As would always be expected of [Roberto Duran], he took the defeat with a sneer and his usual consummate bad sportsmanship. "[Sugar Ray Leonard] came here to clown around. I came to fight. Leonard didn't beat me," said Duran through a translater. "Fighting against Leonard in the United States is completely impossible. . . . The referee {Richard Steele} didn't let me do nothing. I couldn't fight."

Duran finally got a moment to savor in the fifth round when he mauled Leonard into a neutral corner and head-butted him in the mouth, opening a cut. As Leonard has done so often in his career, he responded to his own blood, or his own fear, with fury. He won the sixth by a titanic margin and had everything to show for it but a knockdown. A straight right started Duran's problems. By the bell, Leonard had hit Duran harder and more often, especially with right leads, than in any round in their history except the 11th in Montreal. The crowd stood, anticipating a possible knockout, but Duran was far too tough, never wobbled, even when nailed, and even managed half a snarl after the round.

By the last minute of the ninth round, Leonard was in heaven, landing a mega-left hook after missing (for one of the few times) with the right-hand lead that had drubbed Duran's left temple much of the night. As usual, Leonard saved his activity for the later half of the round and it may have cost him a chance to do major damage. Duran was in trouble, trapped in his own corner, covering up, his eyes glazed, as Leonard spent the last 20 seconds of the round searching for a KO combo.