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1980 Roberto Duran Fight Worn Trunks from Sugar Ray Leonard II "No Mas"Bout.. . ...
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$40,630.00
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Description
One of the most famous fights in boxing history!
1980 Roberto Duran Fight Worn Trunks from Sugar Ray Leonard II
"No Mas"Bout."The whole fight, I was moving, I was moving. 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."
It had been a distinctly different approach for Sugar Ray Leonard than that which had characterized his first meeting with Duran five months earlier in Montreal. The reigning WBC Welterweight Champion of the World, Leonard had allowed himself to be rattled by Duran's campaign of pre-fight insults, unwisely transforming himself from a master of the sweet science into a headhunter swinging for the fences. And Duran was the consummate brawler.
But there is no teacher as effective as defeat, and the twenty-four year old former Champion returned to training camp intent upon reclaiming his belt in the aftermath of that unanimous decision loss to Duran. He would get his chance at the Louisiana Superdome on November 25, 1980 in a rematch billed as "Stone vs. Sugar." This time Leonard would listen to his legendary trainer, Angelo Dundee: "You never fight to a guy's strength. You try to offset it."
Rather than facing the Hands of Stone flat-footed, Leonard dipped and danced, pumping his jab, sticking and moving, chiseling away at a pugilistic masterpiece. By the seventh round, well in control, he started to taunt Duran, winding up his right hand and then snapping a left jab that dazed his faltering foe. He stuck out his chin, an invitation to swing, but Duran hesitated.
The next round, Leonard would earn the sweetest revenge. With only fifteen seconds left in the eighth, Duran turned his back to Leonard, confusing the 25,000 fans in attendance as well as referee Octavio Meyran, who quickly separated the fighters and then waved them back together. But then Duran made his intentions clear, speaking the two words that would make Meyran wave off the contest, and that would haunt Duran for the rest of his life.
"No mas."
The fallout was instant and devastating. "That's it," Duran's Hall of Fame trainer Ray Arcel said. "I've had it. This is terrible. I've handled thousands of fighters and never had anyone quit on me. I think he needs a psychiatrist more than he needs anything else." Duran would blame the surrender on stomach cramps, but even his manager refused this alibi, saying, "Duran didn't quit because of stomach cramps. He quit because he was embarrassed. I know this."
Duran would find his way back to the top of the sport some years later, earning the WBA Light Middleweight title with a defeat of Davey Moore on his thirty-second birthday, and later the WBC Middleweight belt in a defeat of reigning Champion Iran Barkley in The Ring magazine's 1989 "Fight of the Year." But the humiliation of the "No Mas" fight would remain his primary association in the sport.
Presented are the distinctive red, white and blue trunks worn by Duran that fateful night, a handmade garment crafted from crushed velour and stained in sweat from the painful affair. The trunks were purchased directly from Duran and his wife Felicidad in Miami in 2000, with a handwritten letter of provenance from the latter. Leading boxing memorabilia expert Craig Hamilton likewise provides his letter of examination confirming the important attribution.
Robert De Niro plays Ray Arcel in the forthcoming Roberto Duran biopic, "Hands of Stone," a film slated for nationwide release the day before this auction closes to bidding and one expected to resuscitate the legend of a true Hall of Fame legend. Certainly we can expect a rising tide for elite Duran collectibles, of which this is the leading example. Letter of provenance from wife of Roberto Duran. LOA from Craig Hamilton. LOA from Heritage Auctions.
Auction Info
2016 August 27-28 Sports Collectibles Platinum Auction - Dallas #7160 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
August, 2016
27th-28th
Saturday-Sunday
Internet/Mail Bids: 9
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 6,632
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
19.5% of the successful bid per lot.
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