By Keith Idec
Bob Arum couldn’t believe what he heard when the scores were read the night of April 6, 1987.
It was as if one of the judges, Mexico’s Jose Juan “Jo Jo” Guerra, couldn’t see what was happening right in front of him. Thirty years later, there still are great debates about whether “Sugar” Ray Leonard or Marvin Hagler won their middleweight title fight at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
No matter who you had winning, most can agree that Leonard-Hagler was a close fight. Guerra somehow scored it 118-110 for Leonard, who won their 12-round bout by split decision.
Arum called Guerra’s scorecard “just about the worst” he has seen in the Hall-of-Fame promoter’s more than 50 years in boxing.
“That was ridiculous,” Arum said during a conference call to discuss the Leonard-Hagler fight as its 30-year anniversary nears. “The other two scorecards – [Dave] Moretti’s and Lou Filippo’s – that was in the reasonable realm. But Marvin got cheated because he had that Mexican judge, who was rumored to be connected with one of the organizations [the WBC], which favored Leonard.”
Los Angeles’ Filippo scored the fight 115-113 for Hagler. Las Vegas’ Moretti had it 115-113 for Leonard.
Guerra’s infamous submission caused a Nevada State Athletic Commission investigation into the scoring of Leonard-Hagler. He scored just the fifth and 12th rounds for Hagler, but the 10 other rounds for Leonard.
“Everybody realized that somehow there was something that smelled wrong,” Arum said. “And nobody would allow [Guerra] into the United States to judge a fight [after Leonard-Hagler].”
Hagler (62-3-2, 52 KOs) was so disgusted by the decision, the Brockton, Massachusetts, native retired from boxing at 34 and moved to Italy, where he still lives.
Arum joked that “we built a wall” to keep Mexico’s Guerra from entering the United States to judge boxing. The Monterrey, Mexico, native continued judging WBC title fights after Leonard-Hagler, but didn’t get high-profile assignments. Even at 83 years old, however, Guerra still judges boxing, primarily in Mexico.
“I didn’t know that he was still around, even,” Arum said. “[A reporter is] the one that said he was judging fights. I didn’t know that. But I never heard of him after that fight. … Well, he’s still probably doing a great job now that his eyes are failing him, right? Probably not even coming close to what the real score is.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
