, a hundred years from now, Ray Leonard may be known as the man who popularized the thumbless glove.
00:19:22Although I'll tell you, it'll never be popular with television announcers.
00:19:26You can't hold a mic with it.
00:19:28We're going to back in another part of history right now to the designated victims of two Sugar Rays.
00:19:36Sugar Ray Robinson, what a boxer.
00:19:39Middleweight champ, middleweight champ, he was the greatest.
00:19:44I myself used to fight as a middleweight.
00:19:48I could either box or fight aggressive, depending on my opponent.
00:19:54Well, in 1952, Sugar Ray failed to win the light heavyweight title.
00:20:00He announced his retirement and started a career of song and dance.
00:20:06I can still remember almost 30 years ago when Robinson decided to come back
00:20:11and me, Joe Rendon, was picked to be his opponent.
00:20:15You know some boxers can fight their entire career and never get a break.
00:20:20It is not a very easy life, especially if you grew up in North Philly like I did.
00:20:25Every day I go to the gym and every day I work towards a future.
00:20:30I guess you could say that my boxing career has had its ups and downs.
00:20:35The highlights thus far would be in 82.
00:20:38And I fought one of the top waterweight prospects, Bobby Joe Young.
00:20:42It was a very tough fight.
00:20:44Young had actually punched my teeth in my lower lip.
00:20:47But I still came back to win a 10-round decision.
00:20:50Maybe that's why they call me a sport.
00:20:52Well, in 83, things did not go as well.
00:20:56Of my four fights, I won two and lost two.
00:21:01One of my losses was to Marlon Stone.
00:21:04It was a pretty depressing time.
00:21:06And I must admit, I had thoughts of quitting.
00:21:09But later in 83, my dream came true.
00:21:12Sugar Ray Leonard decided to come back.
00:21:15And I, Kevin Espola-Howell, was picked to be his opponent.
00:21:19As you know, the fight was postponed.
00:21:22In order to stay sharp, I took on Bill Bradley.
00:21:25In the sixth round, the referee stopped the fight.
00:21:29And now I look towards the biggest opportunity of my career.
00:21:33To be picked as an opponent of a great champion coming back
00:21:37is something very few boxers have ever experienced.
00:21:41It's like a dream come true for me to fight Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:21:45Is it like a dream come true for you when you fought Robinson?
00:21:49It was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.
00:21:51Chance of a lifetime.
00:21:53It was beautiful.
00:21:56And that gave me a little incentive in my life
00:22:00to fight the greatest fighter in the world today.
00:22:05In my day.
00:22:08And I loved it.
00:22:10You tell me, three years ago, the pressure was just like it is today.
00:22:14Yeah, Joe, the pressure is a lot.
00:22:17I can't sleep.
00:22:19Public all the time.
00:22:21Phone ringing all the time.
00:22:23And constantly all I'm thinking about is fight, fight, fight.
00:22:28Anywhere I go, I hear about it.
00:22:30Well, you just got to live with it.
00:22:34Go somewhere and relax.
00:22:38Go by yourself somewhere.
00:22:39Take a walk.
00:22:41Just get away from conversation.
00:22:43In my day, we didn't have the thumbless gloves.
00:22:45How do you feel about it?
00:22:47Well, the thumbless gloves, Joe, is a thing that Leonard wanted
00:22:51for the protection of him and the other fighters.
00:22:54I had to get used to them, had a little trouble,
00:22:57because when you put your hands in the thumbless glove, it's firm.
00:23:01In the other gloves, you had a little movement.
00:23:03But the thumbless, you don't have no kind of movement.
00:23:06Your hand sits in a certain position where you either ball it up
00:23:13or you leave it open.
00:23:15But if you leave it open, your thumb don't move.
00:23:17If you ball it open, your thumb still don't move.
00:23:19So the thumbless glove is very difficult to get adjusted to.
00:23:25Can I ask you, Kevin, which one would you prefer?
00:23:28Well, the way things is now, it wouldn't make me no different.
00:23:32No difference.
00:23:33Well, Joe, I appreciate you taking the time to fly over here
00:23:38and give me a few pointers.
00:23:39But not too many people had the opportunity that me and you had.
00:23:43It's my pleasure being here, pal.
00:23:45As you know, Sugar Ray knocked me out in six.
00:23:47You're going to make up for that, pal.
00:23:49Most definitely.
00:23:50Good luck to you.
00:23:51And you have to say cheer back here.
00:23:52Good luck.
00:23:53All right, thanks for coming, Joe.
00:23:54Good luck.
00:23:57Larry Merchant, you were talking about what Sigmund Freud would think of
00:23:59the thumbless glove.
00:24:01Think of it as a Freudian slap.
00:24:03And here comes Kevin Howard into the ring right now.
00:24:06His last fight, as you can see, a sixth round technical knockout
00:24:09over Bill Bradley.
00:24:10Not, of course, the United States Senator, but rather the boxer.
00:24:13In fact, it was a fight that he was criticized for taking
00:24:15because all the people around him thought that if he were to lose that fight,
00:24:18of course, he would lose the opportunity for a big payday
00:24:21here against Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:24:23Well, he's a tough Philadelphia fighter,
00:24:25and they don't get any tougher than that.
00:24:28It shows the confidence he had in himself.
00:24:30He said, Ray Leonard may think of me as a stepping stone,
00:24:33but remember, stepping stones don't break.
00:24:36As a matter of fact, he assessed his own chances realistically,
00:24:40he said, at 50-50.
00:24:42Interesting note, too, about his name, the spoiler.
00:24:44It might not be quite what you think.
00:24:46It was because he was going to have a fight on a card
00:24:50where everybody else quit on him.
00:24:52And so the result was that the promoter came over to him
00:24:55and said, well, you really spoiled my night.
00:24:57Ergo, Kevin the Spoiler Howard, who has won 20 fights, lost just the four.
00:25:02He had the one draw.
00:25:03There has been a criticism of him in the past, prior to this,
00:25:06that he didn't like to go into the gym too much.
00:25:09Well, that may also be a mark of some Philadelphia fighters,
00:25:12but I think this fight has gotten his attention.
00:25:15He seems to be in very good shape.
00:25:18Obviously, this is the biggest fight of his life,
00:25:21and you don't know how he will respond emotionally
00:25:24to all of the furor around this scene.
00:25:29And coming out of the locker room now, and he is all business
00:25:32and has been all day today.
00:25:34Sugar Ray Leonard, very serious.
00:25:37He's been relaxed serious, if you can be that.
00:25:41Actually is vacillated between being very stern and very businesslike.
00:25:46And in the next moment, he'll pick up James Anderson,
00:25:50who is his security man, on whose shoulder Ray rests his left hand.
00:25:55Picked up James Anderson's little boy today and was playing with him
00:25:58and seemed very, very relaxed.
00:26:00Right now, Ray Leonard looks very much as he did in his last fight
00:26:03with Tommy Hearns.
00:26:05The crowd reacts.
00:26:11The crowd goes wild.
00:26:41The crowd goes wild.
00:26:48Members really speaking for themselves.
00:26:50The one loss, of course, to Roberto Duran.
00:26:56Leonard not playing any games with Kevin Howard.
00:26:59He has not even really acknowledged Howard's presence,
00:27:02and Howard perhaps wisely, as Ray now goes over and shakes his hand,
00:27:08and gives the spotlight to the man of the hour.
00:27:15The numbers on this fight, not particularly startling,
00:27:20with one possible exception, and that is the weight
00:27:23that Sugar Ray Leonard came in at, 149.
00:27:25Larry, did it surprise you that he was as light as he is?
00:27:28No, he's the most natural weight I've ever seen.
00:27:31They keep talking about building him up toward middleweight,
00:27:35but I think when he fights at 151 pounds, that's about the outside of it.
00:27:41And Ray Leonard coming in, of course, very warm, very warm,
00:27:44and there is the only common opponent of these two,
00:27:47and they had a common result.
00:27:49Dick Eklund beaten by both men in a decision.
00:27:54This, as we mentioned, is perhaps even more of an event
00:27:56than it is a boxing match.
00:27:59And to that end, this broadcast is being carried all over the world,
00:28:03from Bermuda to El Salvador,
00:28:05many South American and Central American countries,
00:28:07and of course, the Super Channel carrying it up in Canada.
00:28:11Unfortunately, the Russians and East Europeans have boycotted this event.
00:28:18All right, right now, let's go up for the ring announcer, Arnold Dean,
00:28:21and the introductions.
00:28:26Ladies and gentlemen, the color guard for tonight's main bout
00:28:31is being provided by members of the inspector instructor staff
00:28:35of the 25th Marine Regiment in Worcester, Massachusetts.
00:28:40The officer in charge is Captain D.A. Bethel.
00:28:45And now, ladies and gentlemen, we ask you to rise for our national anthem
00:28:49to be sung by Sandra Leonard Petty.
00:28:54Yes, sir.
00:28:58Oh, say can you see
00:29:05By the dawn's early light
00:29:12What so proudly we hailed
00:29:20At the twilight's last gleaming
00:29:27Whose broad stripes and bright stars
00:29:34Through the perilous fight
00:29:41O'er the ramparts we watched
00:29:48Were so gallantly streaming
00:29:55And the rocket's red glare
00:30:01The bombs bursting in air
00:30:08Gave proof through the night
00:30:15That our flag was still there
00:30:22Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
00:30:42O'er the land of the free
00:30:53And the home of the brave
00:31:12Well, Ray Leonard's sister brought the house down.
00:31:17The opera doesn't start until the skinny lady sings.
00:31:22K.O. Incorporated, Dan Doyle, president.
00:31:26It will be conducted under rules of the Massachusetts State Boxing Commission.
00:31:30The chairman is Tom Rawson.
00:31:33We'd like to welcome to the ring at this time
00:31:37some notable boxing champions, ladies and gentlemen,
00:31:40the WBA welterweight champ,
00:31:42the man they call the Lone Star Cobra,
00:31:44Donald Curry.
00:31:47Donald Curry.
00:31:54The IBF junior welterweight champion,
00:31:58Aaron Pryor.
00:32:01Aaron Pryor.
00:32:11Aaron Pryor.
00:32:23And New England's own,
00:32:25the undisputed middleweight boxing champion of the world,
00:32:29marvelous Marlon Hagler.
00:32:32Marlon Hagler.
00:32:40Well, I can tell you who won the popularity contest here.
00:32:50I should point out that Marlon Hagler, before this fight,
00:32:54was in the locker room of Sugar Ray Leonard,
00:32:56went over and said good luck to him.
00:33:00And he is number one in the hearts of the fans here in Massachusetts, to be sure.
00:33:05Ladies and gentlemen,
00:33:08the judges.
00:33:12The judges for tonight's fight,
00:33:14George DeFilippo and David Sammatero.
00:33:18The ring doctors are Roger Moore and A.P. Blumenthal.
00:33:22The timekeeper, Mauro Consiglio.
00:33:25The knockdown timekeeper, William Campanale.
00:33:29And the referee will be Richard Flaherty.
00:33:32And Richard Flaherty, incidentally, will be a voting official.
00:33:37The featured fight of ten rounds.
00:33:40Introducing first, in the blue and white trunks,
00:33:44from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
00:33:46he weighed in at 150 and one-half pounds.
00:33:50A record of 20 wins, including 11 KOs.
00:33:54Four losses and a draw, Kevin Howard.
00:33:57Kevin Howard.
00:34:00Howard will be making $100,000 for this fight.
00:34:04By far the most money he has ever made.
00:34:08He weighed in at 149 pounds.
00:34:11With a record of 32 wins, 23 by KO, one loss.
00:34:16From Potter Park, Maryland, Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:34:24A familiar bow that has been a part of the repertoire since the Olympic Games of 76.
00:34:30You'll be required to take an eight count.
00:34:32Man strong in the knockdown.
00:34:33Go to the corner that I send you to.
00:34:35Don't come back out until I wave you in the center of the ring.
00:34:37You get in close and you're tied up and I say break.
00:34:40I want you both to stop punching and both of you step back.
00:34:43This is ten rounds.
00:34:44You come out boxing in each round.
00:34:46Any questions?
00:34:47Fine.
00:34:48Good luck.
00:34:51I guarantee you that Ray Leonard is nervous.
00:34:54He said before this fight it was like starting his professional career
00:34:58all over again.
00:35:00A couple of notes on the rules.
00:35:02There is a standing eight count and a fighter can, repeat can, be saved by the bell.
00:35:10Pre-knockdown rule is waived.
00:35:11Round one of the comeback.
00:35:22I must say a little bit lonely here at the broadcast table.
00:35:29Howard immediately goes on the offensive.
00:35:33The plan is to keep Leonard backing up so that he can't punch effectively.
00:35:39And Leonard going side to side early on.
00:35:47This has been a dance so far.
00:35:50And a sharp right hand.
00:35:55And it was thrown with mean intentions.
00:36:03Ray Leonard seemingly at least bigger in the biceps, bigger in the shoulders than he was.
00:36:08And maybe even a little bit bigger in the thighs.
00:36:12I think Ray would be too anxious to carry a fighter.
00:36:18As soon as he sees an opening I think he'll go for it.
00:36:23I'm almost certain that is right.
00:36:25We've had a couple of chances to talk in the last couple of days and that is what he implied.
00:36:30I think he's going to go for it.
00:36:32I'm almost certain that is right.
00:36:34We've had a couple of chances to talk in the last couple of days and that is what he implied.
00:36:37We've had a couple of chances to talk in the last couple of days and that is what he implied.
00:36:42Halfway through the first round.
00:36:44Nice body shot by Howard.
00:36:47Howard has been and can be effective to the body.
00:36:51Howard has been and can be effective to the body.
00:37:04Largely a round so far.
00:37:06Look and see for Trigger Ray Leonard.
00:37:15I think Ray Leonard is just using this first round obviously
00:37:19to measure his opponent.
00:37:21To get the geometry between them.
00:37:23To see how quick Howard is.
00:37:26Whether he leaves himself open when he lunges in as he just did.
00:37:31And Howard just did.
00:37:32Ray Leonard has thrown about five punches in this round and they've all scored heavily.
00:37:50Break!
00:37:53Get back Ray.
00:38:03Break!
00:38:04Let him out.
00:38:10Combination. The right hand getting in pretty well at the bell.
00:38:14Howard looks back in disdain.
00:38:16Howard certainly didn't seem awed by Ray Leonard.
00:38:47Take the body, okay?
00:38:50Very good.
00:38:51Take it to him to slide on.
00:38:53Go right after the slide, okay?
00:38:57Let's see what we can hear from Kevin Howard's camp.
00:39:03Paint one and jab.
00:39:04Kevin Howard had three brothers who were fighters.
00:39:08So he's probably been fighting since he's four years old.
00:39:14Fighting family.
00:39:15And now the nerves I think on both sides.
00:39:17In both corners have subsided a bit.
00:39:19We talked about the nerves with Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:39:21Certainly they were there for Kevin Howard in the first round as well.
00:39:26Very calm in the corner of Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:39:29Likewise in the corner of Kevin the Spoiler Howard.
00:39:46Howard is being what I would call deliberately aggressive.
00:39:49Picking his spots to lunge inward.
00:40:08I don't think this is a case so much of both men being particularly cautious.
00:40:12It is, as Larry alluded to, pretty much a case of picking spots here.
00:40:37That was a good right hand by Kevin Howard.
00:40:40Crowd reacting perhaps a little bit more than it should have.
00:40:54Leonard got the better of that exchange.
00:41:09Sugar Ray Leonard right at the moment looking it seems for counter punching opportunities.
00:41:13Long right hand.
00:41:39Not into the kidneys.
00:41:40the kidneys. We'll notice that when Ray Leonard punches Howard is prepared to punch back immediately
00:41:46that's a sign of a fighter who's been active whereas Ray when Howard is punching at him
00:41:51is being a little bit more tentative he's backing off he's waiting for a clearer shot
00:41:57perhaps that's ring rust and perhaps he'll get rid of it quickly
00:42:01that was about a five punch combination three of them landed Howard does not appear hurt
00:42:10end of round two
00:42:24actually Larry not a bad round for Howard I gave Howard that round
00:42:33Angelo Dundee perhaps the best known trainer
00:42:37nice and smart in the world don't fight with the guy keep him turn it make him miss then nail him
00:42:44okay very good let's take a look at Howard as he lunges in and there he surprised Leonard
00:42:52with an uppercut right hand to the chin Howard is a cagey Philadelphia fighter
00:43:02he is not in awe of Sugar Ray Leonard at all I think that in choosing an opponent of this caliber
00:43:09they did a heck of a job of finding somebody to test Leonard a little bit I absolutely agree
00:43:14with he does not seem odd about Leonard it might have been a case of nerves in the first round
00:43:19he seemed very calm he's not taking needless chances
00:43:26in Sugar Ray Leonard's corner Angelo Dundee again advising him to look for the counter
00:43:29punching possibilities which he was doing in the second round he had one
00:43:33about a five punch flurry and it wasn't particularly sharp
00:43:41there you see again as soon as Ray Leonard flicks out a punch
00:43:45Howard retaliates he doesn't always land but he retaliates
00:44:00that was a good combination by Leonard there downstairs first and then up at the left of the chin
00:44:13neither man has been hurt
00:44:30hey Leonard working downstairs now
00:44:38movement movement
00:45:00a little bit now it is a confidence and now the dance
00:45:08so it is obvious that Leonard doesn't feel that Howard's been hurting but can he retaliate
00:45:20trying to coax Howard into making a careless mistake and Howard's not having any of it
00:45:34it's a sign that Ray is feeling a little bit better about being into this fight
00:45:39but so far he hasn't done much about it
00:45:41right uppercut
00:46:00Sugar Ray Leonard however does seem to be getting much more into the rhythm of the sport if not the fight
00:46:04he has not been in a ring on a competitive level for two years and they stare at each other Howard says you haven't got me hurt and Howard mimicking Ray Leonard with arms up on the way back to the corner
00:46:26this is what's called a buddy language into the round
00:46:30they both stare at each other Leonard says there's more of that Howard says more of what
00:46:45now don't stay enough you have to stay down to stay out of danger territory you threw a right
00:46:50uppercut and you caught it right on your arm Marvin Hagler I wonder if he thinks that Ray
00:46:55Leonard's ready for him yet steady steady faint and move and slide on him everything
00:47:12this is the fourth round we talked about the fact that Sugar Ray Leonard obviously
00:47:15thinks that Kevin Howard can't hurt him I'm not sure but that is the two-way street
00:47:18at least in the mind of Kevin Howard
00:47:33Kevin Howard's corner you might have heard telling him to stay down stay out of harm's way
00:47:40and there was a good combination by Leonard and that definitely did hurt Kevin Howard
00:47:49right
00:48:02Sugar Ray Leonard now trying to stay a little bit more on top of his man
00:48:14that was a good left hand by Howard
00:48:18Howard a combination double up on the left hook
00:48:34Philadelphia is a left hook town
00:48:41halfway through the fourth round and a little bit more caution now from Sugar Ray Leonard he
00:48:47started to get on top of Kevin Howard now he again goes to fighting at a distance and trying
00:48:52to cut the ring on him Howard is being a bit of a puzzlement to Ray he's not coming straight at him
00:48:57as perhaps it was advertised he's been reckless in a lot of fights good right hand that Leonard
00:49:04slipped over his left there the best fight of the punch the best punch of the fight either way it was
00:49:11I have the feeling to tell you the truth that Sugar Ray Leonard right now feels he's got Kevin
00:49:18Howard in his pocket there's a swelling under the left eye now of Kevin Howard
00:49:27and I think I really believe that Sugar Ray Leonard right now thinks he can take him at any
00:49:31time and a right hand from Kevin Howard put Sugar Ray Leonard right on the seat of his pants
00:49:41I think you have to say I was right I think Ray did think that Ray started to become more aggressive
00:49:51try to land something big and got a little bit reckless and left himself open and Howard
00:49:56hit him square on the jaw and now it is for Howard who gets another left hand in
00:50:05and another left hand and Ray is hurt
00:50:08this crowd is really alive and a big round for Kevin Howard
00:50:20well maybe they picked too tough an opponent
00:50:30let's take a look at that knockdown again as you see Leonard is coming right straight at him and
00:50:34catches a right square on the jaw
00:50:40and there it is from our satellite camera 23,000 miles above the centrum here in Worcester a straight
00:50:47right hand he couldn't have been more shocked and then when he got up he was embarrassed and
00:50:52he sort of gave a little wave of his glove as if to tip his hat to him
00:50:57but Ray Leonard knows what it's like to be back in a fight now
00:51:02that motion was to Juanita Leonard and Ray is saying I'm gonna get you
00:51:06and Kevin Howard is saying give me your best shot
00:51:12and Howard starts out aggressively
00:51:14I believe that was the first time in his career that Leonard was down
00:51:25and in fact that was the first time Ray Leonard has been down a good clean shot from Kevin Howard
00:51:31he's got a good grip on him
00:51:33and in fact that was the first time Ray Leonard has been down a good clean shot from Kevin Howard
00:51:43he did look to Juanita Leonard and say I'm okay but so far it is still Howard here pressing the action
00:51:50earlier you remember I said that one of the risks that Ray Leonard was taking was that he simply wouldn't be the same fighter that he was two and a half years ago right now he isn't
00:52:11I can't help but wonder though if it's not just a case of being perhaps a little bit too cocky
00:52:15I started to say just before the knockdown
00:52:17I really think in Ray's mind that he thought he had him and he just got careless
00:52:21I think he had thought that he had finally measured him
00:52:24finally figured out all of his movements
00:52:26and that he could seize the offensive
00:52:29only he got seized by the offensive
00:52:34good counter punch by Kevin Howard
00:52:36once again you see as soon as Ray Leonard lets something go
00:52:38if Howard's within punching room
00:52:40he fires right back
00:52:42the sign of a real professional fighter
00:52:47Howard is actually pressing this fight right at the moment
00:52:51and it's almost as though Trigger Ray Leonard is asking himself what he needs to do
00:52:55against what he knows is an inferior opponent
00:52:58Howard hammering the right hand he was a little bit short with most of it
00:53:03but not with the left hand
00:53:12and again Howard got the better of the exchange
00:53:31Leonard left hand to the body right hand to the head
00:53:36Leonard trying to go downstairs and then bring it up
00:53:39he's missing to the head scoring to the body
00:53:42effective body punches and a good right hand that time
00:53:47and Howard slips out of the grasp of Leonard and scores with the right hand
00:54:00bring him up
00:54:05Leonard is now into a rhythm here
00:54:07Howard is keeping his gloves high
00:54:09and Leonard is going very effectively to the body
00:54:13that was a good round for Leonard
00:54:15coming off of the first knockdown of his career
00:54:18take a deep breath
00:54:34don't let him get on the side
00:54:36drop your arms down
00:54:38take a deep breath
00:54:42Marvin Hagler is probably more excited inside than any man in this building
00:54:47or this country
00:54:58a fight like this to this point certainly has to give Leonard
00:55:02and his camp some pause about going in against Hagler
00:55:05in his next fight as has been discussed
00:55:08I was just going to say I'm sure that Marvin Hagler is sitting there
00:55:11hoping that this fight was a lot more one sided than it has been
00:55:17one of the things we have to watch for now Barry
00:55:20is the possibility of fatigue
00:55:23if this is a tough fight for another couple of rounds
00:55:27Ray Leonard hasn't been in a tough fight like this in an awful long time
00:55:31and it could tell
00:55:34still a little puffiness
00:55:36underneath and alongside the left eye of Kevin Howard
00:55:40yeah do it please
00:55:46Trevor Ray Leonard at the moment not visibly marked at all
00:55:53there's a point to make here however
00:55:56about fighters and it's a rather sad note actually
00:55:58about fighters coming back from retina surgery
00:56:02Maurice Hope had surgery
00:56:04went back in the ring and retired after one fight
00:56:07Hilmer Kinty had a detached retina in 1981
00:56:10one year later he came back and retired after the first fight
00:56:14Jorge Ayumada a detached retina
00:56:16successful surgery
00:56:18his manager urged him to retire
00:56:20he had one more fight
00:56:21was hit once and did not fight again
00:56:24Johnny Pearsall who was a very good light heavyweight prospect
00:56:27waited one year had a comeback, saw a double and stopped his career
00:56:31Harold Weston was beating Tommy Hearns
00:56:33when he saw a light splash that was after a retina operation
00:56:36and he retired
00:56:39those are the people that preceded
00:56:40Sugar Ray Leonard into the ring
00:56:43after retinal surgery
00:56:46so far we really honestly can't say
00:56:48that we've noted him over protecting the eye
00:56:52he hasn't really been hit many times there at all
00:57:06take it to him now, take it to him
00:57:09take it to him, there you go
00:57:11Sugar Ray Leonard working on Howard now at the jab
00:57:14and I think you're right Larry
00:57:16Sugar Ray is in something of a rhythm right now
00:57:18although he took a left hand
00:57:27and Sugar Ray Leonard is bothering Kevin Howard right now
00:57:31not damaging punches but pesky
00:57:36just beat, just beat Kevin
00:57:39just beat
00:57:44what this kind of tactic can do is to frustrate Howard
00:57:47and perhaps he would open himself up for a bigger punch
00:57:56beat him up man, beat him up
00:57:58Leonard trying to come over with the right hand was short
00:58:00take it to him
00:58:20well this may have started out to be an advantage
00:58:23but it's a fight now
00:58:25left hook
00:58:27got it now
00:58:29you're better off working on your hook
00:58:31speed, work on your hook
00:58:33get the right hand
00:58:35unless you bury it to the body
00:58:37come back with the hook
00:58:39come on, deep breath
00:58:41come on Ray
00:58:45there you see the thumbless glove
00:58:50a lot of people are saying that it could be
00:58:52really restricting on your hand
00:58:54over a period of 10 or 15 rounds
00:58:56they've had success with it in New York
00:58:58where for several years it's been mandatory
00:59:00for preliminary fighters and in small fights
00:59:02there hasn't been a single retinal detachment
00:59:04or serious eye injury
00:59:06since they were used
00:59:11and so we come to the 7th round
00:59:13remember this is a 10 rounder
00:59:15Kevin Howard comes out quickly
00:59:17Kevin Howard can still win this fight
00:59:19obviously
00:59:21but already he has scored
00:59:23something of a triumph
00:59:25Russell Peltz
00:59:27is a promoter from Philadelphia
00:59:29and Atlantic City
00:59:31said if he went 6 rounds
00:59:33it would up his price
00:59:35he would suddenly become a viable opponent
00:59:37for other named welterweights
00:59:39he's making the most of his opportunity
00:59:43actually there's a little bit
00:59:45of redness on the cheek
00:59:47of Sugar Ray Leonard
00:59:49it doesn't appear to be swollen very much
00:59:51and I doubt very much it will cause him any problem at all
00:59:55Angela Dundee
00:59:57trying to tell Sugar Ray Leonard
00:59:59to go to the body
01:00:01and then come back with the hook
01:00:03and so far here in this round
01:00:05Leonard has been unable to do so
01:00:09Leonard's timing is a little bit off
01:00:11to be sure
01:00:15Leonard an uppercut
01:00:19Angelo Dundee
01:00:21yelling for him to go to the body
01:00:31suddenly he's flat footed this round
01:00:33Leonard after being on his toes
01:00:35as much as the last round
01:00:39once again he appears
01:00:41ready to try to land
01:00:43ready to try to land
01:00:45something very heavy
01:00:47and he took a right hand
01:00:49I think his foot slipped from under
01:00:51more than he was hurt
01:00:53and there was a little swelling on the right cheek
01:00:55of Sugar Ray Leonard
01:01:03both men seem to have slowed a step here
01:01:13three punch combination
01:01:15two to the body
01:01:17and the left hand to the chin
01:01:21and there was a good right hand by Leonard
01:01:25once more Kevin Howard quick with a counter punch
01:01:27interestingly enough
01:01:29that was perhaps Leonard's best right hand
01:01:31of the fight
01:01:33and Howard didn't even blink
01:01:37all of the camp followers of Sugar Ray Leonard
01:01:39have been saying that he appears to be a lot stronger
01:01:41now than he was before the retirement
01:01:45so far that has not been borne out
01:01:49there was another good right hand
01:01:51that slowed Kevin Howard for a moment
01:01:57Howard still right in his face
01:02:01change of left hand
01:02:07once again Leonard appears to think
01:02:10that he has Howard measured
01:02:14and they are drawn to jaw once more
01:02:16gamesmanship
01:02:26I've got to get him a little too high
01:02:28ok
01:02:34maybe sometimes when he leans to his right
01:02:36you see when he leans to his right
01:02:38you see when he leans to his right
01:02:48let's see if we can catch a view
01:02:50of a good combination
01:02:52that Leonard landed in that round
01:02:54there you see him spinning away from the right hand
01:02:56there's a right hand flush on the jaw
01:03:02and Howard is still coming
01:03:06when he misses make him pay
01:03:12well Angelo Dundee is still talking
01:03:14counter punches he said
01:03:16when he misses make him pay
01:03:18Leonard came out with a quick left hand to start the 8th round
01:03:24conditioning is going to be a factor in this fight
01:03:26this is not yet a gimme for Sugar Ray Leonard
01:03:32keep it turned
01:03:34dig now
01:03:50it isn't a gimme
01:03:52but if he does go on to win
01:03:54it will tell Ray Leonard
01:03:56exactly where he is
01:03:58and what he has to do in the future
01:04:00to get back to being the Ray Leonard
01:04:02we remember
01:04:04it's been a very very good test
01:04:10Howard continues on the attack
01:04:12in Leonard's face
01:04:14Leonard stepped away with a left hand
01:04:16got out of there
01:04:18two minutes to go
01:04:22Leonard a good body shot that time
01:04:24and that did hurt Kevin Howard
01:04:26but Howard is still right in his face
01:04:28a little bit of blood
01:04:30showing now on the cheek of Sugar Ray Leonard
01:04:32again it's below the eye
01:04:34on the cheek
01:04:38and remember it was the left eye
01:04:40of Ray Leonard that had to detach
01:04:42retina
01:04:44the right eye also was treated
01:04:46but that's not where the real
01:04:48problem is
01:04:50or was
01:04:58now
01:05:04Ray still has confidence in his quickness
01:05:06as you can see
01:05:08from how low he holds his hand
01:05:10trying to bait Howard into making a mistake
01:05:14that combination was caught
01:05:16in the gloves of Kevin Howard
01:05:23a right hand by Howard
01:05:25actually back Leonard up against the ropes
01:05:28a left hand by Leonard
01:05:30to get off the ropes
01:05:34now again Howard right on top of him
01:05:36and a combination by Howard
01:05:38Leonard standing flat footed
01:05:40about a foot from the ropes
01:05:42winding down near the end of the 8th round
01:05:51another good body shot
01:05:53you can see Kevin Howard wins
01:05:55I don't think I've ever seen
01:05:57or can remember Leonard
01:05:59with such a devastating body attack
01:06:05and there's a great combination by Leonard
01:06:07all of those punches scoring
01:06:09and still Kevin Howard stays in there
01:06:11at the bell
01:06:13and that was a result of that body attack
01:06:19he finally brought down his guard
01:06:27where'd the spit ball go?
01:06:29where'd the spit ball go?
01:06:31it didn't hit the guard?
01:06:33it didn't hit nothing?
01:06:35yeah but you come up there
01:06:37people start wondering
01:06:39I don't want that
01:06:47there's Leonard going to work
01:06:49with a fierce combination
01:06:51those quick hands
01:06:53that have marked Ray Leonard
01:06:55in the Olympics
01:07:05about every round that Howard goes now
01:07:07is worth about $10,000
01:07:09as an opponent in the future
01:07:11for the likes of Donald Curry and McCrory
01:07:13he has already guaranteed himself that
01:07:15I think
01:07:17good night for Kevin Howard
01:07:19he comes to the attack now
01:07:25still a red ring on the cheek
01:07:27underneath the right eye
01:07:29of Sugar Ray Leonard
01:07:31it's causing him no problems
01:07:33we're all here to see Ray Leonard
01:07:35but I have to say I just love
01:07:37what Kevin Howard is doing here tonight
01:07:39a lot of people get opportunities in life
01:07:41and few of them
01:07:43take advantage of them
01:07:45he's given everything he's got
01:07:47we touched on it earlier
01:07:49but he's a guy who never really particularly liked his time in the gym
01:07:51he put his time in this time
01:07:53he's a true recruit
01:08:01Howard is still right there
01:08:03in Sugar Ray Leonard's face
01:08:05looks like a miniature Joe Frazier
01:08:07in his facial aspects
01:08:09and what he's trying to do
01:08:17I think it's obvious if nothing else
01:08:19Kevin Howard has earned the respect
01:08:21of Sugar Ray Leonard
01:08:25every time it looked like Leonard
01:08:27was confident he was going to take his man away
01:08:29one time he wound up on the seat of his pants
01:08:31and the other time Leonard just
01:08:35Howard didn't take a step back
01:08:39imagine Ray Leonard is wondering
01:08:41what is holding Howard up
01:08:43Howard has never been knocked out
01:08:45he has been down a couple of times
01:08:47regardless of the outcome
01:08:49when Kevin Howard goes home
01:08:51to West Philadelphia
01:08:53North Philadelphia
01:08:55and South Philadelphia
01:08:57he'll be a hero
01:08:59and there was a left hand
01:09:01and Kevin Howard is about done here
01:09:03Leonard knows it
01:09:05and he is on top of Howard
01:09:07trying to hold on to Leonard
01:09:09just to stay up
01:09:11there's one minute
01:09:13to go in the round
01:09:15there was a left hand
01:09:17and a sharp right
01:09:19Howard held on just enough to stay up
01:09:21Howard is in a whole lot of trouble here
01:09:23Leonard stays on his man
01:09:25steps away from him when he gets on the ropes
01:09:27and Howard is looking for a place to fall
01:09:35and the fight is over
01:09:37and Sugar Ray Leonard has won it
01:09:39Kevin Howard
01:09:41wanted to go the distance
01:09:45227
01:09:47before I go into the ring
01:09:49I want to say
01:09:51I think the referee stopped the fight
01:09:53prematurely
01:09:55Kevin Howard is an experienced fighter
01:09:57he was maintaining his upright
01:09:59position, he was surely hurt
01:10:01but as a professional fighter
01:10:03he deserved to get his chance
01:10:05to last out that round
01:10:07and the crowd agrees
01:10:09with Larry Merchant, so do I
01:10:11Randy Gordon sitting at the table with us
01:10:13the editor of Ring Magazine also concurs
01:10:15and we have about a unanimous decision on that anyway
01:10:17there were 33 seconds
01:10:19remaining and Kevin Howard was showing
01:10:21an ability to at least hang in there
01:10:23he is a seasoned professional
01:10:25fought his heart out, so did this man
01:10:27Sugar Ray Leonard
01:10:29228
01:10:34time has been corrected by a second
01:10:36to 228
01:10:38of the 9th round
01:10:40and it was a dead game
01:10:42Kevin Howard who came to fight tonight
01:10:46Sugar Ray Leonard said he wanted a test
01:10:48he wanted a guy who was going to make him work
01:10:50and I'm not really sure
01:10:52he wanted a guy who was going to make him work
01:10:54quite as much as this man
01:10:56let's take a look
01:10:58at just how the end wound down
01:11:00there was no question but that Kevin Howard was hurt
01:11:02and he was hurt with a stinging
01:11:04punch, there it is, a left hand
01:11:06and Kevin Howard was about to go down at that point
01:11:08now he holds on
01:11:10and Sugar Ray Leonard was just looking to push him off
01:11:12and let him fall down
01:11:14but Howard grasped him around the waist
01:11:16and Leonard in fact, I thought I saw Leonard
01:11:18wince in pain for a minute, it might even hurt his knee
01:11:20you can see right there
01:11:22finally Sugar Ray Leonard pushed him away
01:11:24and that at least
01:11:26allowed Kevin Howard a moment
01:11:28now let's take a look at the end
01:11:30once more
01:11:32Kevin Howard in trouble
01:11:34and staggering but knowing that he's got the ropes
01:11:36behind him, trying to get to the ropes
01:11:38now he tries to hold on again
01:11:40and the referee, Flaherty tries to
01:11:42step in, still having trouble separating him
01:11:44says that's it
01:11:46and the fight is over
01:11:48there were 32 seconds remaining
01:11:50let's take another look at the end
01:11:52Flaherty has the confidence of mind
01:11:54to try to grasp on to Sugar Ray Leonard
01:11:56and at least stay in an upright position
01:11:58you can see the referee looking in
01:12:00incidentally
01:12:02Flaherty has refereed
01:12:04fights of this caliber
01:12:06he has in fact refereed a Sugar Ray Leonard fight before
01:12:08and I would have to agree
01:12:10that it was a bit premature
01:12:1232 seconds remaining
01:12:14in the round, perhaps he might
01:12:16have a different
01:12:18opinion if it were a little bit earlier in the round
01:12:20announcing now Arnold Dean for the official decision
01:12:22ladies and gentlemen
01:12:24the official time
01:12:26at 2 minutes
01:12:28and 28 seconds
01:12:30of the 9th round
01:12:322 minutes
01:12:3428 seconds of the 9th round
01:12:36the winner by a technical
01:12:38knockout, Sugar
01:12:40Ray Leonard
01:12:50and you can see
01:13:06and you can see
01:13:08a very angry Kevin Howard
01:13:10and I think with good reason
01:13:12Kevin Howard lost this fight
01:13:14he didn't lose it on heart, I'll tell you that
01:13:16he was there and he was in Sugar Ray Leonard's face
01:13:18this entire fight
01:13:20right now let's go to Larry Merchant who is in the ring with Sugar Ray Leonard
01:13:22Ray you won it
01:13:24but I imagine it was more of a fight than you expected
01:13:26it was Larry, in fact I was so surprised
01:13:28to be knocked down
01:13:30for the very first time in my professional career
01:13:32the crowd is somewhat upset
01:13:34I guess because it was such a gallant
01:13:36showing by Kevin Howard
01:13:38I guess it's evident that the ring rust
01:13:40of 2 years this short was evident
01:13:42but I still feel good that I was able to come on strong
01:13:44in the later rounds
01:13:46do you feel that the referee
01:13:48perhaps anticipated a knockdown
01:13:50and that he could have waited
01:13:52given the fact that Howard had fought so courageously
01:13:54and well and that he was
01:13:56still upright
01:13:58well I guess it's in the judgement of the referee himself
01:14:00to maintain
01:14:02safety, quite naturally
01:14:04Kevin Howard has always been
01:14:06put in trouble in the earlier rounds
01:14:08and has come back very strong
01:14:10I was very impressed with the fact that he was hurt
01:14:12and he held on
01:14:15were you embarrassed or humiliated
01:14:17to find yourself on the seat of your pants
01:14:19not embarrassed, more so surprised
01:14:21I've never been knocked down in my professional career
01:14:23and I guess what a way to do it
01:14:25in my very first comeback
01:14:27well did you think at that point
01:14:29that you had a chance to blow this
01:14:31yes, well when I went down
01:14:33it was more of a surprise knockdown
01:14:35I wasn't hurt, but it was a flash knockdown
01:14:37in fact, I don't know, I bruised my left side
01:14:39of my hip, I'm going to have it examined
01:14:41because that eliminated my mobility
01:14:43take a look here and watch this action
01:14:45and describe it Ray, you're back to your real role as a commentator
01:14:47well here I am, I'm pretty much moving
01:14:49I'm throwing a jab
01:14:51and what I did, I threw a lazy left jab
01:14:53and he countered
01:14:55it looks very unusual for me to be on my backside
01:14:57I'd like to see a little bit more of that
01:14:59it seemed, now let's take another look at it
01:15:01from another angle and give us it
01:15:03once more, it seemed that you were at that point
01:15:05that you felt you had it measured and you were ready
01:15:07to move in for a kill
01:15:09well I was in control, now you see I'm doing pretty much what I want to do
01:15:11I'm boxing, I'm throwing my left jab
01:15:13and watch it come out and it just relax
01:15:15and you'll see how it counter, come over
01:15:17BAM! Solid right hand
01:15:21look at my face
01:15:23it looked at the end of that round
01:15:25that you sort of tipped your hat to him
01:15:27and said, okay you got me
01:15:29I tipped my hat indeed because it was a very good shot
01:15:31I've never been hit like that before
01:15:33especially knockdown
01:15:35how would you assess
01:15:37on a scale of 1 to 10 this comeback
01:15:39well as far as my determination
01:15:41I'll put it in 10, but as far as my actual
01:15:43ability, it's a low figure
01:15:45I'm pleased with the fact
01:15:47I won the fight Larry, but I'm not totally pleased
01:15:49with my actual performance
01:15:51what displeased you?
01:15:53how would you describe ring rust?
01:15:55well the fact I could not
01:15:57master like I wanted to
01:15:59in fact I was somewhat reluctant
01:16:01it was really a strange feeling in there
01:16:03and I'll be the first one to say that
01:16:05I was somewhat reluctant to punch
01:16:07and get hit, I guess you said it earlier
01:16:09that will be evident in the fight
01:16:11but as the round progressed Larry
01:16:13I felt better and better in control
01:16:15one last question
01:16:17how will this fight affect your decision
01:16:19on who you will fight
01:16:21in your next fight, a haggler
01:16:23a prior, just what will this mean
01:16:25do you need another fight before you can go
01:16:27against someone like that?
01:16:29well I don't know for sure, I'll go home, I'll sit back
01:16:31and watch this fight over in a much more relaxed atmosphere
01:16:33thank you so much Ray
01:16:35and now back to Barry Tompkins at ringside
01:17:05we were talking a moment ago and you were saying
01:17:07you also did not feel that they should have stopped the fight
01:17:09when they did
01:17:11I didn't feel that they should have
01:17:13behind the fact that sometimes a fighter can get hurt
01:17:15with one hard blow
01:17:17and get hit again with another hard blow
01:17:19and bring him right back into his senses again
01:17:21I felt as though the guy was doing
01:17:23the best thing that he did was try to hold and grab on
01:17:25and the referee still gave him a little bit
01:17:27of considering letting him do this
01:17:29and see if he can pull out of himself
01:17:31I think there was a time barrier in here
01:17:33because he still had time
01:17:35generally speaking, your opinion of how you felt
01:17:37Sugar Ray Leonard looked in his stomach
01:17:39he did have a little rust in there but I think he came in
01:17:41a little bit too overconfident
01:17:43with this Kevin Howard, as you know Kevin Howard
01:17:45don't have the best record in the world
01:17:47and plus by Ray putting him on ice for about a year and a half
01:17:49without fighting anybody, Ray knew what he had
01:17:51in front of him but again
01:17:53that's what caused that knockdown
01:17:55because Ray got a little bit too careless in there
01:17:57and some things happen, it only takes one good punch
01:17:59like that can put your lights out
01:18:01you were saying earlier that while we had a shot of you
01:18:03that you were thinking it would have been better for Marvelous
01:18:05Marvin Hagler, had Sugar Ray Leonard have won
01:18:07very impressively, perhaps an early knockout
01:18:09well I think it's a bad mistake on Kevin Howard's part
01:18:11because he had Ray in trouble and he should have
01:18:13tested him to see how far
01:18:15in serious hurt that he was
01:18:17but I felt as though that Kevin
01:18:19still did a great job and still deserves a big hand
01:18:21because hey, Ray has got the popularity
01:18:23and everything else and he's a great
01:18:25showmanship for the game of boxing
01:18:27alright Marvin if you would stay with us, we're going to go back to the ring right now
01:18:29Larry Merchant is with Kevin Howard, Larry
01:18:31he was hurt more than me
01:18:33Kevin, what happened, why did they stop the fight?
01:18:35they stopped it because I was ahead
01:18:37on the card and they knew
01:18:39the only way to get it was to take that ninth round
01:18:41my corner told me to take
01:18:43the two rounds
01:18:45that was left and I was taking
01:18:47and he knew the only way he was going to get it
01:18:49was by what they did, knock me down
01:18:51and didn't think I was hurt
01:18:53he wasn't hurting me, I hurt him
01:18:55you did hurt him but you did appear
01:18:57hurt at the end, didn't you?
01:18:59he hit me with a good shot
01:19:01and that was it, I knew
01:19:03how to protect myself, that's why I was grabbing him
01:19:05and when I grabbed him and broke him loose
01:19:07he threw a flare in and they're going to cut me
01:19:09I knew I was ahead
01:19:11on the card, you didn't appear to be
01:19:13oiled by him at all, no I wasn't
01:19:15nothing that man got could intimidate me
01:19:17he tried to hit me with everything
01:19:19I got under him, I counter punched him, that's why
01:19:21I knocked him down in the fourth round
01:19:23Kevin, where do you go
01:19:25from here?
01:19:27I don't know right now
01:19:29do you feel that you gave your best effort
01:19:31that you took advantage of a great opportunity
01:19:33I was winning the fight
01:19:35I know the referees had me ahead
01:19:37I know it
01:19:39the only way they were going to get it was by what they just did
01:19:41one more round and he would have lost by
01:19:43decision and I know it
01:19:45thank you Kevin, back to Barry Tompkins again
01:19:47ok, thank you very much Larry
01:19:49I don't think there's any question as to
01:19:51the fact that Kevin Hart thought he was going to
01:19:53win the fight, we were trying incidentally
01:19:55to get the judges cards up to this point
01:19:57and if we do before we get off the air we will certainly let you know
01:19:59just how all of that came out
01:20:01and just what the judges were thinking
01:20:03coming over to join us right now
01:20:05another guy who would like to get a little
01:20:07piece of Sugar Ray Leonard
01:20:09he is Aaron Pryor
01:20:13and Aaron let me ask you what your impressions
01:20:15were tonight, it was obviously a little bit of a
01:20:17rusty Sugar Ray Leonard that we saw
01:20:19yes, it was
01:20:21Leonard had the same momentum
01:20:23the same style, the same
01:20:25charisma that he's always had in the past
01:20:27but he didn't have the punching power
01:20:29he didn't have the legs
01:20:31and he looked like he could get it
01:20:33it was just one of those fights
01:20:35where he'd been on for a long while that
01:20:37maybe he should have took
01:20:39people were saying before this fight that Sugar Ray Leonard
01:20:41was perhaps looking a little bit more heavy handed
01:20:43now than he was before
01:20:45what was your impression, did you see his punches being any harder
01:20:47than they were?
01:20:49I didn't see what Leonard had left in boxing
01:20:51before he exited because of his injuries
01:20:53I saw Leonard having the same
01:20:55charisma, the same motivation
01:20:57but tonight when he got hit
01:20:59and hurt, I saw
01:21:01something in his face that I've never seen before
01:21:03and I pray and hope that
01:21:05if I get a chance to fight him
01:21:07that the referee could come in
01:21:09like he did with Kevin tonight
01:21:11he did catch Kevin with a few punches
01:21:13a lot of people felt that he could have waited a few more
01:21:15punches before he
01:21:17stopped the fight
01:21:19but again, Leonard was hurt in the same position
01:21:21and the referee could have made the same decision
01:21:23so it's one of those fights that
01:21:25was controversial
01:21:27but Leonard I think was leading the fight
01:21:29and it was a good fight for him
01:21:31There has been a lot of talk that Sugar Ray Leonard
01:21:33will bypass everybody else and go directly to
01:21:35Marvelous Marvin Hagler, where does that put Aaron Pryor?
01:21:37Well my manager
01:21:39is standing beside me and I tell you
01:21:41I've been negotiating with
01:21:43Leonard almost every other day
01:21:45they want to fight us in September
01:21:47I believe that
01:21:49the same thing is being used
01:21:51in the fight with me
01:21:53there's been broadcast a lot about Mancini
01:21:55but Leonard is the one
01:21:57that's been negotiating more
01:21:59than even Mancini at this time
01:22:01He was 149 tonight
01:22:03said he felt very comfortable at 149
01:22:05there was some talk he was going to come in around 152
01:22:07does that weight difference between you and him bother you at all?
01:22:09No, I mean, you know
01:22:11I'm the light welterweight champion of the world
01:22:13and weighing 140 is the limit
01:22:15and I'm always about 148, 149
01:22:17to work down to 140
01:22:19and naturally I feel good at that weight
01:22:21and Leonard is always
01:22:2354 working down to 147
01:22:25So a welterweight fight would be
01:22:27a natural weight
01:22:29and I gotta say, you know, Leonard
01:22:31he really tried hard to
01:22:33give the people what they wanted
01:22:35he just didn't have it like he had in the past
01:22:37but I feel that if I get the chance
01:22:39to fight him that he will try harder
01:22:41to get it together the next one
01:22:43Let's take a look at the end of the fight
01:22:45watch it with us Aaron Pryor if you would
01:22:47How did you see this? Did you think it was a little immature?
01:22:49or a little quicker than it should have been?
01:22:51Normally when Leonard hit him with that first left hook
01:22:53normally when they came back with the same left hook
01:22:55he would have had another punch from another angle
01:22:57but Leonard I know was his sparring partner
01:22:59for five years
01:23:01right now
01:23:03I don't think
01:23:05that the referee at this time
01:23:07should have stopped the fight
01:23:09because it was a considerable eight count
01:23:11because the guy was
01:23:13held and on he could have warned the guy for holding
01:23:15he could have done anything
01:23:17but stop the fight
01:23:19Since I think you beat
01:23:21Alexis Arguello on two occasions
01:23:23that is when all the talk started about Aaron Pryor
01:23:25and Sugar Ray Leonard
01:23:27but you and Sugar Ray Leonard go back a long time
01:23:29before Alexis Arguello
01:23:31Yes we do and that's why I come here
01:23:33it would be a magnificent fight if we fought
01:23:35but I would have fought Leonard before he was off
01:23:37because
01:23:39but the fight didn't come off
01:23:41but I would have really liked to have fought him then
01:23:43Alright Aaron Pryor I'd love to see
01:23:45you and Sugar Ray Leonard in the ring
01:23:47I'm sure he would too I know you would very much
01:23:49it would be a great go
01:23:51Alright listen thank you so much and it's Hawk time again
01:23:53as I've always said Hawk time
01:23:55It is in fact
01:23:57Somehow they don't believe me when I do that
01:23:59you ever notice that?
01:24:01Well they didn't believe me until after the fight
01:24:03You made it work
01:24:05I have a few thoughts about this
01:24:07the first is we try to get the referee to
01:24:09explain his decision at the end of the fight
01:24:11but he had gone
01:24:13the other thoughts are
01:24:15there's a certain kind of justice in what we just saw
01:24:17this isn't that easy
01:24:19a game
01:24:21people forget that well we showed you that
01:24:23Sugar Ray Robinson stopped Joe Rondoni
01:24:25in the sixth round of his
01:24:27first fight of a comeback
01:24:29he actually lost the second fight
01:24:31to Tiger Jones
01:24:33it was several fights after that
01:24:35that he got an opportunity to win the middleweight championship
01:24:37again
01:24:39I think this is a very good fight
01:24:41for Sugar Ray Leonard to assess where he is
01:24:43another thought I have is
01:24:45this afternoon
01:24:47at the motel
01:24:49where Ray Leonard is staying
01:24:51across the street there was a church
01:24:53and at noon they were chiming out
01:24:55amazing grace and I thought
01:24:57well they're playing Sugar Ray Leonard's
01:24:59song
01:25:01maybe
01:25:03the amazing grace wasn't all there
01:25:05it ain't that easy
01:25:07Barry
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