HBO World Championship Boxing is an American sports television series on premium television network HBO. It premiered on January 22, 1973, with a fight that saw George Foreman defeat Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica.
Salvador "Sal" Sánchez Narváez was a Mexican professional boxer born in the town of Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de México. Sanchez was the WBC and The Ring featherweight champion from 1980 to 1982. Many of his contemporaries as well as boxing writers believe that had it not been for his premature death, Sánchez could have gone on to become the greatest featherweight boxer of all time. Sánchez died on August 12, 1982, in a car accident while driving from Querétaro to San Luis Potosí. He is also the uncle of Salvador Sánchez II.
Marvelous Marvin Hagler was an American professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987 and reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight division from 1980 to 1987, making twelve successful title defenses, all but one by knockout. Hagler also holds the highest knockout percentage of all undisputed middleweight champions at 78 percent. His undisputed middleweight championship reign of six years and seven months is the second-longest active reign of the 20th century. He holds the record for the sixth longest reign as champion in middleweight history. Nicknamed "Marvelous" and annoyed that network announcers often did not refer to him as such, Hagler legally changed his name to "Marvelous Marvin Hagler" in 1982.
Ray Charles Leonard, best known as Sugar Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professionally between 1977 and 1997, winning world titles in five weight classes; the lineal championship in three weight classes; as well as the undisputed welterweight championship. Leonard was part of the "Four Kings", a group of boxers who all fought each other throughout the 1980s, consisting of Leonard, Roberto Durán, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler. As an amateur, Leonard won a light welterweight gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Thomas Hearns is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 2006. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra", and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns's tall, slender build and oversized arms and shoulders allowed him to move up over fifty pounds in his career and become the first boxer in history to win world titles in five weight divisions: welterweight, light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time.
Richard Steele is an American retired boxing referee who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Boxing in the 1980s was filled with important fights, events and personalities that shaped the sport. Boxing in the 1980s was shaped by many different situations, such as the continuous corporate battles between the different world sanctioning organizations, the void left by Muhammad Ali as the sport's ambassador and consequent search for a new boxing hero, the continuous presence of Don King as the sport's most famous promoter, the surge of rival promoters as Bob Arum, Butch Lewis and Murad Muhammad, and major rule changes. In 1986, Mike Tyson emerged as a fresh new face in the heavyweight division, which had seen a decline in champion quality level after Ali's retirement and, later on, after longtime WBC ruler Larry Holmes' prime. In addition, the IBF and WBO began operating.
Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns, billed as The Fight,, was a professional boxing match contested on April 15, 1985, for the undisputed middleweight championship.
Henry William Gibbs OBE was an English boxing referee and judge.
Anthony Perez was an American boxing referee and judge of Puerto Rican descent. During his career, he refereed many major boxing fights and participated in a number of boxing related documentaries.
Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Durán III, billed as Uno Mas, was a professional boxing match contested on December 7, 1989 for the WBC super middleweight title.
Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Terry Norris was a professional boxing match contested on February 9, 1991, for the WBC super welterweight title.
Wilfred Benítez vs. Sugar Ray Leonard was a professional boxing match contested on November 30, 1979, for the WBC and The Ring welterweight titles.
Thomas Hearns vs. Roberto Durán, billed as Malice at the Palace, was a professional boxing match contested on June 15, 1984 for the WBC and The Ring super welterweight titles.
Marvin Hagler vs. Roberto Durán was a professional boxing match contested on November 10, 1983 for the WBA, WBC, IBF and The Ring undisputed middleweight titles.
Larry Hazzard Sr. is a former amateur boxer, boxing referee, athletic control board commissioner, teacher and actor. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, being inducted during 2010. Hazzard has served as Commissioner of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board since 2014, his second stint as commissioner after serving from 1985 to 2007.
Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Roldán was a professional boxing match contested on October 29, 1987, for the vacant WBC middleweight title.
The Michael Dokes vs. Mike Weaver or, alternately, Mike Weaver vs. Michael Dokes, boxing fights were a pair of fights that occurred in 1982 and 1983 and were for the World Boxing Association's world Heavyweight title. Both fights were considered controversial due to a separate set of situations. They are both among the most widely spoken about heavyweight boxing contests of the 1980s.
The history of the sport of boxing in Puerto Rico is a varied and extensive one. Boxing is a major sport in the Caribbean country, and the sport has produced many champions for the island, both in the amateur and professional ranks, and among men and women fighters.
Wilfred Benítez vs. Roberto Durán, billed as The New Beginning was a professional boxing match contested on January 30, 1982, for the WBC super welterweight title.
