Carnival of Champions

The Carnival of Champions, as Don King nicknamed it, was an important boxing event held in New Orleans's Louisiana Superdome on December 3, 1982.

The event had caught the international attention of boxing fans worldwide, but particularly in the United States, Puerto Rico and Mexico, because the two main events that night featured two Puerto Ricans, one Mexican and one American.

In the undercard's first of two co-main events, Wilfredo Gómez of Puerto Rico would defend his WBC world Jr Featherweight championship against WBC's world Bantamweight champion Lupe Pintor of Mexico. In the second, Wilfred Benítez, also of Puerto Rico, would defend his WBC world Jr Middleweight championship against the former WBA Welterweight champion of the world Thomas Hearns, of Detroit, Michigan.

There was a lot of media hype surrounding the event, and HBO televised both. Gómez, Pintor, Hearns and HBO commentator Sugar Ray Leonard (who came in to substitute Benitez) were paraded around New Orleans a few days before the event, and many former and current world boxing champions and celebrities attended the fights.

In Puerto Rico in particular, the event had been eagerly awaited for, because it would be the first time the two Wilfredos would fight the same night and in the same ring, defending their world titles. Another Wilfredo who would later join Gómez and Benitez as three division world champions, Wilfredo Vazquez, had been announced as a participator in the undercard, but he had to pull out because of an injury days prior to the fight.

After an excellent undercard that included a win by Alberto Mercado, Pintor was the first of the four world champions to step into the ring that night, to challenge Gómez for Gómez's world title. In a brutal slugfest, Gómez struck first, hitting Pintor with an uppercut in round one, and pinning Pintor against the ropes for a good portion of round two, including a nineteen punch combination that had Pintor almost falling. It wasn't to be easy, however, and by the third round, Pintor began to introduce his jab to Gómez's face. Gómez's eye began to puff almost immediately. Gómez showed his championship heart by roaring back to take the fourth despite the bothering hematoma forming over his eye.

...
Wikipedia