Carnival of Champions
Encyclopedia
The Carnival Of Champions, as Don King nicknamed it, was an important boxing
event held in New Orleans's Louisiana Superdome
on December 3, 1982.
The event had caught the international attention of boxing fans worldwide, but particularly in the United States, Puerto Rico
and Mexico, because the two main events that night featured two Puerto Ricans
, one Mexican
and one American.
In the undercard's first of two co-main events, Wilfredo Gómez
of Puerto Rico would defend his WBC
world Jr Featherweight championship against WBC's world Bantamweight champion Lupe Pintor
of Mexico. In the second, Wilfred Benítez
, also of Puerto Rico, would defend his WBC world Jr Middleweight championship against the former WBA
Welterweight champion of the world Thomas Hearns
, of Detroit, Michigan
.
There was a lot of media hype surrounding the event, and HBO televised both. Gómez, Pintor, Hearns and HBO commentator Sugar Ray Leonard
(who came in to substitute Benitez) were paraded around New Orleans a few days before the event, and many former and current world boxing champions and celebrities attended the fights.
In Puerto Rico in particular, the event had been eagerly awaited for, because it would be the first time the two Wilfredos would fight the same night and in the same ring, defending their world titles. Another Wilfredo who would later join Gómez and Benitez as three division world champions, Wilfredo Vazquez
, had been announced as a participator in the undercard, but he had to pull out because of an injury days prior to the fight.
After an excellent undercard that included a win by Alberto Mercado
, Pintor was the first of the four world champions to step into the ring that night, to challenge Gómez for Gómez's world title. In a brutal slugfest, Gómez struck first, hitting Pintor with an uppercut in round one, and pinning Pintor against the ropes for a good portion of round two, including a nineteen punch combination that had Pintor almost falling. It wasn't to be easy, however, and by the third round, Pintor began to introduce his jab to Gómez's face. Gómez's eye began to puff almost immediately. Gómez showed his championship heart by roaring back to take the fourth despite the bothering hematoma forming over his eye.
In the fifth, it was Pintor's turn to come back and take a round, but Gómez pounded Pintor to the head in rounds six, seven and eight, the latter in which Pintor lost a point for punching low. Pintor was finding out that Gómez was as hard to beat as his 37-1-1 (37 knockout
s) record said he was. Pintor, however, had the heart of a lion too, and in the ninth he punched Gómez with poison in his hands and bad intentions, taking that round and round ten. Then came round eleven, one of the fiercest rounds in the Jr Featherweight boxing's history. Gómez and Pintor traded punches toe to toe fiercely during that round, and both men had to be carried by their cornermen back to their corners. However, Gómez's eyes were both almost closed by now, and his fans started having flashbacks of his 1981 bout with world featherweight champion Salvador Sánchez
. Gómez realized he needed a dramatic finish, and in the twelfth he hit Pintor with everything he had, and with Pintor tiring and on the catching end of most of that round's punches, he figured out he had to try to outbox Gómez the rest of the way.
In round thirteen, Pintor attacked Gómez's eyes from a distance with his jab. One of the least action packed rounds was still a very good round, and Pintor took it by out maneuvering Gómez for the first time in the bout.
Gómez, imagining he could have been behind on the scorecards, came for the fourteenth in a roar, and started throwing punches from all angles. Pintor was tired and Gómez looked stronger, but Gómez's eyes were almost completely closed by this time, and he could barely see Pintor. He was, as he described it later himself Fighting on instinct only. Then, suddenly he caught Pintor with a right to the temple and Pintor fell on his knees, for the first knockdown of the fight. He bravely beat the count of referee Arthur Mercante
, but Gómez didn't waste his opportunity and chased his wounded prey with uppercuts and crosses, until a right cross caught Pintor on his chin and he fell to the floor on his back. Mercante didn't bother to count this time: He stopped the fight immediately and Gómez had retained his world title in a dramatic fight.
According to KO Magazine
, Gómez led on fight judge Harold Lederman
's card by 125-121, and on Dick Cole
's by 126-120, while Pintor led on Artie Aidala's card by 124-121 at the time of the stoppage. KO Magazine's staff writer had it for Gómez at 125-120.
20 minutes after the first of the two co main events was over, it was Hearns' turn to step into the ring and challenge Benitez. The two engaged in one of the most intense staredowns in history. After touching gloves, Hearns began to use his longer jab, but the brave champion started to dig in. Hearns boxed from a distance in rounds one, two and three and Benitez kept applying pressure, and using his best method of fighting: Lying against the ropes. Whenever pinned there, Hearns would try to unleash a combination and Benitez would slip the punches coming at him and countering. Benitez's championship heart was also a very huge one.
In the fifth, Hearns struck with a right to the head and Benitez's gloves touched the canvas. Referee Octavio Meyran
of Mexico counted, but Benitez came back and almost won the round after that. Hearns also dominated the sixth and the seventh, but in the eighth, a Benitez right hand graced Hearns' chin and Hearns fell on all fours. Hearns also got up, and won the ninth round. Rounds ten and eleven were all Wilfredo, with the champion trying to close the gap between him and Hearns with masterful counter punching and ring intelligence. Hearns, however, knew he needed the next few rounds to secure another world title, and he outboxed Benitez in round twelve using his jab. Benitez also imagined he was the one who needed a rally, and had in rounds thirteen and fourteen, two of his best rounds of the fight. In round fifteen, Hearns seemed to think he had the decision secured, and Benitez seemed to imagine he needed a knockout to win, so Hearns proceeded to use his jab for three more minutes and Benitez tried to avoid defeat by throwing quick combinations onto Hearns' face to see if he could find the punch that would finally lay down The Hitman for good. But it wasn't to be, and the bell rang, putting an end to the second of two intense and historic boxing battles.
When the decision was announced, it was a majority decision
: two judges had voted for Hearns, (144-139 and 146-136, according to KO magazine) and one for a draw (142-142), making Hearns the WBC's new world Jr Middleweight champion. Sadly, the hours prior to the fight would turn out to be Benitez's last hours as a current world boxing champion.
The two Wilfredos of Puerto Rico had gone 1-1 that night, but their show of bravery and championship heart didn't leave many boxing fans disappointed.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
event held in New Orleans's Louisiana Superdome
Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
on December 3, 1982.
The event had caught the international attention of boxing fans worldwide, but particularly in the United States, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and Mexico, because the two main events that night featured two Puerto Ricans
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, one Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and one American.
In the undercard's first of two co-main events, Wilfredo Gómez
Wilfredo Gómez
Wilfredo Gómez , sometimes referred to as Bazooka Gómez, is a former boxer and three time world champion.-Biography:...
of Puerto Rico would defend his WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
world Jr Featherweight championship against WBC's world Bantamweight champion Lupe Pintor
Lupe Pintor
Jose Guadalupe Pintor Guzman , better known as Lupe Pintor, is a former world boxing champion from Cuajimalpa, Mexico. Nicknamed El Indio De Cuajimalpa or The Indian From Cuajimalpa, he started boxing professionally in 1974...
of Mexico. In the second, Wilfred Benítez
Wilfred Benitez
Wilfred Benítez , is a Puerto Rican boxer. He is remembered best as a skilled and aggressive fighter with exceptional defensive abilities who won world championships in three separate weight divisions, and was the youngest world champion in boxing history at the age of 17...
, also of Puerto Rico, would defend his WBC world Jr Middleweight championship against the former WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
Welterweight champion of the world Thomas Hearns
Thomas Hearns
Thomas "Hitman" Hearns is a retired American boxer. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra" and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns became the first boxer in history to win world titles in four divisions. He would also become the first fighter in history to win five world titles in five different divisions...
, of Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
There was a lot of media hype surrounding the event, and HBO televised both. Gómez, Pintor, Hearns and HBO commentator Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard is an American retired professional boxer and occasional actor. He was named Ray Charles Leonard, after his mother's favorite singer, Ray Charles...
(who came in to substitute Benitez) were paraded around New Orleans a few days before the event, and many former and current world boxing champions and celebrities attended the fights.
In Puerto Rico in particular, the event had been eagerly awaited for, because it would be the first time the two Wilfredos would fight the same night and in the same ring, defending their world titles. Another Wilfredo who would later join Gómez and Benitez as three division world champions, Wilfredo Vazquez
Wilfredo Vázquez
Wilfredo Vázquez is a retired Puerto Rican professional boxer. He is a former World Champion at three different weights, Bantamweight, Super bantamweight and Featherweight.-Early life and amateur career:...
, had been announced as a participator in the undercard, but he had to pull out because of an injury days prior to the fight.
After an excellent undercard that included a win by Alberto Mercado
Alberto Mercado
Alberto Mercado was a Jr. Featherweight boxer who was on the verge of fighting for a world title at least twice in his career....
, Pintor was the first of the four world champions to step into the ring that night, to challenge Gómez for Gómez's world title. In a brutal slugfest, Gómez struck first, hitting Pintor with an uppercut in round one, and pinning Pintor against the ropes for a good portion of round two, including a nineteen punch combination that had Pintor almost falling. It wasn't to be easy, however, and by the third round, Pintor began to introduce his jab to Gómez's face. Gómez's eye began to puff almost immediately. Gómez showed his championship heart by roaring back to take the fourth despite the bothering hematoma forming over his eye.
In the fifth, it was Pintor's turn to come back and take a round, but Gómez pounded Pintor to the head in rounds six, seven and eight, the latter in which Pintor lost a point for punching low. Pintor was finding out that Gómez was as hard to beat as his 37-1-1 (37 knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
s) record said he was. Pintor, however, had the heart of a lion too, and in the ninth he punched Gómez with poison in his hands and bad intentions, taking that round and round ten. Then came round eleven, one of the fiercest rounds in the Jr Featherweight boxing's history. Gómez and Pintor traded punches toe to toe fiercely during that round, and both men had to be carried by their cornermen back to their corners. However, Gómez's eyes were both almost closed by now, and his fans started having flashbacks of his 1981 bout with world featherweight champion Salvador Sánchez
Salvador Sánchez
Salvador Sánchez Narváez was a Mexican boxer born in the town of Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de México. Many of his contemporaries as well as boxing writers believe that, had it not been for his premature death, Sanchez could have gone on to become the greatest Featherweight boxer of all time...
. Gómez realized he needed a dramatic finish, and in the twelfth he hit Pintor with everything he had, and with Pintor tiring and on the catching end of most of that round's punches, he figured out he had to try to outbox Gómez the rest of the way.
In round thirteen, Pintor attacked Gómez's eyes from a distance with his jab. One of the least action packed rounds was still a very good round, and Pintor took it by out maneuvering Gómez for the first time in the bout.
Gómez, imagining he could have been behind on the scorecards, came for the fourteenth in a roar, and started throwing punches from all angles. Pintor was tired and Gómez looked stronger, but Gómez's eyes were almost completely closed by this time, and he could barely see Pintor. He was, as he described it later himself Fighting on instinct only. Then, suddenly he caught Pintor with a right to the temple and Pintor fell on his knees, for the first knockdown of the fight. He bravely beat the count of referee Arthur Mercante
Arthur Mercante
Arthur Mercante Sr. was an international boxing referee. His career lasted from the 1960s until 2001. Mercante's son also became a noted referee. In his youth, Arthur Mercante Sr. was a member of the Merchant Marines....
, but Gómez didn't waste his opportunity and chased his wounded prey with uppercuts and crosses, until a right cross caught Pintor on his chin and he fell to the floor on his back. Mercante didn't bother to count this time: He stopped the fight immediately and Gómez had retained his world title in a dramatic fight.
According to KO Magazine
KO Magazine
KO Magazine is a popular United States boxing magazine. It was first published in 1979, to compete with The Ring.During the 1980s, KO Magazine, nicknamed "The knockout boxing magazine", ran some popular features, such as a round-by-round section where the most important fights were described punch...
, Gómez led on fight judge Harold Lederman
Harold Lederman
Harold Lederman is a celebrated boxing judge and analyst. He began his career as a boxing judge in 1967 and joined the cast of HBO World Championship Boxing in 1986, where he has been ever since....
's card by 125-121, and on Dick Cole
Dick Cole
Richard "Dick" Cole is an elected member of Cornwall Council and the leader of the Cornish devolutionist political party, Mebyon Kernow, a role he has held since 1997...
's by 126-120, while Pintor led on Artie Aidala's card by 124-121 at the time of the stoppage. KO Magazine's staff writer had it for Gómez at 125-120.
20 minutes after the first of the two co main events was over, it was Hearns' turn to step into the ring and challenge Benitez. The two engaged in one of the most intense staredowns in history. After touching gloves, Hearns began to use his longer jab, but the brave champion started to dig in. Hearns boxed from a distance in rounds one, two and three and Benitez kept applying pressure, and using his best method of fighting: Lying against the ropes. Whenever pinned there, Hearns would try to unleash a combination and Benitez would slip the punches coming at him and countering. Benitez's championship heart was also a very huge one.
In the fifth, Hearns struck with a right to the head and Benitez's gloves touched the canvas. Referee Octavio Meyran
Octavio Meyran
Octavio Meyran Sanchez is a former Mexican boxing referee.During his career Meyran took charge of over twenty world title fights. Among the bouts he refereed were the infamous No Más fight between Roberto Durán and Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980, Wilfredo Gómez's WBC Featherweight title-winning effort...
of Mexico counted, but Benitez came back and almost won the round after that. Hearns also dominated the sixth and the seventh, but in the eighth, a Benitez right hand graced Hearns' chin and Hearns fell on all fours. Hearns also got up, and won the ninth round. Rounds ten and eleven were all Wilfredo, with the champion trying to close the gap between him and Hearns with masterful counter punching and ring intelligence. Hearns, however, knew he needed the next few rounds to secure another world title, and he outboxed Benitez in round twelve using his jab. Benitez also imagined he was the one who needed a rally, and had in rounds thirteen and fourteen, two of his best rounds of the fight. In round fifteen, Hearns seemed to think he had the decision secured, and Benitez seemed to imagine he needed a knockout to win, so Hearns proceeded to use his jab for three more minutes and Benitez tried to avoid defeat by throwing quick combinations onto Hearns' face to see if he could find the punch that would finally lay down The Hitman for good. But it wasn't to be, and the bell rang, putting an end to the second of two intense and historic boxing battles.
When the decision was announced, it was a majority decision
Majority decision
A majority decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking...
: two judges had voted for Hearns, (144-139 and 146-136, according to KO magazine) and one for a draw (142-142), making Hearns the WBC's new world Jr Middleweight champion. Sadly, the hours prior to the fight would turn out to be Benitez's last hours as a current world boxing champion.
The two Wilfredos of Puerto Rico had gone 1-1 that night, but their show of bravery and championship heart didn't leave many boxing fans disappointed.