Sugar Ray just wanted to win the crown in every division possible, and in his third fight after retiring, decided to go after the light heavyweight crown by fighting the current champion, Donnie “Golden Boy” Lalonde. The vacated super middleweight crown was also up for grabs in this fight. This was Lalonde’s second title defense but only the 3rd fight in 7 years for Leonard, including a 19-month hiatus from his last fight against Marvin Hagler. It seemed that time only made fans hungrier more for Sugar Ray, as he could command any payday he wanted including the unheard $13 million he received for this fight. Of course, the reigning champ received much less.

Leonard’s chances to win seemed dim in the 9th round when he received 31 straight punches from Lalonde, most of them weak but more than enough to tilt the scorecard. The round turned quickly as Leonard launched three hooks to Lalonde’s head, followed by an endless battery of assaults that dropped the champ down to the ground. Lalonde eventually got up, raised his hand and told Leonard: “You win”. With the fight, Leonard became the second boxer to win 5 weight divisions, a few days after Thomas Hearns accomplished the same goal, setting the stage for the last of Sugar Ray’s great fights one year later.