A Sugar Ray Fight to Remember
March 7, 2005 The
fight that's been days in the making is finally
here, and only "Extra" could bring it
to you, as our Mark McGrath faced his idol, Sugar
Ray Leonard, in the ring.
The judge for the once-in-a-lifetime fight was
none other than Neal McDonough from NBC's "Medical
Investigation."
"I'm looking for a real battle in there,"
McDonough told us. "Sugar Ray Leonard is obviously
one of the fastest and most versatile fighters of all
time, but let's not forget about McGrath, growing up
on the wrong side of the tracks in Newport Beach. He's
wearing the green for the luck of the Irish, so I think
it's going to be an excellent match."
All right ladies and gents, welcome to the main
event: in one corner we had six-time world champion
in five different weight classes, Olympic Gold
Medalist and Executive Producer of the new NBC
boxing reality show, "The Contender,"
Sugar Ray Leonard.
In the other corner, hailing from Newport Beach,
California, selling 8 million CDs and calling
his dog, Lola, his guiding light -- weighing in
at 178 pounds: Sugar Ray Mark McGrath.
For those of you scoring at home, we had a 10-point
must system, and Neal was our sole judge. The
two Sugar Rays came out from their corners fast
and embraced at center ring. Few expected the
force with which McGrath could throw a punch,
but Leonard looked as quick as ever. (Words can't
do this clash of the titans justice, so be sure
to check out our video version of this story.)
The crowd was electrified from start to finish,
but we quickly got word of the judge's decision:
"Ladies and Gentleman, the winner in a unanimous
decision is Sugar Ray Leonard!"
"I've been humbled," Mark admitted.
"We'll change the name of the band to 'Hit
Man.'"
"He held his own," Sugar Ray said of
Mark (who'd never been in the ring before). "Pretty
weak, but he held his own."
To both fighters, job well done. And we hope the
real Sugar Ray enjoys his new title!
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