The Ragamuffin Man: Recalling Lloyd Honeyghan's Famous Win over Donald Curry

Lloyd Honeyghan didn't care about Donald Curry's reputation. He wasn't bothered by betting odds, either. He just came to fight—and on September 27, 1986, that's exactly what he did.

When he stepped between the ropes at the Caesars Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, few gave Honeyghan a chance of beating the undisputed welterweight champion of the world.

The unbeaten Curry had knocked out Milton McCrory in a hurry at the end of the previous year to add the WBC title to the IBF and WBA belts already in his possession.

The Lone Star Cobra was viewed by many as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet at the time. Middleweight Marvin Hagler was his major rival for the honour—and plans were in the pipeline for the pair to settle the argument in the ring.

Honeyghan—who was born in Jamaica but raised in London from the age of nine onward—was seen as nothing more than a hurdle to clear on the way to bigger and better things.

Sure, the challenger was unbeaten in 25 fights and had picked up the British, Commonwealth and European titles along the way. But he wasn't viewed as being on the same level as the all-conquering Curry, who'd enjoyed a highly successful amateur career before turning pro in 1980.

The outcome was seen as such a foregone conclusion that some bookmakers didn't even bother creating a line for the bout.

"It's what we call an out-bet, which means it was figured as such a mismatch there wouldn't be much betting interest, so there was no line," Las Vegas oddsmaker Lem Banker told Earl Gustkey of the Los Angeles Times.

However, one gambler was more than happy to put his money on the outsider.

Per the Independent's Steve Bunce, Honeyghan's manager, Mickey Duff, placed a $5,000 wager at odds of 7-1—and put the same down again on his fighter's behalf. "The odds were good, I fancied Lloyd," he said.

The British media didn't share Duff's optimism. Few newspapers sent journalists out to cover the event, believing their man had little hope of springing a surprise.

The cocky Honeyghan never had any doubts about the outcome.

"I had no fear of Curry. None. I just came to fight. I grew up in Bermondsey—after living there you weren't scared of anyone—and I knew how to defend myself. My boxing style was a product of my environment," he told Gareth A. Davies of the Telegraph 20 years after the bout.

That style—fast, aggressive, occasionally wild and always willing to get involved in a scrap—had seen him cut down opponents at the domestic and European level.

Still, Curry saw nothing to fear, branding his rival a "Ragamuffin" in the buildup. The term stuck with Honeyghan, as he ended up with the nickname Ragamuffin Man. No, the main concern for the American before the bout was his weight.

He made sure to get under the limit on the scales, but his exertions to shed pounds at short notice also left him drained.

Honeyghan was not a man you wanted to face when not at your physical peak. He attacked early and often, with a sluggish Curry unable to keep his foe at bay. Struggling for both accuracy and power, he quickly found himself on the back foot and forced at times to go on the run.

In Round 2, Honeyghan landed a big right hand that buckled the knees of the heavy favourite.

It was a punch he would attempt to repeat on numerous occasions after that, although it wasn't until the fifth that he landed another on the button again.

Consistently out-muscled and out-hustled, Curry found himself in a battle he couldn't win. The money-spinning showdown with Hagler that had loomed on the horizon beforehand was now drifting out of view.

A clash of heads in Round 6 left Curry with a nasty cut just above his left eye. He was already bleeding from his mouth too, while also dealing with a broken nose. In summary: He was a mess.

Honeyghan showed no sympathy whatsoever. He finished the sixth strongly, and Curry never came off his stool for the next round.

Ringside doctors Frank Doggett and Paul Williams examined the cut during the break, then informed referee Octavio Meyran to stop the contest. Curry had been sliced, diced and devoured by a hungry opponent.

Honeyghan collapsed to the floor in delight when realising it was all over, but was quickly back up and bouncing around the ring again. Even while celebrating, he was a hard man to contain.

The boy who grew up battling on the streets of Bermondsey was able to bask in the glory of recording the biggest upset by a British fighter since Randolph Turpin had out-pointed the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson back in 1951. Turpin, though, won on home soil.

Yet for Honeyghan, it was just another fight.

"I didn't care if anyone thought I would win, I just wanted to punch this geezer's face in. The worst mistake Don Curry ever made was signing the contract for that fight," he later told Ben Dirs of BBC Sport.

After being branded a "Ragamuffin," he was suddenly undisputed world champion in six rounds. Catapulted to stardom off the back of the result, his life would never be the same again.

Honeyghan's career carried on until February 1995, but he will always be best known for beating Curry. It was the night the Ragamuffin Man was born into the big time.

The result still acts as a reminder to any boxer that reputations count for nothing once you enter the ring.