Salvador Sanchez Vs. Juan Laporte - The Fight

The Fight

Laporte was a mandatory challenger, meaning that Sanchez had to defend his WBC title against him or he could be stripped of the world championship. Don King, Sanchez's promoter, figuring that the fight would sell more tickets in a state near Mexico, worked a deal for the fight to take place in El Paso. A decisively pro-Sanchez crowd filled the County Coliseum the night of the fight. The event was televised live on ABC.

Laporte, the underdog, pressed Sanchez into a torrid pace since early on in the bout. Sanchez was never knocked down in his career; Laporte only once in over 50 fights. The two boxers traded punches toe to toe for most of the encounter, but Sanchez utilized his experience to his advantage. The less experienced Laporte, however, kept firing back at Sanchez, connecting with multiple hard shots that bounced off Sanchez's head and chin.

By the latter rounds, Sanchez's expertise was becoming more evident, as he repeatedly shook Laporte with blows to the head. Laporte, however, hung in and kept trying to overtake the champion. Much to the delight of the crowd, Laporte did not refuse to trade punches with the champion until the bell rang to end round fifteen, signifying the end of the bout. Fans gave both fighters a standing ovation after the bout was over.

Sanchez retained the title by unanimous decision, with scores of 148-142 (8-2-5 in rounds), 146-139 (11-4) and 147-140 (10-3-2).