When one goes up, another goes down. 

Donald Curry was the man prior and Terry Norris was the man of now, as we saw in the definitive performance that left any doubts as Norris knocked out Donald Curry in the eighth round to retain his WBC junior middleweight world title. The fight which happened at the Radisson Resort in Palm Springs, California, on May 1st, 1991, served as the co-main event on HBO Championship Boxing, with Meldrick Taylor getting a split-decision win over Luis Garcia.

The fight was Norris’ third defense of his world title. Norris entered as a 4-to-1 favorite for the fight and lived up to the billing. Norris was paid $750,000 and Curry was paid $115,000. The bout had 4,800 fans in a temporary outdoor arena.

After the fight, Norris said the following to Sports Illustrated. 

“I wanted to knock him out…I started thinking, I beat Leonard. I beat the legend. Can't nobody touch me."

This was Norris' first win after beating “Sugar” Ray Leonard. This win made Terry Norris ‘the man’ at 154 lbs. 

Terry Norris, the forgotten guy

Terry Norris is often compared to some to Terence Crawford, though that is fair to neither. Norris was one of the most-action-orientated fighters to watch of his era. Norris was known for his power, but also for knocking out the most feared fighters in the world. 

Norris is a guy from an era that no longer exists. In which, pride was the principle - and respect was the currency. He was knocked out early in his career by Julian Jackson, only to defeat John Mugabi, Ray Leonard, Meldrick Taylor, and Donald Curry.

Despite, some not being in their prime - Norris never backed down once. He became a four-time world champion.

Sadly, Norris now suffers from pugilistic dementia and Parkinson’s disease which has been attributed to his fight career.

Donald Curry

Young fight fans might not know the name Donald Curry, but before we had Errol Spence Jr., Curry was the modern great Texas fighter. ‘The Lone Star Cobra’, as Curry went by, was the undisputed welterweight champion after Ray Leonard retired in 1982 with all the belts. As quickly, as Curry’s star rose - it lit into flames. 

In his second title defense against Lloyd Honeyghan, a distracted Curry, who seemingly had a slew of issues going on outside the ring, saw Honeyghan stop Curry. 

Curry was a healthy favorite, and the loss after being named one of the best fighters in the sport - was something he was never able to shake off. Despite trying to revive his career, the Honeyghan fight always would emerge from the shadows to resurface when Curry’s name was brought up.