Boxing in the 1980s was filled with important fights, events and personalities that shaped the sport. Boxing in the 1980s was shaped by many different situations, such as the continuous corporate battles between the different world sanctioning organizations, the void left by Muhammad Ali as the sport's ambassador and consequent search for a new boxing hero, the continuous presence of Don King as the sport's most famous promoter, the surge of rival promoters as Bob Arum, Butch Lewis and Murad Muhammad, and major rule changes. In 1986, Mike Tyson emerged as a fresh new face in the heavyweight division, which had seen a decline in champion quality level (particularly in the WBA side) after Ali's retirement and, later on, after longtime WBC ruler Larry Holmes' prime. In addition, the IBF and WBO began operating.
Another important aspect of boxing in the 1980s was the rivalry between five world champions: Wilfred Benítez, Roberto Durán, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard. Of all the possible match-ups between these five, Benitez-Hagler was the only one that never happened. The circle of fights between these five gladiators actually began on November 30, 1979, when Leonard beat Benitez by knockout in round fifteen to win the WBC world Welterweight title, on the same night Hagler drew (tied) with Vito Antuofermo in his first bid to become the world's middleweight champion.
1980 February 2 – Salvador Sánchez becomes WBC world Featherweight champion with a fourteenth-round knockout victory over Danny Lopez in Phoenix March 21 – Bobby Chacon defeats Rafael Limón by split decision in their third bout March 29 – In a rematch from 7 months earlier, Matthew Saad Muhammad knocks out John Conteh in Round 4 to retain his WBC Light Heavyweight Championship at Atlantic City, New Jersey. March 31 – Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Dave Boy Green – Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Dave Boy Green by 4th-round KO to retain the WBC and The Ring welterweight titles. March 31 – John Tate vs. Mike Weaver – Behind on all three scorecards, Mike Weaver scores a last-minute knockout victory over John Tate to capture the WBA heavyweight title. June 20 – Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Durán – Roberto Durán defeats Sugar Ray Leonard by unanimous decision over fifteen rounds in Montreal, Canada to win the WBC and The Ring welterweight titles. July 6 – In Bloomington, Minnesota Larry Holmes knocked down Scott LeDoux in the sixth round and then stopped the partially blinded challenger in the seventh round to retain his WBC world Heavyweight crown. July 13 – Matthew Saad Muhammad, surviving an incredible beating in the 8th round, comes back to floor Yaqui Lopez four times, stopping him in 14 rounds in Mcafee New Jersey to retain his WBC Light Heavyweight Title. August 2 – Pipino Cuevas vs. Thomas Hearns – Thomas Hearns becomes WBA welterweight champion knocking out Pipino Cuevas in two rounds in Detroit. On that same card, Samuel Serrano loses his WBA world Jr. Lightweight crown to Yasutsune Uehara, by knockout in round six. September 27 – Marvin Hagler becomes world Middleweight champion, scoring a technical knockout over Alan Minter on cuts in three rounds in London. The boxers then have to be protected by police from rioting Minter fans. October 2 – Larry Holmes vs. Muhammad Ali – Larry Holmes retains his WBC heavyweight title with an eleventh-round technical knockout over Muhammad Ali in what would be Ali's final title fight. November 25 – Roberto Durán vs. Sugar Ray Leonard II – Known as The No Más Fight, Sugar Ray Leonard regains his WBC world Welterweight title with an eighth-round knockout of Roberto Durán, who quit after telling Octavio Meyran No Más ("No more" in Spanish). December 13 – Salvador Sánchez vs. Juan Laporte – Salvador Sánchez defeats Juan Laporte by unanimous decision to retain his WBC featherweight championship
1981 March 28 – Santos Laciar becomes world Flyweight champion for the first time, defeating Peter Mathebula by knockout in round seven to win the WBA title, in Soweto, South Africa. March 28 – Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Larry Bonds – Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Larry Bonds by 10th-round technical knockout to retain WBC and The Ring welterweight titles April 12 – Larry Holmes defeats Trevor Berbick by unanimous decision to retain the WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles. Former undisputed champion Joe Louis died of cardiac arrest just hours after his last public appearance viewing the bout. May 23 – Wilfred Benítez becomes the first Hispanic and Puerto Rican to be a three time world champion, as well as the fifth boxer to do it and the first one to do it since Henry Armstrong four decades before, when he defeats Maurice Hope by knockout in round twelve to win the WBC's world Jr. Middleweight title in Las Vegas June 12 – Larry Holmes vs. Leon Spinks – Larry Holmes defeats former undisputed champion Leon Spinks by 3rd-round TKO to retain the WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles. This would be Spinks' last heavyweight title fight. June 20 – Alexis Argüello becomes the sixth three time world champion in boxing history when he defeats Jim Watt by decision in fifteen rounds to win the WBC world Lightweight title in London. June 25 – Ayub Kalule vs. Sugar Ray Leonard – Sugar Ray Leonard wins the WBA light middleweight title with a ninth-round knockout of Ayub Kalule, becoming a two-division world champion. Thomas Hearns defeats Pablo Baez by 4th-round TKO to retain the WBA welterweight title August 21 – Salvador Sánchez vs. Wilfredo Gómez – The Battle of the Little Giants – Salvador Sánchez defeats Wilfredo Gómez by knockout in eight rounds to retain his WBC world Featherweight title in Las Vegas. September 16 – Sugar Ray Leonard unifies his WBC world Welterweight title with the WBA one by knocking out the WBA's champion Thomas Hearns in round fourteen at Las Vegas. October 3 – Alexis Argüello vs. Ray Mancini – Alexis Argüello defeats Ray Mancini by 14th-round TKO to retain the WBC and Ring lightweight titles December 3 – Joe Frazier's last fight: He draws after ten rounds with Floyd "Jumbo" Cummings in Chicago. December 11 – Muhammad Ali vs. Trevor Berbick – Muhammad Ali loses a ten-round unanimous decision to future WBC World Heavyweight Champion Trevor Berbick in Nassau, Bahamas in what would prove to be his final fight.
1982 January 24 – Eusebio Pedroza retains his WBA world Featherweight title with a fifteen-round unanimous decision over Juan Laporte in Atlantic City. The fight proves controversial: many observers thought they had seen Pedroza commit a large amount of infractions which, in their opinion, could have led to points deductions or disqualification. January 30 – Wilfred Benítez vs. Roberto Durán – Wilfred Benítez retains his WBC world light middleweight title with a 15-round unanimous decision over Roberto Durán. February 15 – Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Bruce Finch – Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Bruce Finch by 3rd-round TKO to retain the undisputed welterweight championship. June 11 – Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney – Larry Holmes retains his WBC world Heavyweight title with a thirteen-round knockout over Gerry Cooney. July 21 – Salvador Sánchez retains his WBC world Featherweight title with a fifteenth-round knockout over Azumah Nelson in New York City. It would be Sánchez's last fight. August 12 – Salvador Sánchez killed in a car accident in Mexico City, Mexico. September 18 – Michael Spinks knocks out Johnny Davis at 2 minutes and 27 seconds of the 9th round to retain his WBA Light Heavyweight Championship in Atlantic City, New Jersey. September 21 – The National Football League Players Association launches a strike against the NFL, wiping out seven games. CBS adds additional boxing telecasts during the strike. November 9 – Sugar Ray Leonard announces the second of multiple retirements in Baltimore. (Leonard's first retirement came after the 1976 Olympic Games). November 12 – The Battle of The Champions, Aaron Pryor retains his WBA world Jr. Welterweight title with a fourteen-round knockout of Alexis Argüello, who was attempting to become boxing's first four division world champion, in Miami. November 13 – Tragedy in the ring: Ray Mancini retains his WBA world Lightweight title by knockout in round fourteen in Las Vegas over Duk Koo Kim, who passes away five days later, leading to the instituting of twelve rounds at the most as the mandatory fight distance and mandatory eight counts quickly. It was also the last fight to air as part of strike replacement programming on CBS because of the NFL strike, which ended three days later. November 26 – Larry Holmes retains his WBC world Heavyweight title with a fifteen-round unanimous decision over Randall "Tex" Cobb, fight after which Howard Cosell quits as a boxing commentator, disgusted by what he described as mismatches. December 3 – The Carnival of Champions: Wilfredo Gómez retains his WBC world Super Bantamweight championship with a fourteen-round knockout over Lupe Pintor and Thomas Hearns becomes the WBC's world Jr. Middleweight champion with a fifteen-round majority decision over Wilfred Benítez. December 10 – Michael Dokes defeats Mike Weaver by a controversial 1st-round TKO to win the WBA heavyweight title December 12 – Bobby Chacon defeats Rafael Limón by unanimous decision to win the WBC super featherweight title in their fourth and final bout.
1983 January 29 – Roberto Durán vs. Pipino Cuevas – Roberto Durán defeats Pipino Cuevas by 4th-round TKO January 31 – In the first world title fight scheduled for twelve rounds instead of fifteen in various decades, Rafael Orono retains his WBC world Jr. Bantamweight championship with a four-round knockout over Pedro Romero in Caracas, Venezuela. March – the IBF surges, becoming boxing's third world sanctioning body. March 18 – Michael Spinks vs. Dwight Muhammad Qawi – Michael Spinks defeats Dwight Muhammad Qawi by a unanimous decision in fifteen rounds to unify the WBA and WBC light heavyweight titles. May 1 – Edwin Rosario becomes world champion for the first time, winning the WBC world Lightweight title that had been vacated by Alexis Argüello, with a twelve-round unanimous decision over José Luis Ramírez in San Juan, Puerto Rico. May 20 – "The Crown Affair" billed as the first heavyweight champion double header saw WBA titist Michael Dokes draw Mike Weaver in their rematch followed by WBC and The Ring champion Larry Holmes defeating Tim Witherspoon by split decision. June 16 – Davey Moore vs. Roberto Durán – On his 32nd birthday, Roberto Durán becomes a three-division world champion by knocking out WBA light middleweight champion Davey Moore in eight rounds. August 7 – Héctor Camacho wins his first of several world titles, knocking out Rafael Limón in five rounds to win the vacant WBC Jr. Lightweight title in San Juan. September 1 – Tragedy strikes again: Alberto Davila wins the vacant WBC world Bantamweight championship with a twelve-round knockout over Kiko Bejines, who dies three days later. September 9 – Aaron Pryor vs. Alexis Argüello II – Aaron Pryor retains his WBA world light welterweight title with a tenth-round knockout over Alexis Argüello. September 23 – Michael Dokes vs. Gerrie Coetzee – Gerrie Coetzee, becomes the first South African world Heavyweight champion in history, when he defeats Michael Dokes for the WBA championship with a ten-round knockout. October 25 – In Puerto Rico, Mike McCallum remains undefeated as he goes 20–0 after a 10-round unanimous decision win over Manuel Jiminez. November 10 – Marvin Hagler retains his world Middleweight title with a fifteen-round unanimous decision over Roberto Durán in Las Vegas. Duran was also attempting to become the first four division world champion in history. November 25 – Michael Spinks knocks out Oscar Rivadeneyra at 1:42 of the tenth round to retain his WBC and WBA Light Heavyweight titles at Vancouver, Canada.