HOUSTON -- Sugar Ray Leonard became boxing's only double title-holder Thursday night, capturing the World Boxing Association junior middleweight championship with a ninth-round knockout of Ayub Kalule and setting up a multi-million dollar showdown against Thomas Hearns.
Hearns retained his WBA welterweight crown Thursday night at the Astrodome with a fourth-round knockout of lightly regarded Dominican Pablo Baez. Hearns and Leonard will meet for the undisputed welterweight championship on September 16, probably at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, in a bout that promises to be the richest in boxing history, grossing over $30 million.
The official announcement is expected at a July 7 news conference in New York.
The fight was not an easy one for Leonard, who was hurt and nearly put away by Kalule in the seventh round. But the World Boxing Council welterweight champion battled back and took control in the eighth round and used his savage left hook -- his best weapon throughout the fight -- to hurt Kalule.
Three solid left hooks to the body hurt Kalule and sent him backwards and a right hand to the head dazed him in the ninth round. Leonard followed quickly with a short combination and then landed a left-right-left that set Kalule on the seat of his pants late in the round.
Kalule, who seemed to fight best when he was hurt, struggled to his feet as the bell sounded but referee Carlos Berrocal of Panama waved him off, giving Leonard his second championship.
There seemed to be some confusion as to whether Kalule was saved by the bell, but Berrocal's decision stood and Leonard's victory came officially at 2:59 of the ninth round.
As he did in his first fight with Roberto Duran, Leonard abandoned his patented dancing style and chose to fight the left-handed Kalule flat footed. It seemed to work well at the started as Leonard landed with short left jabs off the head followed with ripping left hooks to the body and head. Leonard shook Kalule with solid left hooks at the end of the first and second rounds, but the more pressure Leonard applied and the harder he hit, the harder Kalule seemed to fight back.
In the third round, he went to Leonard's body and began to score with right hands and short chopping lefts. But Leonard came back in the fourth and rocked Kalule with a left hook with a minute to go. Kalule was hurt in the fourth and took some stinging punches in the fifth and made perhaps his biggest blunder in the sevneth round.
With about a minute to go in the seventh round, Kalule connected on the onrushing Leonard with two chopping right hooks and a solid right hand to the head that caused Leonard's knees to buckle and sent him backwards with a dazed look on his face.
Leonard was in obvious trouble and staggered back against the ropes but for some unknown reason, Kalule did not pursue him, prehaps feeling Leonard was faking. Leonard was moving along the ropes avoiding Kalule while his head cleared.
Leonard had predicted Kalule would fall in 10 rounds and he made it come true by putting on the pressure in round eight. Leonard sent Kalule back into the ropes with two left hooks to the liver followed by two left hooks to the head and a crunching right to the jaw.
Kalule fought back gallantly, but it was obvious what little sting was in his punches was now gone. Leonard and his trainer Angelo Dundee smiled in their corner between the eighth and ninth rounds as if they knew they had their man in trouble.
Leonard said immediately after the fight that he hurt his left hand early in the bout, perhaps suffering ligament damage, and threw more rights than he normally would -- though his left hand was still the more damaging punch.
Both fighters weighed 153, one pound under the junior middleweight limit.
Leonard won the welterweight title on Nov. 30, 1979 with a 15-round technical knockout of defending champion Wilfred Benitez. He defended it once by stopping England's Dave 'Boy' Green in four rounds in March, 1980, but lost the title and suffered his only pro loss in June, 1980, losing a 15-round decision to Duran in Montreal.
He avenged that defeat by stopping Duran in eight rounds in New Orleans last November. He made one title defense before Thursday night, stopping Larry Bonds in 10 rounds last March.
Leonard become only the sixth welterweight to move up and win a title in a higher division. The others were Mickey Walker, Sugar Ray Robinson, Carmen Basilio, Emile Griffith and Benitez.
Kalule, who was making his U.S. debut, won the junior middleweight title in Ocotber, 1979 with a 15-round decision over Mashashi Kado of Japan. He defended it four times, outpointing Steve Gregory, Marijan Benes, Bushy Bester and stopping Emiliano Villa in 12 rounds.
Hearns won the WBA version of the welterweight itle with a crushing second-round knockout of Pipino Cuevas, of Mexico, last August in his hometown of Detroit. He made two successful defenses, stopping Luis Primera in six rounds last December and Randy Shields in 13 rounds last April.
Hearns' knocked out his first 17 opponents before going the distance for the first time against Alfonso Hayman in 10 rounds. The only other fighter to go the distance against Hearns was Mike Colbert.
Hearns' 30 knockouts in 32 fights gives him the highest knockout percentage of any welterweight in history. His fights have averaged five rounds.
The victories by Hearns and Leonard give American fighters control of the top six divisions in boxing. Larry Holmes (WBC) and Mike Weaver (WBA) are the heavyweight champions and Matthew Saad Muhammad (WBC) and Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (WBA) are the light heayweight kings. Marvin Hagler is recognized as middleweight champion by both the WBC and the WBA. Leonard (WBA) and Benitez (WBC) are the junior middleweight champions and Leonard and Hearns are the welterweight champions.
Also, Saoul Mamby (WBC) and Aaron Pryor (WBA) are the junior welterweight title holders
