Hagler vs Leonard: Hopkins, Merchant, Kimball, the Fighters and More Discuss the Still-Debated Fight
by Scott Christ on Sep 22, 2011 9:26 PM EDT
in Boxing News Analysis
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Eric Raskin has a wonderful piece up on Grantland.com right now, which is an oral history of the famous, still-debated 1987 fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
Contributing to the piece are Hagler and Leonard themselves, Bernard Hopkins, Larry Merchant, the late George Kimball, Angelo Dundee, and others. It goes over every aspect of the fight -- the negotiations, the concessions, the decision, and the controversy that still exists these 24 and a half years later.
Here are a few choice quotes, but I seriously recommend reading the whole thing. It is fantastic.
Bernard Hopkins: "I always was a Hagler fan. I identified with him. Bald head, black guy, never really smiled. I don't want to compare color — obviously, Leonard was black, too. But Leonard had an Oscar De La Hoya type of presence when it comes to marketing. Leonard had the smile; he had the charisma. Hagler, no disrespect to anyone, but he had the D-block look, like he was out of Rahway State prison. It was a hard look. It was his look. That drew me to him, and later I identified with the hard way he came up through boxing."
Larry Merchant: "There was a personal element for me, because Ray had worked with me at HBO as an analyst. When we had our customary fighter meetings on the day before the fight, Ray asked what I thought, and I said, "Well, I have to pick Hagler." And I could see that he was disappointed — that he thought I had to be not just smarter, but more loyal. And, as he quotes me in his new book, when I left I said, "I'll be happy if you make me a liar."
Al Bernstein: "There was great energy in that arena. There's something about outdoors at Caesars that was just special. It was in a parking lot when you get down to it, but it just felt special. And the build-up to this fight was unbelievable. It was the quintessential promotion of that time."
Marvin Hagler: "Real boxing people, they know I won. And I just wait for the day — one day, Leonard's gonna tell the truth. He's starting to tell a lot of truth about a lot of things, so if he wants to tell the truth about this, I'm open."
Sugar Ray Leonard: "You know what? He's a proud man. He's an old-school guy, and he feels in his heart that he won the fight. If he's not ready to let it go, then I can understand that."
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Dissatisfying fight. And that from a fan of both men
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
I have a feeling I’ll be saying that about Mayweather-Pacquiao 25 years after that fight, if it ever even happens.
That’s frankly why I don’t really care.
The only thing I can say after watching Floyd these poast two fights is that with his predisposition for fighting in the pocket, it may be better that I would have thought previously. We know where Manny is going to be; at a middle range darting in and out at odd angles. If Floyd stand his ground, it might just be a fun fight. If he goes with his D, he may keep his O, but it will be boring to watch.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
I’ll enjoy watching some SRL fights, but never this one, in which he won because he was expected to be killed, and the contrast of expectations carried the day.
No love either for the perfecting of the “fight hard for the last 30 seconds of the round strategy.” Judges still don’t seem to remember the first 2:30 to this day.
But the article is great even if the subject makes you as touchy as me.
Hagler got outworked in the first 4 rounds
before he got 2 somewhere in the middle rounds and SRL gassed a little. Then SRL got his second wind and won a couple of rounds more rounds, Hagler then won 2 more rounds (10 and 11 If i remember correctly) and the 12th SRL won that one if I remember right. Their were some close rounds that I gave to Hagler which I honestly think I was to generous in.
I would say 115-113 SRL
This fight is so clouded by emotion that they gave rounds that shouldn’t have gone to Hagler.
by Mohammedini Hussein on Sep 23, 2011 2:56 AM EDT up reply actions
I felt SRL won the fight by 2 rounds
And I’m being generous toward Hagler.
by Mohammedini Hussein on Sep 23, 2011 2:50 AM EDT reply actions
LEONARD/HAGLER
I have all the respect in the world for Marvin but I gotta disagree with him here, Leonard clearly won the fight. Marvin got outworked and outboxed, he didn’t do enough on offense to win the fight. For Leonard to put on a show like that after all that time off was really remarkable. But he did catch Marvin at the end of his career, after he lost the passion for battle.
Just watched this fight again yesterday
My opinion doesn’t change. Hagler won this fight. People got caught up in the spectacle that was Sugar Ray.
Agree
Hagler 115-113:
R1—Leonard 10, Hagler 9
R2—Leonard 10, Hagler 9
R3—Leonard 10, Hagler 9
R4—Leonard 10, Hagler 9
R5—Hagler 10, Leonard 9
R6—Leonard 10, Hagler 9
R7—Hagler 10, Leonard 9
R8—Hagler 10, Leonard 9, should have lost at least 1 pt for holding, and 1 for hitting after the bell, second time;
R9—Hagler 10, Leonard 8
R10—even, 10 and 10
R11—Hagler 10, Leonard 9
R12—Hagler 10, Leonard 9
R10—Hagler 10, Leonard 9
R11—Hagler 10, Leonard 9
R12—Hagler 10, Leonard 9
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
What a fantastic article
Espescially for me, being younger. I havn’t rewatched the whole fight. But after that article, I now know fully the build up to it and has got me pumped.
Perron: Pat Petronelli had vicious words with Jo Jo Guerra after the fight: “You’ll never judge another fight as long as you live!” You know what the irony of it all was? There were four judges there to judge the fight. Each camp has the option of challenging somebody off there, and Pat thought that [with] Harry Gibbs being from London and with Marvin beating Alan Minter for the middleweight title in London in 1980, he probably would have not favored Marvin too much. So Pat challenged Harry Gibbs off and put Jo Jo Guerra on. From what I hear, Gibbs went home after he was told he wasn’t going to judge the fight. Somebody from the press called and asked if he saw the fight. He said, “Yeah.” They asked him, “Did you score it?” He said, “Yeah.” They said, “Well, how’d you have it?” “I had Hagler winning, 115-113.”
Wow. That sure as hell bit Hagler in the ass
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