Will Leonard Be Middleweight Clown?

It isn’t really a circus unless you have a clown.

Sugar Ray Leonard’s unseemly return to boxing tonight at 40, after a six-year absence from the ring, figured to generate a circus atmosphere. But Hector Camacho as the opponent adds the final touch.

“This is as serious as I’ve ever been for a fight,” he said.

Really.

So serious that Camacho:

--Charged Leonard with using steroids in a ranting performance at a Las Vegas news conference in January.

--Stomped angrily around reporters who were busy interviewing Leonard.

--Threw water from a glass at Leonard’s advisor, J.D. Brown, at a news conference here last Wednesday.

None of this should come as any great surprise. Throughout his career, when Camacho has yelled, “It’s macho time!” he has meant it was time for wild behavior, in and out of the ring.

His actions have often resembled those of a child who feels he is not getting enough attention.

As a result, his ring accomplishments, considerable as they are, have often been overlooked. Underneath the clown suit is a man who desperately wants to be regarded as worthy of a place on the high wire.

Look at the record. At 34, Camacho has had 67 fights, compared to 39 for Leonard. Camacho’s record is 63-3-1 with 31 knockouts, Leonard’s 36-2-1 with 25 knockouts.

Leonard, of course, has fought better opponents. He has won six world titles and has beaten the likes of Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Wilfredo Benitez.

Camacho has held two major titles, the World Boxing Council super featherweight and lightweight crowns, along with the lesser regarded World Boxing Organization junior welterweight and International Boxing Council middleweight titles. That IBC title is the prize tonight when Leonard and Camacho meet at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

But Camacho has always been a round or two, perhaps a punch or two, away from true greatness. He has beaten some big names--Ray Mancini and Vinny Pazienza. But against true superstars, such as Julio Cesar Chavez and Felix Trinidad, Camacho has lost decisions.

Camacho beat Duran last June on a 12-round decision, but Duran had long since passed his prime.

The same could be said of Leonard if Camacho, the betting underdog, should beat him tonight.

But Camacho isn’t about to discredit Leonard.

“A lot of people want to give this fight to [Leonard] because of who he is,” Camacho said. “He’s done boxing miracles. I give him credit. He’s a great champion.”

But Leonard isn’t a champion now. Because of his constant retiring and unretiring--this is the fifth retirement Leonard is ending--it has been a long time since he has had steady work in the ring. He has fought only seven times in the last 15 years, only five times in the last 10 years and only once in the last six years, a 1991 match against Terry Norris that Leonard lost on a decision.

Camacho fought six times in 1996 and 16 times in the last two years. Leonard’s last 16 fights stretch back to 1979.

So this is a fight between a man who has been swinging his fists in a ring and another who has been swinging nothing more menacing than a golf club.

But it is also a fight between a man who desperately wants to get back into the spotlight he once basked in and another who desperately wants to get into the spotlight he has never experienced.

It might be enough to make even a clown get serious.

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Fight Facts

* WHO: Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Hector Camacho.

* WHAT: International Boxing Council middleweight title.

* WHEN: Tonight, first fight at 6.

* WHERE: Atlantic City Convention Center.

* HOW: Pay-per-view: Titan Sports.