By: Sean Crose
I was fifteen years old when Marvelous Marvin Hagler fought Sugar Ray Leonard in 1987. I was a high school student in Massachusetts, so it’s easy to see why I’m a fan of Hagler. However, doing my best to be fair, I watched his and Leonard’s frantic and relatable battle while struggling to keep an open mind. In the end, I decided that the wrong man, Leonard, had won through the wildly controversial division decision. I concluded that Leonard did a great job, but it was Hagler who should have won.
That was then.
What I wonder, after catching people discussing the game so long ago on Twitter, am I thinking about Hagler-Leonard today? Now that I write about boxing, a lot of my time is spent in the current and past fighting worlds. In other words, my position is (hopefully) clearer than it was in 1987. Why not, I asked myself, revisiting Hagler-Leonard and writing it up as if it were a war I was fighting. direct? And so I decided to do it.
Quick talk aside: I’ve re-watched the match countless times since it happened, always deciding Hagler the winner, but I hadn’t watched the entire match in 25-30 years before doing so. for this post…I hope there is enough time to provide some clear information.
We start:
Round one: Leonard hit and ran – a little more running. Hagler has a few moments. Leonard is much more than that. Leonard
Second round: Leonard was clearly faster in the draw. Leonard
Round three: A very close chapter. Hagler landed better. Hagler
Round four: The famous “bolo blow” (which I think landed) ring. Leonard is faster and sharper, though Hagler has his moments. Leonard
Year round: Leonard started off impressively, but Hagler landed effectively many times. Hagler
Round 6: Leonard is so fast, smooth, and precise this round, it’s worth wondering if he’d even consider trying to hurt or knock Hagler down. Leonard
Round seven: Leonard looks good, but Hagler has his moments. His blows are stronger. Hagler
Round eight: Hagler hit well by Leonard at the end, but still controlled the round – the first round he really controlled. Hagler
Round Nine: War! A really great round in hindsight. Hagler deals more damage. Hagler
Round 10: Hagler makes it closed, but Leonard takes it in through greater activity. Leonard
Round 11: Leonard’s ability to use blistering combos tells the story here. Leonard
Twelfth round: Ray was fantastic, but Hagler’s powerful late game hits were not to be missed. Hagler
Now, before checking the scores, I was nervously looking forward because I didn’t know who won how many innings in the middle of the match. In other words, I don’t know who I chose as the winner. However, the truth is that I didn’t choose a winner.
Decision: A draw.
That’s right, I ended up with the most unsatisfactory, albeit perhaps most honest, result of all. Having said that, I have to admit that scoring in round 3 bothered me at the time. I ended up going with Hagler but it could easily have gone either way. Perhaps it was the truth of this duel, that the decision would be controversial no matter what.
Some thoughts on breaking up:
One: This is a great fight. At the time, it was considered somewhat boring. That was probably because this was the Tyson era, and people expected a fight with Hagler to end in a knockout at the time.
Two: People are going to go crazy here, but the reality is that on the whole, Leonard is the greater of the two boxers. Yes, the two men fought a draw in my book, but Leonard has spent years out in the ring and has had to put on weight for this bout. Hagler was certainly not at his best on the night in question, but Leonard managed to climb Everest.
Three: This fight is very difficult to score. Most of the times, punch output and quality tell the story. Not so here. Questions about effective aggression, general ability, and effective defense are always ingrained in the mind.
Four: This fight is controversial because it SHOULD be controversial. Those who feel one fighter has won should try to see things through the eyes of those who feel the other boxer has won.
One thing that everyone can probably agree on:
While some wars will fade from collective memory as time goes on, this one will go nowhere.
