So Much For Leonard’s Return Camacho Batters Hall Of Famer, Ends Comeback In Fifth Round

Sugar Ray Leonard came back to the ring the same way he left it six years ago - a battered loser.

Hector Camacho knocked Leonard down in the fifth round and then stopped him with a barrage of 11 punches late Saturday night at the Convention Center.

Leonard, a 40-year-old grandfather, went down about 50 seconds into the fifth round when Camacho landed a right and three left upper-cuts to the head. Leonard tried to get up at the count of 3 but then went down and struggled back up.

Camacho then leaped to the attack and landed 10 punches to the head before referee Joe Cortez jumped in to save Leonard from further punishment at 1:08 of the round.

The crushing defeat certainly will send Leonard into retirement for good. He had said he was coming back now because he was running out of time to make a return to the ring.

“My career is definitely over,” said Leonard, who was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in January. He will be inducted in June.

With the victory, the 34-year-old Camacho retained the fringe IBC middleweight championship.

Camacho, 158-3/4, pressed the action from the opening bell. But Leonard, 159, appeared to have the best of it the first two rounds when he landed some solid rights to the head and some nice punches to the body.

While Leonard looked fast in those opening two rounds, his balance was poor. Once he lost his balance and fell, and twice he went reeling across the ring from Camacho punches that caught him off balance.

The left-handed Camacho started to take charge in the third with several right jabs. He landed a sharp left-right near the end of the round.

In the fourth round, Camacho landed several solid shots and cut Leonard over the left eye. The end came at 1:08 of the fifth.

The battered Leonard said, “There was a rumor a couple of weeks ago that I was in the hospital. It was true. I had a right calf injury.”

“I was trying to establish my jab,” Leonard said, “but I couldn’t do it. He was always one step ahead.”

Camacho said, “I felt very, very strong. I knew it was only a matter of time before he started giving in to my punches.”