Roberto Duran vs Zeferino Gonzalez

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Roberto Duran 68-1 (54 KOs) vs. Zeferino Gonzalez 19-2-1 (5 KOs) The fight card included Larry Holmes vs. Earnie Shavers for the WBC heavyweight title, Wilfredo Gomez vs. Carlos Mendoza for the WBC super bantamweight title, Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Andy Price for the NABF welterweight title, and Michael Dokes vs. Jimmy Young. The card was televised live in primetime by ABC. The fights took place at the Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion. Duran earned $100,000 and Gonzalez got $25,000, which was the largest payday of his career. At six feet tall, Gonzalez had a five-inch height advantage as well as a four-inch reach advantage. Sugar Ray Leonard, who knocked out Andy Price in the 1st round earlier in the night, was at ringside watching the bout. ABC broadcaster Howard Cosell noted that Duran looked "a little bit puffy" and said Duran's co-trainer, Freddie Brown, told him that Duran "has only been really training for three weeks." The Associated Press reported: "Although the crowd at Caesars Palace cheered for Gonzalez...Duran held command throughout the 10-round bout." Howard Cosell said: "I felt Duran was the winner. I felt he was the dominant, the aggressive fighter throughout the fight. Had Gonzalez had better punching power, it could have taken a different turn of events, but as I suggested at the outset of the bout...Gonzalez with that angular and suspiciously strong body, or unsuspectingly strong body, did put up a whale of a show."