[4] Leonard was ending his third retirement, which he had entered the previous year after defeating Marvin Hagler by split decision.

Rather than have an outside promoter, Leonard and Lalonde's teams agreed to co-promote the fight in a joint partnership with the Coors Brewing Company sponsoring the bout.

However, there was some controversy prior to the fight when Lalonde refused to wear gear bearing the Coors logo nor participate in promotion for the company.

Dundee demanded a contract to train Leonard for the Lalonde fight, but Mike Trainer refused, resulting in the split.

From round five on, Leonard bounced back offensively and the two fighters traded power punches and combinations throughout.