This content is protected In the post fight interview at around. 43.00 Larry Merchant seems surprised when Curry says he is not going to defend his undisputed title and is going to immediately move up permanently. He says there is nobody at 147 to keep him motivated. He wants to fight at 154 and possibly try 160 by 1987. What if he had actually followed through on this ? Would his post 1985 career have panned out differently?
Donald Curry announces on Dec. 15 that he is vacating all three of his Welterweight world titles. At a press conference arranged by promoter Bob Arum Curry takes the podium. " I want to put the 154 champions on notice I am immediately moving up to 154 lbs. full time. My goal was to unify the Welterweight titles. I have accomplished that goal. There is nothing more for me to prove at 147 lbs. I fought two fights at 154 lbs already in 1985. I felt comfortable at that weight. It is very difficult for me to make 147 lbs and that has been the case for quite some time. I will campaign at 154 lbs. In 1986." In January Arum announces he has lined up Carlos Santos to defend his IBF 154 lb. title against Curry on the undercard of Hagler/Mugabi on March 10 at Ceasar's Palace. Curry comprehensively outpoints Santos over 15 rounds. On April 5 Arum announces Curry will appear in a non title fight on June 5 against club fighter Sam Leonard. Former WBA champion Davey Moore will appear on the same card against Victor Claudio. The card will be televised by ESPN. Both Curry and Moore score easy early round knockouts. At the post fight presser Arum announces that Curry will defend his IBF title against Moore on August 24 in Lepinede, France. The fight will be co-promoted by the Acaries bros. and broadcast by NBC. Moore starts fast and the first few rounds are competitive. I'm the mid rounds Curry begins to dominate as his precise counters land with great frequency. In the 7th round a right hand staggers Moore. He backs up and Curry pounces. He lands s series of shots and Moore is virtually defenseless. The ref. steps in and saves him from further punishment. At the post fight press conference Curry calls out WBA champion Mike McCallum and WBC champion Thomas Hearns. "Those are the two guys I have to beat to be considered the best 154 lb. fighter in the world. I want to prove myself against the best. I respect them but look forward to the challenge of facing them." In response to a reporters statement that the IBF insists Curry face #1 Contender Buster Drayton in a mandatory defense within 90 days of the Moore victory Curry opines "I have no interest in that fight. I want to fight the best and I need a little rest. l will give up my title rather than be forced into that fight so soon. On Sept 15 the IBF announces Curry has been stripped of the 154 lb. title. #1 Buster Drayton and #2 Matthew Hilton will vie for the vacant title. Curry says he is unconcerned and says he will not fight again in 1986. He eyes high profile matches against Mike McCallum and Thomas Hearns or the winner of Hagler/Leonard 1987.
He would have some success, but the chin issues would come up at some point. I could see Davey Moore possibly kayoing Curry at 154 if he caught him.
Not sure what changes here. Is the idea that Curry made 147 with no ill effects to beat McCrory but nine months later he was so emaciated that he lost to a Lloyd Honeyghan that he otherwise would not have lost to? That it was just the weight ... which he had made less than a year earlier and turned in a defining performance? So he moves up, beats Carlos Santos (just like he did IRL) and then he gets taken out by McCrory. I guess this scenario avoids one loss in his career but otherwise the space-time continuum is not disturbed.