{"id":3580,"date":"2010-07-07T00:02:56","date_gmt":"2010-07-07T04:02:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=3580"},"modified":"2026-04-15T14:41:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T19:41:56","slug":"rsr-looks-back-at-%e2%80%9clone-star-cobra%e2%80%9d-donald-curry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=3580","title":{"rendered":"RSR Looks Back at \u201cLone Star Cobra\u201d Donald Curry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1545664804358300\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1545664804358300\" data-ad-slot=\"8616314829\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong><a rel=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=3580\" href=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=3580\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-3581\" style=\"margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;\" title=\"donaldcurryheader\" src=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/donaldcurryheader.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"231\" height=\"169\" \/><\/a>By Joe Wilson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Born September 7, 1961, in Forth Worth, Texas, better known as \u201ccow town,\u201d for some and Fort \u201cParty\u201d Worth for others; an elite boxer entered the scene in the early 80\u2019s. This boxer had an amateur career of over 400 wins and 4 losses. His nickname was \u201cLone Star Cobra,\u201d Donald Curry was the Undisputed World Welterweight Champion and the WBC Super Welterweight Champion.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>During his amateur career, Curry was named the 1977 National Junior Olympic Champion, 1978 National AAU Champion, 1979 AAU Champion, 1980 National Golden Gloves Champion, 1980 World Cup Champion and also 1980 U.S. Olympic Team Member which was later boycotted and the US did not compete in.<\/p>\n<p>Donald Curry turned professional on December 26, 1980, with a first round knockout over Mario Tineo. On May 4, 1982, with a record of 11-0, Curry knocked out Bruce Finch in three rounds to win the NABF Welterweight Championship. He fought Marlon Starling the USBA Welterweight Champion on October 23, 1982.<\/p>\n<p>Before that fight Curry bruised his ribs during training camp, and also had a serious problem with making weight. He weighed nine pounds over the welterweight limit one week before the fight. Curry struggled in that bout, but won a twelve round split decision over Starling.<\/p>\n<p>Curry defeated Jun-Suk Hwang on February 13, 1983, in a fifteen round unanimous decision to win the WBA Welterweight Championship that had been vacant since the retirement of Sugar Ray Leonard. Curry dominated that fight. Just three months later, Curry\u2019s older brother Bruce won the WBA Super Lightweight Championship. They were the first pair of brothers to hold world titles simultaneously.<\/p>\n<p>For his first title defense, Curry knocked out Roger Stafford in the first round. He then, had a rematch with Starling. Curry mixed punching to the body and head of Starling for fifteen brutal rounds and pulled off a unanimous decision. This time Curry was physically fit with no rib injuries or a weight problem. Curry retained the titles of WBA and newly formed IBF Welterweight Championship Titles.<\/p>\n<p>The next three fights for Curry were all defenses of his titles and he was successful in all three bouts. First he stopped Elio Diaz in eight rounds. Then, Nino LaRocca in six rounds and Colin Jones in four rounds. He then stepped up to junior middleweight for two non-title fights. He stopped James \u201cHard Rock\u201d Green in two rounds and Pablo Baez in six rounds.<\/p>\n<p>On December 6, 1985, Curry stepped back down to the welterweight division to fight Milton McCrory, the undefeated WBC Welterweight Champion, to unify the welterweight titles. In the second round, Curry dodged a left jab thrown by McCrory and countered him with a big left hook that sent him down to the canvas. McCrory struggled to get back to his feet, but when he did Curry hit him swhich was something that sent him right back to the canvas and caused Referee Mills Lane to stop the fight.<\/p>\n<p>Curry became the first Undisputed Welterweight Champion since Sugar Ray Leonard. His first defense of the Undisputed Welterweight Championship was in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. His opponent was Elduardo Rodriguez, whom he knocked out in the second round with a devastating left-right combination.<\/p>\n<p>At that time with a 25-0 record, Donald Curry was considered by many experts as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. In 1985, Ring Magazine announced him \u201cFighter of the Year\u201d along with \u201cMarvelous\u201d Marvin Hagler. His next defense was against London-based Jamaican Lloyd Honeyghan on September 27, 1986. This was one of Curry\u2019s toughest fights. He was manhandled by a 5-1 underdog.<\/p>\n<p>Honeyghan fought very well to have such big odds against him going into that fight. Curry suffered with weight issues. He said his legs were not good during that fight and he could not throw clean crisp punches. Curry suffered from an accidental headbutt that opened up a bad cut over his left eye, and would then later retire on his stool before round seven. That fight was later named The Ring Magazine Upset of the Year.<\/p>\n<p>In his next fight, Curry stepped back up in weight and defeated Tony Montgomery for the USBA Junior Middleweight Championship. Montgomery was disqualified for intentional headbutts. Shortly after that bout, Curry defeated Carlos Santos by disqualification with intentional headbutting in the fifth round.<\/p>\n<p>WBA Middleweight Champion Mike McCallum fought Curry on July 18, 1987. McCallum was 31-0, 28 KO\u2019s, he was boxing&#8217;s longest reigning champion. Curry boxed and moved very well in this fight until he got caught with a punch that he didn\u2019t see. Forty minutes later, after the fight Curry still did not know what hit him. After being caught on the chin clean by McCallum that fight ended in round five. Curry was ahead on all scorecards, before that devastating left hook.<\/p>\n<p>Curry got another title shot on July 8, 1988. He traveled to Italy to fight Gianfranco Rosi for the WBC Super Welterweight Championship. Curry put him down five times, before Rosi quitting on his stool in round nine. Curry was back at the top again, but it did not last long. He lost the title in his first defense in twelve rounds against Rene Jacquot of France by unanimous decision on February 11, 1989.<\/p>\n<p>He traveled back to France to fight IBF Middleweight Champion Michael Nunn on October 18, 1990. Nunn stopped him in ten rounds. He went back to junior middleweight to fight Terry Norris for the WBC Title. This fight took place on June 1, 1991 in Palm Springs, California. These two fighters battled it out for seven tough rounds; however Norris put Curry down in eight rounds after several landed right hands.<\/p>\n<p>Donald Curry retired after that fight against Norris. It wasn\u2019t long before his legal battles starting from child support to organized drug dealing. Curry became caught up in legal battles for a few years after his retirement. He was acquitted on a drug charge conspiracy and served six weeks on a six month child support sentence. All of this went on from 1994 through 1996.<\/p>\n<p>Curry made his way back to ring from retirement on February 20, 1997, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He knocked out Gary Jones in four rounds. Curry made it known that his comeback was mostly due to his financial status. Next he would fight a fighter he once trained name Emmitt Linton. Curry had been Linton\u2019s manager and trainer, before they had a big falling out.<\/p>\n<p>It was bad blood between the two fighters. This fight was not just about the money, but also personal. Curry was no match for Linton. After six rounds Richard Steele had to stop the fight to save Curry from taken unnecessary punishment. That fight was at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 9, 1997. This would be Donald Curry\u2019s last fight. His record was 34-6, 25 KO\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>In spite of previous legal battles Donald Curry is still a strong contender for The International Boxing Hall Of Fame.<\/p>\n<p>I remember one night back in September 1986, there was a grand opening at a new night club in Arlington, Texas that I attended. This city is located about 20 minutes from Fort Worth. People all around the Dallas area were talking about this new club. It was standing room only. I finally made it inside and it did live up to the hype.<\/p>\n<p>I remember grabbing a cocktail at the bar and a gentlemen slightly bumped into me trying to get out of the isle where people were walking. He turned toward me and apologized for bumping into me. I noticed many people staring at us as he apologized. When he turned all the way around facing me he looked very familiar and seemed very sincere about his apology.<\/p>\n<p>He stood there next to me for quite a while. There were some people who passed by staring at him as they passed. He was wearing a nice business suit, but not to flashy. I knew he was some type of celebrity, but I could not remember who or where I saw him. I finally asked him, \u201cWhere do I know you from?\u201d He smiled and said \u201cYou\u2019ve probably seen me on television; I\u2019m Donald Curry, the Undisputed Welterweight Champion of the World.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I still remembered vividly, he was somewhat reserved while standing there, but his attitude was the attitude of a winner. People started stopping and holding up traffic right around where we were standing. I had watched this guy fight a few times on television, before that night. One thing about me is\u2026 I never forget a face. And&#8211;what was funny about that moment, I totally went brain dead.<\/p>\n<p>Like Simon Brown, Donald Curry, a great fighter of the past, but will his legacy live on through the test of time, waiting to possibly join the others listed in The Hall Of Fame?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Donald Curry<br \/>\nNickname: \u201cLone Star Cobra\u201d<br \/>\nDivision: Welterweight<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Date Opponent Location Result<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1997-04-09 Emmett Linton Las Vegas, US L TKO 7<br \/>\nInternational Boxing Association Light Middleweight Title<br \/>\n1997-02-20 Gary Jones Winnipeg, CA W KO 4<\/p>\n<p>1991-06-01 Terry Norris Palm Springs, US L KO 8<br \/>\nWBC Light Middleweight Title<\/p>\n<p>1990-10-18 Michael Nunn Bercy, FR L KO 10<br \/>\nIBF Middleweight Title<br \/>\n1990-08-17 Jose Antonio Martinez Las Vegas, US W KO 4<\/p>\n<p>1989-12-26 Brett Lally Las Vegas, US W TKO 2<br \/>\n1989-02-11 Rene Jacquot Grenoble, FR L UD 12<br \/>\nWBC Light Middleweight Title<br \/>\n1989-01-03 Mike Sacchetti New Orleans, US W TKO 5<\/p>\n<p>1988-07-08 Gianfranco Rosi San Remo, IT W RTD 9<br \/>\nWBC Light Middleweight Title<br \/>\n1988-01-03 Lupe Aquino Genoa, IT W PTS 12<\/p>\n<p>1987-12-08 Rigoberto Lopez Reseda, US W KO 4<br \/>\n1987-07-18 Mike McCallum Las Vegas, US L KO 5<br \/>\nWBA World Light Middleweight Title<br \/>\n1987-04-04 Carlos Santos Las Vegas, US W DQ 5<br \/>\nUSBA Light Middleweight Title<br \/>\n1987-02-07 Tony Montgomery Las Vegas, US W DQ 5<br \/>\nUSBA Light Middleweight Title<\/p>\n<p>1986-09-27 Lloyd Honeyghan Atlantic City, US L RTD 6<br \/>\nWBC Welterweight Title<br \/>\nWBA World Welterweight Title<br \/>\nIBF Welterweight Title<br \/>\n1986-03-09 Eduardo Rodriguez Fort Worth, US W KO 2<br \/>\nWBA World Welterweight Title<\/p>\n<p>1985-12-06 Milton McCrory Las Vegas, US W KO 2<br \/>\nWBC Welterweight Title<br \/>\nWBA World Welterweight Title<br \/>\nIBF Welterweight Title<br \/>\n1985-06-22 Pablo Baez Atlantic City, US W TKO 6<br \/>\n1985-03-30 James Green Dallas, US W TKO 2<br \/>\n1985-01-19 Colin Jones Birmingham, UK W TKO 4<br \/>\nWBA World Welterweight Title<br \/>\nIBF Welterweight Title<\/p>\n<p>1984-09-22 Nino LaRocca Monte Carlo, MC W KO 6<br \/>\nWBA World Welterweight Title<br \/>\nIBF Welterweight Title<br \/>\n1984-04-21 Elio Diaz Fort Worth, US W TKO 8<br \/>\nWBA World Welterweight Title<br \/>\nIBF Welterweight Title<br \/>\n1984-02-04 Marlon Starling Atlantic City, US W UD 15<br \/>\nWBA World Welterweight Title<br \/>\nIBF Welterweight Title<\/p>\n<p>1983-09-03 Roger Stafford Marsala, IT W TKO 1<br \/>\nWBA World Welterweight Title<br \/>\n1983-02-13 Jun-Suk Hwang Fort Worth, US W UD 15<br \/>\nvacant WBA World Welterweight Title<\/p>\n<p>1982-10-23 Marlon Starling Atlantic City, US W SD 12<br \/>\nNABF Welterweight Title<br \/>\nUSBA Welterweight Title<br \/>\n1982-07-10 Adolfo Viruet McAfee, US W PTS 10<br \/>\n1982-06-15 Jake Torrance Nashville, US W DQ 4<br \/>\n1982-05-04 Bruce Finch Las Vegas, US W TKO 4<br \/>\nNABF Welterweight Title<br \/>\n1982-03-10 Mike Senegal Lake Charles, US W TKO 10<\/p>\n<p>1981-11-26 Curtis Ramsey Las Vegas, US W PTS 10<br \/>\n1981-10-29 Vernon Lewis Fort Worth, US W KO 1<br \/>\n1981-08-22 Eddie Casper Las Vegas, US W TKO 1<br \/>\n1981-07-02 Eddie Campbell Atlantic City, US W KO 6<br \/>\n1981-05-28 Joe Moliere Las Vegas, US W KO 1<br \/>\n1981-04-23 Danny Favella Fort Worth, US W TKO 5<br \/>\n1981-03-26 Rigoberto Lopez Las Vegas, US W TKO 4<br \/>\n1981-02-26 Jerry Reyes Las Vegas, US W TKO 2<br \/>\n1981-01-16 Juan Ramirez San Antonio, US W TKO 2<\/p>\n<p>1980-12-26 Mario Tineo Las Vegas, US W TKO 1<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pepe Serna 360 Conversation: Texas, Acting, Scarface, Miami Vice, Trump, Humanity, ICE &amp; Much More\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/G4QQqcDtoI4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #808000;\"><a style=\"color: #808000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.authorhouse.com\/en\/bookstore\/bookdetails\/232300-BOXING-INTERVIEWS-OF-A-LIFETIME\">Click Here to Order Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime By &#8220;Bad&#8221; Brad Berkwitt<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wpforms-container wpforms-container-full\" id=\"wpforms-126533\"><form id=\"wpforms-form-126533\" class=\"wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form\" data-formid=\"126533\" method=\"post\" enctype=\"multipart\/form-data\" action=\"\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F3580\" data-token=\"c27dee4bf148e4e64e48935279d40b5b\" data-token-time=\"1778166092\"><noscript class=\"wpforms-error-noscript\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.<\/noscript><div class=\"wpforms-field-container\"><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-name\" data-field-id=\"1\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\">Name <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><div class=\"wpforms-field-row wpforms-field-medium\"><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-first wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-first wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][first]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">First<\/label><\/div><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-last wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][last]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">Last<\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-email\" data-field-id=\"2\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\">Email <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><input type=\"email\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][2]\" spellcheck=\"false\" required><\/div>\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4-container\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-type=\"text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-id=\"4\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" >Comment Email Name<\/label>\n\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][4]\" >\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-textarea\" data-field-id=\"3\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\">Comment or Message<\/label><textarea id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][3]\" ><\/textarea><\/div><script>\n\t\t\t\t( function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconst style = document.createElement( 'style' );\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle.appendChild( document.createTextNode( '#wpforms-126533-field_4-container { position: absolute !important; 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an elite boxer entered the scene in the early 80\u2019s. This boxer had an amateur career of over 400 wins and 4 losses. His nickname was \u201cLone Star Cobra,\u201d Donald Curry [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[208,1256,508,1255],"class_list":["post-3580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-donald-curry","tag-marlon-starling","tag-milton-mcrory","tag-welterweight-champion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3580"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134765,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3580\/revisions\/134765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}