More Prestigious/Legendary: Caesars Palace Indoor Arena, Outdoor, OR Doesn't Matter?

Blue Horizon

 

Roberto Hands Of Stone Duran vs Esteban De Jesus III, on January 21 1978, title unification, WBA and WBC World Lightweight Title, Duran boxed magnificently, he took out his arch nemeses in round 12 to unify the title, it was a final chapter of their rivalry, which began in 1972, when he handed Hands Of Stone his first defeat in a non title fight. Duran defeated Esteban in a title bout on March 16 1974, TKO 11. in Panama City, Panama.

 

They both prestigious, and have had a lot of big time bouts in the past, but the Duran vs DeJesus stands out to me

 

I think that is cool also, very historical locations.

 

Outdoor.

 

Correct me if I’m wrong, but there was no outdoor arena. It was a temporary venue set up in a parking lot — they’d bring in the bleachers for the fight, set up everything and then tear it down the next day.

 

Yeah, this thread is weird.

The "outdoor" arena were bleachers they set up in a parking lot.

And the "indoor" arena was like an aluminum warehouse inside. It seated somewhere around 3,000 people with a ring in the center. (LOL)

It was no bigger than a large hotel ballroom used for corporate events.

In the photo below, look behind Holmes and Shavers. They are fighting in a shed, basically.

https://www.thefightcity.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/larry-vs-earnie-shavers-1-crop.jpg

Neither was a "mecca." It was a large tool shed or some bleachers set up in a parking lot (if there were too many people to fit in the shed).

 

Until MGM Grand built it’s (somewhat tacky) basketball-sized arena, the only large event space for sports in LV was the Thomas & Mack Center (home basketball court for UNLV) which is located away from the Strip. So they preferred setting up the bleachers and creating an outdoor event space to keep the gamblers from leaving the area to go to the fights.

 

I think the most high profile events overall were held outdoor: Ali-Holmes, Leonard-Hearns, Hagler-Hearns, Leonard-Hagler. You also had Hearns-Duran and a host of others. When I think of the Fab Four from the 80s, I think of that venue.