Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 37

-rt Saturday, June 21, 1980 SPORTS PEOPLE HORSE RACING TELEVISION DETROIT FREE PRESS COMICS lha ll Todays television highlights; Scoreboard GD 2:00 p.m. Baseball: Oakland at New York TT rnriTV 2:15 p.m. Baseball: Tigers at Chicago The complete sports TnVl p.m. Golf: CanacL Open runaown. rage 4.

IUM 8:30 p.m. Express Soccer: Detroit at Memphis Sugar Ray Leonard (left) covers up as Roberto Duran flails away with both fists in their WBC welterweight championship fight Friday night in Montreal. A if "4. AP Photo Duran hammers to welterweight title Challenger takes Leonard's crown in 15-round decision ll jPuscas initiative early and go after Duran because of the Panamanian's reputation as a slow starter, but it was Duran instead who roared out from the opening bell and took command all the way. 1 IN THE FIRST round, Duran set the tone for the fight by scoring to the head with two consecutive left-right combinations and shoved the surprised Leonard all over the ring with relentless pursuit.

In the second, Duran hurt Leonard with a left hook and had the Palmer Park, Md. native holding on. Leonard came back with a quick jab, but Duran again was all over him. The fight was supposed to pair the fast hands of Leonard against the stone' hands of Duran, but it was Duran who showed the quickest hands throughout. He fought a consistent fight while Leonard, unable to handle Duran's bullish tactics, was content to fight only in flurries.

MONTREAL (UPI) Roberto Duran used his thundering fists to extinguish the lightning-quick speed of Sugar Ray Leonard Friday night and won the WBC welterweight title with a 15-round split decision over the previously unbeaten Olympic champion. It was billed as the "Brawl in Montreal" and it turned out to be just that, one of the great fights in welterweight history. But Duran was in control from the opening bell. Using his famed "Hands of Stone" like two pistons, Duran appeared to win virtually every round and smiled contemptuously at his opponent over the last five rounds. Judge Harry Gibb of England scored it 145-144 for Duran, judge Angelo Poletti of Italy had it 147-147 even and judge Raymond Baldeyrou of France scored it 146-144 for the Panamanian challenger.

UPI had it 147-138 for DURAN BUILT a huge lead early and then held it through the final rounds as Leonard knew his only hope was a knockout. But it was not to be. Leonard took the best Duran had to offer and it wasn't enough. When it was over, Leonard smiled and Duran raised his hands in a victory sign. The victory for Duran on a chilly night was his 70th against one loss and marked only the second time in his long career that he had to go the full 15 rounds.

Only once before as the lightweight champion did Duran go the distance, defeating Edward Viruet in Philadelphia in 1977. Duran's only loss was a 10-round non-title decision to Esteban De Jesus in New York in 1972, but he avenged that defeat by beating DeJesus twice in title bouts. It was expected that Leonard would attempt to take the Berbick KOs Tate Canadian surprises the ex-champ fff- AT" mmf TZtfy ISKt ftltOmiiik bum urn ihiinito win JL jf an apparent butt at the start of the sixth round and it continued to bleed throughout the fight. It appeared as if Tate was totally exhausted when he came out for what proved to be the final round. After he went down, Tate's handlers pulled his mouthpiece and dragged their fighter to the center of the ring.

Finally, Tate rose, shook his head from side to side and staggered to his feet. In other preliminary bouts Friday night: Roger Leonard, the older brother of Sugar Ray, ran his record to 14-0 with an unimpressive 10-round split decision over former world welterweight champion Clyde Gray of Canada. The two judges scored it 48-45 and 48-46 in favor of Leonard. The other judge had it 47-45 in favor of Gray, the reigning Canadian middleweight champion. Gaetan Hart, the Canadian lightweight champion, ran his record to 44-17-3 with a lOth-round technical knockout of Canadian Cleveland Denny.

Two Canadians Fernand Marcotte and Eddie Melo fought to a 10-round draw in a middleweight bout. Denny was taken from the ring on a stretcher and rushed to Maisonneuve Hospital in serious condition. Denny absorbed several blows to the head in the 10th round and went down in a heap in a neutral corner. MONTREAL (UPI) Unheralded Trevor Berbick, the Canadian heavyweight champion, ruined former WBA heavyweight champion John Tate's return to the ring Friday night with a stunning knockout at 13 seconds of the ninth round. Tate, who was knocked out by Mike Weaver in the 15th round and lost his title in March, seemed in control for most of the fight, a preliminary to the Sugar Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran WBC welterweight title fight.

But Tate, who appeared sluggish, was slow to come out of his corner in the ninth round. The heavily muscled Berbick quickly backed Tate into a neutral corner and sent him flying across the ring with an overhand right to the head. Tate went down flat on his face under the ropes and was counted out. He needed several minutes to be revived. THE FIGHTERS had exchanged angry words at the close of the eighth round and Berbick, who was spotting the 232-pound Tate 16 pounds, flew out of his corner in a rage for the ninth.

Berbick started strongly and connected well to Tate's head through the early rounds, but Tate began to take control in the fourth, when he hurt Berbick with combinations near the end of the round and almost had Berbick down near the end of the sixth. Tate was cut severely under the left eye by Fight's worth $27 million, but taxpayers still get stuck MONTREAL It is an interesting study in civics, economics and like matters, that whenever government gets involved in sports, the people wind up paying. You never hear, for instance, of taxes being reduced because a ton of money was made through a publicly owned sports facility. We have examples at home in the Pontiac Silverdome, now in its sixth year of operation but still unable to pay all its bills, and the new Joe Louis Arena, which figures to be a lifetime burden on the tax rolls. Canadians have their own problems.

It's difficult to feel sorry for them because they keep asking for another whack. They built a magnificent sports complex here for' the 1976 Olympic Games. Theft and overcharges were so heavy the debt came to about $1.2 billion, requiring the government periodically to sell off bullion. As if that were not a penetrating lesson, the Canadians did it to themselves one more time with the Sugar Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran welterweight championship bout here Friday night. The Olympics Installations Board (OIB) bought the fight for $4.1 million, becoming promoter of the live fight at its stadium.

As fight time neared late Friday, it appeared to be a great success for Bob Arum and Don King the American fight sharpies who owned the television rights but another financial bomb for Montreal. Despite the heaviest pre-fight hype of recent years, only 35,000 tickets had been sold by noon Friday. The OIB said it needed at least 45,000 to break even, but at the moment, it was more than $1.5 million shy. Plenty of vacancies al $300 per All the top seats at $500 each had been sold, and so had the cheapies at $20. Largely untouched were thousands of $300 and $200 tickets.

It is odd, and no justice at all, that a fight which figured to gross some $27 million (estimates run as high as $40 million) would have the taxpayers here as the only losers and dipping deep again to pay the I only mention that to caution you where Lord Coleman, landlord of Detroit's sports team, is concerned. He would like to make our town the boxing capital of the world, and that would be nice. But you want to make sure it happens with money from guys who stand to make the money. Of course, there is a lot of money around. You put on a show anywhere and it's amazing how much dough jumps out of shoeboxes and coffee cans.

More than 3,000 Panamanians are here to cheer countryman Roberto Duran. The ones I've seen and talked to do not seem especially prosperous, not so they could afford such a trip. But they are here, including a collection of paupers who remain beach pals of Duran from his youth. Duran picked up their tickets and expenses for some, and they arrived wondering about Sugar Ray Leonard. "Is he good?" one asked at the stadium door as we awaited the noon weigh-in of the fighters.

"None of us ever see Sugar Ray." You'll see more than you want tonight, I told him. "Duran can't be beat," he says. "He never get tired, he never stop. He will win." I asked him if he ever heard of Tommy Hearns. He knew all about Hearns, who strangely is better recognized on the West Coast than the East.

"Ooooo, Tommy Hearns," says the Panamanian. "He hit to kill a horse but maybe a bull, too." He would not want to see the day when Duran, known as a bull, would fight Hearns. Free Press Photo bv DAVID C. TURNLEY Charlie Johnson was among the hundreds at the Fox theater who saw Friday night's fight. He says Thomas Hearns will be the world welterweight champion.

NINTH-INNING KALLY Chicago KOs Petry Boxer sends 2d opponent to hospital MONTREAL (AP) -Gaetan Hart of Quebec, the Canadian lightweight champion, stopped Cleveland Denny with six seconds left in their 10-round non-title fight Friday night, and Denny was carried unconscious from the ring. Denny was rushed to Maisonneuve Hospital and was still unconscious nearly an hour after the fight. In a title defense May 7, Hart knocked out Ralph Racine in the 12th round. Racine was in a coma for several days, required brain surgery and is still convalescing in a Montreal hospital. With Friday night's fight drawing to a close, Hart smashed home a right to Denny's jaw that staggered him.

Denny tried to hold on but Hart landed a series of See DENNY, Page 3D By BRIAN BRAGG Free Press Sports Writer CHICAGO Dan Petry had his Chicago cousins just two outs from oblivion Friday night when a two-run homer by slumping Chet Lemon tied the score at 3-3 and forced the Tigers into extra' innings against the White Sox. Petry was breezing along with a five-hitter, having allowed only an unearned run in the sixth inning, when his chance for victory suddenly evaporated with Lemon's ninth-inning blow. Manager Sparky Anderson immediately replaced the big righthander with Aurelio, Lopez, who closed out the inning and sent the game overtime. A massive brawl erupted in the 11th inning, triggered by Al Cowens who attacked Chicago relief ace Ed Farmer, apparently in relatiation for Farmer having broken Cowens' jaw with a pitch on May 8, 1979. Cowens, on a 3-1 pitch after Farmer had brushed him back with a pitch, grounded to shortstop.

Instead of running the ball out, he headed straight for the mound, where Farmer had his back turned. Cowens jumped on him and began punching him in the head. About a half dozen White Sox immediately piled on Cowens. Then both benches em-tied. Parrish was first Tiger to arrive; Champ Summers was second and Hebner third.

Summers got in a good punch at a Chicago coach. Home runs by Lance Parrish (No. 9) and John Wockenfuss (No. 8) had helped Petry to a lead over the team he had beaten three times without setback in his career. Lefthander Britt Burns was on the short end of the score until Lemon's blast gave him a reprieve.

Some sparkling infield defense, larly by shortstop Alan Trammell and second baseman Lou Whitaker, had helped Petry preserve the advantage. Petry and Burns had hooked up in a classic pitchers' duel only last Saturday in Detroit, with Petry coming out on the long end of that one, 3-0, On Friday night, the Tigers gave their young righthander an advantage much earlier when Parrish absolutely crushed a Burns fastball deep into the Comiskey Park upper deck. See TIGERS, Page 3D The Thundcrboats are coming! The mighty thunderboals invade Detroit next week in preparationor the Spirit of Detroit Regatta next unday, June 29. To help you and the rest of the expected crowd of (the largest sports crowd in Detroit this year) better understand the events ofithe week, the unday Free Press sports section will include a two-page guide to the course, the hydroplanes and their drivers, written by special writer Beth Tuschak and staff writer Mike Duffy. i.