Mike Tyson, who dominated it during the second.
Top fighters in the lower weight classes included
Sugar Ray Leonard, Wilfred Benitez, Roberto
Duran, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler, Alexis Ar-
guello, and Salvador Sánchez. Many of these lighter-
weight fighters moved up in weight class during the
decade in order to fight the other top fighters of the
period, creating an exceptionally high number of
exciting bouts.
The Great Fighters and the Great Fights Two heavy-
weight legends of the previous era in boxing, Mu-
hammad Ali and Joe Frazier, both fought their last
fights in December of 1981, as the torch was passed
to the new generation. The immediate recipient of
that torch was Larry Holmes, who opened the de-
cade as the dominant force in the heavyweight divi-
sion. After winning the World Heavyweight Champi-
onship in 1978, Holmes defended the title sixteen
times between 1980 and 1985, when he finally lost it
by decision to Michael Spinks. After a brief period of
multiple champions, the youthful Mike Tyson ex-
ploded onto the scene, unifying the title in a series
of bouts in 1986 and 1987 and establishing himself
as the top heavyweight of the second half of the de-
cade.
Sugar Ray Leonard, who won his first professional
title as a welterweight in 1979, fought many of the top
fighters of the lower weight classes during the 1980’s.
After winning the World Boxing Council (WBC) wel-
terweight title from Wilfred Benitez in 1979, he lost
the title to former lightweight champion Roberto
Duran in June of the following year but regained it in
a rematch in November. In 1981, Leonard fought un-
defeated knockout artist Thomas Hearns, winning by
an exciting fourteenth round technical knockout
(TKO) and adding the World Boxing Association
(WBA) welterweight title to his earlier title. Although
sidetracked by eye problems during the middle years
of the decade, Leonard returned to the ring in April
of 1987, defeating middleweight champion Hagler in
a controversial decision.The Eighties in America Boxing 133
Sugar Ray Leonard, right, delivers a blow to Roberto Duran during their first welterweight title fight in June, 1980. Duran won the fight
by decision, but Leonard won their rematch in November.(AP/Wide World Photos)