LEONARD, SUGAR RAY-KEVIN HOWARD OFFICIAL PROGRAM (1984)

On May 11, 1984 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts former welterweight champion Sugar Ray Leonard took on Kevin Howard in the main event. Leonard prevailed winning by TKO in round nine. Sugar Ray Leonard climbed up from the first knockdown of his pro career in the fourth round Friday night and then stopped Kevin Howard with a furious barrage of head blows in the ninth round of his comeback fight. Leonard, fighting for the first time in 27 months, landed a crashing left hook that almost put Howard down in the ninth. But Howard grabbed Leonard and kept from falling. Then, after the two fighters were separated, Leonard landed several more shots to the head before referee Richard Flaherty stopped the fight with 32 seconds to go in the round. Howard's corner protested vehemently and many in the crowd of 10,461 at the Centrum booed. But it did appear that Howard was all but out on his feet. Howard came to fight and although Leonard, who relinquished his undisputed welterweight title after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina, was in control all the way, he was never dominant. In the fourth round, Leonard landed a four or five punch series to the head and then mugged at Howard, his chin sticking forward. Suddenly, the 23-year-old from Philadelphia did something that Roberto Duran hadn't been able to do in 23 rounds, something that Thomas Hearns couldn't do in his 14-round brawl with Leonard. Kevin Howard knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard with a right to the jaw that followed a pawing left. Leonard hit the seat of his pants, then got up at three to take a mandatory eight count. Howard resumed the attack and landed two good left hooks to the jaw but Leonard was able to withstand them. In the fifth round, Howard motioned Leonard to come to him. Leonard won the round with several hard body shots in the last minute. Leonard also held the edge in the sixth, seventh and eighth and then the former champion won the fight on the force of that tremendous hook in the ninth. Offered here is an original, official program for this event.
This is an original, official program for this event consisting of 20 pages complete plus covers. Tight binding. Not scored. Clean inside and out. Not creased or torn. 8 1/2" x 11."