Donald Curry vs Lloyd Honeyghan

On Saturday, September 27th, 1986, Donald Curry, the undisputed world welterweight champion of Fort Worth, Texas, defended his titles against Lloyd Honeyghan of Bermondsey, London at Caesars Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  The event, promoted by Top Rank, was aired live on Showtime Championship Boxing and refereed by Octavio Meyran. Curry entered the fight with a 25-0-0 record, while Honeyghan was also undefeated with a record of 27-0-0.

Despite being ranked #1 by the WBC, Honeyghan was considered such an underdog that some oddsmakers refused to issue a betting line. Nevertheless, Honeyghan bet $5,000 on himself at 5-1 odds. Curry's purse for the fight was $300,000, and Honeyghan's was $162,750. The fight took place in a showroom at the Caesars Atlantic City Hotel Casino, drawing a crowd of around 1,000 spectators.

The match started with Honeyghan assertively landing left-right combinations on Curry, who appeared more tentative in his approach. Curry, the physically larger fighter, struggled to make weight for the match, and this proved to be a significant factor in the bout. In the second round, Honeyghan landed a straight right flush to Curry's head, causing the champion's knees to buckle.

Multiple pre-fight factors influenced the outcome of the match, including Curry's struggle to make weight and the distractions he faced as one of boxing's newest stars. As the fight progressed, Curry's condition worsened. By the end of the sixth round, Curry returned to his corner with blood flowing down his face from a deep gash over his left eye. He shook his head and told his corner, "I'm through."

Curry's retirement in the sixth round resulted in Honeyghan winning the fight and capturing the WBA, WBC, and IBF World Welterweight Titles. The match was later named The Ring Upset of the Year for 1986. In December of the same year, Honeyghan made a political statement by relinquishing the WBA title to protest apartheid in South Africa and the WBA's continued sanctioning of bouts involving South African citizens, such as Harold Volbrecht, the WBA's #1 welterweight contender at the time.