30 FOR 30: NO MÁS (TV)
Summary
One in this series of sports documentaries presented by ESPN about important people and events from 1979 to 2009.
This film profiles the rivalry between professional boxers Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Durán and Durán’s unexpected forfeiture of their second fight. On November 25th, 1980 in New Orleans, Louisiana, the second Leonard- Durán fight takes place for the WBC world welterweight championship, after much anticipation and attention from the media. The match comes to be known as the “No Más Fight” after Durán abruptly forfeits during the fight, much to the confusion and outrage of spectators and commentators. In present-day, Leonard travels to Durán’s home in Panama in order to speak with him and discover his reasons for forfeiting the match. In 1977, Leonard is an extremely popular boxer due to his performance in the 1976 Montreal Olympics and his vibrant and charming personality. At the same time, Durán is known as the undisputed world lightweight champion with a long and extremely successful boxing career. He has a reputation for being a “brawler” and for being exceptionally ferocious and tenacious in the ring.
A fight between Leonard and Durán for the world welterweight championship is announced at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City in the April of 1980. The fight, known as the “Brawl in Montreal,” is highly anticipated and is built up by the press as a great rivalry owing to the extremely divergent personalities and fighting styles of both men. Durán is viewed as the underdog; both men stand to receive huge purses for winning the bout. Leonard finds himself annoyed at Durán’s seemingly “menacing” nature, while Durán insists that Leonard’s fighting style lacks substance and during promotional events acts abrasive towards Leonard and his family and friends. Durán and his fellow Panamanians dislike Leonard due to his all-American image, and support Durán due to his background growing up in a poor neighborhood. Leonard feels intimidated for the first time in his boxing career and feels that Durán is out of his league. Durán recounts that he felt that Leonard had assumed a great deal of self-importance, and that this angered him.
The fight takes place on June 20th, 1980 in the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada. Leonard recounts being “unsatisfied” with his mental state in the moments leading up to the fight. Leonard foregoes his usual kinetic fighting style in the early stages of the fight, hoping to fight Durán on his own terms. Durán takes advantage of this and scores multiple hits early on, including a particularly critical blow against Leonard in the second round. Leonard describes the fight as “brutal” and compares it to a near-death experience. In the twelfth round, Leonard and Durán are both fatigued but Leonard makes a strong showing and starts to turn the tide of the fight. The fifteenth and final round ends without a clear victor, although Durán appears to be convinced that he has won. He proves to be correct when the judges award him the fight on decision, by a close margin, making him the new world welterweight champion. Celebrations break out across Panama as jubilant Panamanians rejoice that Durán has defeated the “biggest American hero.” Leonard is somewhat stunned by his loss and retreats to his dressing room to contemplate it. He is so emotionally shaken by the defeat that he gives serious thought to retiring from boxing completely. Despite the loss, many fans at the time still have great respect for Leonard and the way he fought.
Durán revels in his newfound recognition, and those close to him call it “the greatest victory of his life.” He returns to a hero’s welcome in Panama of an unprecedented scale, and parties both in Panama and in New York. He realizes that a rematch with Leonard is inevitable. Leonard goes on vacation to recover from the fight, but keeps encountering fans who speak to him about it. He reconsiders his decision to retire and returns from vacation, asking for a rematch with Durán as soon as possible. He is partly motivated by Durán’s partying in the wake of his victory, causing him to put on weight, and he also realizes that a rematch is virtually required due to the amount of money it would bring in; Durán is similarly motivated by the potentially huge purse. The fight is set for November, billed as the “Super Fight in the Super Dome,” and is the subject of even more anticipation than the previous fight. In the buildup to the fight, Leonard and Durán continue their rivalry and insult each other via the media; Leonard foregoes his typically positive attitude in favor of acting more aggressive and serious towards Durán. Both fighters make attempts to affect the other on a psychological level.
The second Durán-Leonard fight takes place on November 25th, 1980, featuring an introduction by Ray Charles, Leonard’s namesake. This proves to be highly motivating for Leonard, and he employs more movement and footwork against Durán than in the previous fight. Leonard’s fighting style proves to be effective against Durán, who grows more enraged as the fight progresses. In the seventh round, Leonard taunts Durán, who does not respond as viciously as he did in the previous fight; this is part of Leonard’s strategy to unnerve and frustrate Durán. In the eighth round, Durán suddenly forfeits the match, repeatedly stating “no más,” or “no more.” At first, Leonard believes that this is some sort of trick, but soon realizes that Durán is genuine. This act puzzles fans and commentators, believing that Durán’s behavior is inexplicable and that it undermines his image as a “macho” relentless boxer. People are offended by this gesture, believing it to be something of an insult to the sport of boxing itself. Durán holds a press conference and receives angry questions from reporters; he announces that he is retiring from boxing, effective immediately.
Durán returns home to Panama amidst a hostile reaction, being “abandoned” by those who once welcomed him. He faces public ridicule and physical attacks on both himself and his house, forcing him to become something of a recluse. Leonard comes out of the fight with pride that he retook the welterweight championship for the United States; he feels that he beat Durán and states that he does not care about the circumstances of his victory. However, in the post-fight press conference he is faced with questions about why Durán quit, and feels as though he is not receiving recognition for his victory. He becomes frustrated when the media becomes totally fixated on Durán and his forfeiture. In the present-day, many years later, the incident continues to haunt Leonard and he travels to Panama to meet with Durán and try to resolve some of his feelings about it; he has his own opinions about Durán’s reasons for quitting but states that only Durán knows for certain.
At the time, many theories abound as to the reasoning behind the forfeiture. Durán himself makes numerous claims, some of them contradictory; at first he claims that he suffered from stomach cramps which weakened his arms. Most people do not believe this explanation, and later a theory comes out that Durán was suffering from weight problems by trying to get back to welterweight level, and that he used laxatives and purposefully avoided food in order to drastically reduce his weight in a short amount of time. It is reported that he ate a tremendous amount of food just after the weigh-in for the fight. Accusations are leveled at Durán that he purposefully lost the fight in order to cash in on the tremendous purse. In present-day, Durán says he treated boxing “like a joke” so that he could think more clearly about it. He states that “Leonard knows what happened” and will “never be satisfied” about their fight. Leonard compares Durán’s reticence to talk about the fight to his own struggles with alcoholism and his eventual decision to reveal it to the world.
Leonard arrives in Panama and appears at a press event alongside Durán. They stand in the middle of a boxing ring in a stadium named after Durán, an experience which Leonard calls “awkward” and “scary.” Leonard asks him about why he forfeited their second fight. Durán states that he never actually said “no más” during the fight, and attributes its popularization to overzealous commentators. He repeats much of his earlier assertions about his reasoning for giving up, and Leonard briefly suspects that Durán might reverse his answer, but he does not. Leonard expresses his frustrations about not being recognized for beating Durán, but tells him that he accepts his explanation. Leonard admits that he “backed off” because he perceives Durán to be struggling internally and wants to help him. Durán says that he and the people of Panama have great respect for Leonard and hopes that they can continue as friends. Durán notes that he has come to terms with the incident and is not as angry about it as he once was. After the fight, Durán earns back his former respect by regaining his championship and resuming a highly successful boxing career, winning three more titles before his retirement. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest boxers in history, even in spite of the “no más” incident. Leonard credits Durán for motivating him to become a better fighter and for helping to continue his own highly successful boxing career. On December 7th, 1989, Leonard and Durán have their third and final fight, and Leonard wins after twelve rounds in a unanimous decision. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ESPN
- DATE: October 15, 2013 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:20:49
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 114769
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries; Sports
- SUBJECT HEADING: Hispanic Collection - Sports
- SERIES RUN: ESPN - TV series, 2009-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Peter E. Bennett … Executive Producer
- John Dahl … Executive Producer
- Connor Schell … Executive Producer
- Bill Simmons … Executive Producer
- Eric Drath … Executive Producer, Director
- Andy Billman … Producer
- Caitlin Colford … Associate Producer
- Brian D'Ostillo … Associate Producer
- Aaron Cohen … Consulting Producer
- Sugar Ray Leonard … Interviewee
- Steve Farhood … Interviewee
- Randy Gordon … Interviewee
- Sal Marchiano … Interviewee
- Mike Tyson … Interviewee
- John Iacono … Interviewee
- Charlie Brotman … Interviewee
- Roger Leonard … Interviewee
- Juanita Wilkinson … Interviewee
- José Sulaimán … Interviewee
- Panama Lewis … Interviewee
- Gustavo Pérez … Interviewee
- Juan Carlos Tapia … Interviewee
- Roberto Durán … Interviewee
- Bob Arum … Interviewee
- Ricardo Montinelli … Interviewee
- Mike Trainer … Interviewee
- Michael Marley … Interviewee
- Christie Brinkley … Interviewee
- Janks Morton … Interviewee
- Octavio Meyran … Interviewee
- Felicidad Durán … Interviewee
- Stephanie Arcel … Interviewee
- Ray Arcel
- Ray Charles
- Angelo Dundee
- Tommy Hearns
- Dan Rafael
- Emanuel Steward