It’s November 1982 and the sport of boxing is bigger than ever. Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, and Thomas Hearns are all mainstream stars and fight fans enjoy championship matches on free cable TV almost every weekend. Rocky III is a huge hit in theaters and just a few months previous, one of the richest fights of all-time had taken place, Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney.

The Battle of the Champions, was a term used by promoter Bob Arum regarding the super lightweight boxing match between Aaron Pryor and Alexis Argüello on November 12, 1982.