In January 1989, promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank announced his intentions to create a middleweight unification series in order to crown an undisputed middleweight champion.[5] Arum's initial plans called for Michael Nunn, the IBF middleweight middleweight champion, to face WBA middleweight champion Sumbu Kalambay in a unification bout that March and then move on to face the winner of the Iran Barkley–Roberto Duránfight that would take place one month before the Nunn–Kalambay fight for Barkley's WBC middleweight champion.[6] These plans were derailed almost immediately when the WBA refused to sanction the Nunn–Kalambay fight, instead mandating that Kalambay face their number-one ranked contender Herol Graham, though Kalambay decided to go through with facing Nunn leading to the WBA to strip him of their title.[7] Angered by the WBA's decision, Arum criticized the organization, stating that the WBA was "extorting sanctioning fees" and acting "unlawfully" by stripping Kalambay.[8] At the insistence of Arum, Kalambay was still introduced as the WBA middleweight champion by announcer Michael Buffer during the pre-fight introductions. Kalambay, not largely known in the United States and seven years older than Nunn, was installed as a 4–1 underdog by oddsmakers.[9]
The fight
The fight would last just over one minute. The two fighters started the fight trying to establish their jabs, though the taller Nunn was having much more success than Kalambay. Than with seventy seconds having gone by, Kalambay threw a jab that missed Nunn, who countered with a big left hand that caught Kalambay flush and sent him down on his back. Kalambay hardly made an attempt to get back up as he was counted out by the referee, giving Nunn the knockout victory after only 1:28 of action.[10]
