Hands of Stone - Christian Giudice [104]
In Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, known to locals as the “Big O,” the combatants fought in a twenty-foot ring, which many felt would give Leonard a decided advantage. The only thing missing that night was the presence of General and Duran confidante Omar Torrijos. Due to a heart condition, Torrijos was advised against attending the bout. They would speak by phone immediately after the fight. Yet, Margarito Duran surfaced again, and told a local Spanish radio station that his son would win a decision if he wasn’t knocked out in the first five rounds.
Calculations prior to the fight – which was billed by the French Canadians as Le Face-a-Face Historique – were mind-boggling. It would be shown on closed-circuit in the U.S. in over 340 locations. ABC affiliates bought the TV rights for $500,000 but couldn’t show the fight for twenty-nine days after the fight. Arum and King sold the live gate for $3.5 million, and if they sold all 77,000 seats, the Montreal organizers could take in $8.6 million. By June 17, three days away from the fight there were 23,000 sold and they needed 41,000 buyers to break even.
Duran would earn $1.65 million for the fight, Leonard nearly $8.5 million, from a package that included parts of the closed-circuit revenues, upfront money from the Olympic Installations Board and a lion’s share of the delayed home TV broadcast rights, as well as sales from the foreign broadcast rights. By eclipsing the $6.5 million that Ali earned for his 1976 bout with Ken Norton, Leonard was the highest-paid boxer in history.
IN THE SECOND preliminary bout, lightweight Cleveland Denny took some heavy punches from Canada’s Gaetan Hart and was carried from the ring, his body ominously limp. Most of the crowd, however, was unconcerned or oblivious. They had come for the main event only.
The 46,317 spectators gave Duran a rousing reception as he bounced into the ring on the toes of his white boxing shoes. He sported lily-white trunks and long red, white and blue striped athletic socks. They were quieter for Leonard’s arrival, though his own followers tried to pump up the volume. “Leonard held his arms aloft, bent at the elbows,” wrote Ralph Wiley in Serenity. “He was unconvincing. His face betrayed doubts. He was fighting Roberto Duran, and for the first time, he really didn’t know what might happen. Duran, on the other hand, seemed all business, jangling his arms to the sound of blood-stirring, amplified drumbeats.”
In truth, Leonard was overawed. “That fight was so big. It far exceeded the Benitez fight,” he said. “I was in awe of the whole thing. I recall walking toward the ring and looking up into the huge screen and I remember thinking that this was bigger than life. I was like, wow, let’s enjoy this. But Duran was like, ‘I will kill you.’”
As referee Carlos Padilla gave the instructions, the crafty Ray Arcel stood with his back to Leonard and pleaded with Padilla not to “take the inside away” from his fighter; in other words, not to break the clinches too soon. Leonard shook out his shoulders, looking slight in his build next to Duran. Then it was time.
From the first bell, Duran attacked, his belligerence matching his speed and movement. He grabbed the momentum and set the pace. Leonard, for once, was not in control. As Duran landed combinations and then smothered the champion, it was obvious that he was honed to a peak and raring to go.
The first big moment came in round two. Duran grazed Leonard with a right, then landed a left hook to the neck that wobbled him. Leonard was suddenly in a place he had never been as a pro, and followed his instincts to clinch for dear life. Pushed against the ropes, his crab-grip was broken by referee Padilla, and the fight continued, to the roars of