Salvador Sanchez vs. Juan Laporte

The Salvador Sánchez vs. Juan Laporte fight was a boxing encounter that took place on December 13, 1980, in El Paso, Texas, United States, for the WBC world Featherweight title.

Salvador Sánchez had a record of 37 wins, 1 loss and one draw, with 29 knockouts. He had won the WBC world Featherweight championship by defeating Danny Lopez by a thirteenth-round knockout on February 2 of that year. He followed that win with defenses against Ruben Castillo, Lopez in a rematch and Patrick Ford. Despite the fact that Sanchez was a world champion, he had reached celebrity status only in his native Mexico and among hardcore boxing fans. It was when Sanchez beat Wilfredo Gómez that it can be said Sanchez gained full celebrity status.

On the other hand, Laporte was even lesser known than Sanchez, as even many among his fellow Puerto Ricans did not know him. He was known more than anywhere else in the New York City area, having fought at the Madison Square Garden often during the early parts of his career. He sported a record of 15 wins and 1 loss, with 8 wins by knockout, coming into his bout with Sanchez.

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.

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