Curry Wins on Disqualification and Then Gets In Another Punch

Former welterweight champion Donald Curry knocked down previously undefeated Tony Montgomery three times Saturday, then won the U.S. Boxing Assn.’s junior middleweight title when Montgomery was disqualified for butting.

Montgomery, who twice had points taken away for butting, was disqualified by referee James Molinell at 2:29 of the fifth round after he again lunged into Curry with his head.

A furious Curry followed Montgomery as Molinell led Montgomery away and hit him from behind with a right to the head. “I had to get him back for one of those butts,” Curry said.

The punch triggered a near-brawl as cornermen from both camps raced into the ring and tried to fight one another before security guards and fight officials managed to gain control. It led the Nevada State Athletic Commission to announce that the purses of both fighters would be withheld pending a viewing of the tape of the bout, a routine measure in disputed fights.

The 153 1/2-pound Curry, from Fort Worth, improved his record to 26-1, with 20 knockouts, and earned $100,000 in his first bout since losing the undisputed welterweight crown to Lloyd Honeyghan last September in a stunning upset. Montgomery, 154, from Detroit, was knocked down in the second and fourth rounds as his record slipped to 18-1.