just for the record who won hagler or leonard ?

[Sugarj]

honestly you are one of my favorite posters but I disagree on what you are saying. It's easy to score the fight in Haglers favor, if you turn off the commentary. Hagler didn't do much in the early rounds, but people forget that SRL did next to nothing either. I gave him the first round I remember, but I scored 7 rounds for Hagler. Not only that, but Hagler was champ for how long? you can't take his title away like SRL did, that was robbery. Just because Leonard survived doesn't mean he wins, which seemed to be the case.

I can only report on what I've seen matey. I must have watched the fight 40-50 times and scored it at least 7-8 times and I've never had Hagler closer than 115 113 at my most generous.

I'm no Leonard fanboy either, I'll readily accept that if Leonard met the Hagler who fought Hearns two years earlier the fight wouldn't have looked similar at all.

I do appreciate boxing on the backfoot though and I really liked Leonard's combination work that night and the way he had Hagler swinging and missing. Often Hagler's come forward aggression simply wasn't effective and even when it was (round 9 for example, Leonard responded with superb combinations).

I just can't find more than 5 rounds for Hagler much as I try. Frankly I don't think that the Hagler who met Leonard would have beaten the Hearns who drew with Leonard two years later (Hagler's power didn't seem too concussive against Leonard, and he didn't half look slow).......and I wouldn't have expected 1987 Hagler to look too brilliant against the next wave of decent middleweights round the corner (McCallum, Benn, Graham or Eubank). It really looked like Hagler retired at the right point.

As for Hagler's title reign having some bearing on him getting the verdict in a close fight; it didn't benefit Hopkins against Taylor either.

I'm not in the minority, most polls including on this site have most viewers shading the fight to Leonard.

[Rspen46]

Leonard!

I agree with the 1st post that when I watched it when it was on at the time, I thought Leonard won by a decent margin, but upon viewing it a few times since, it seems closer, but Leonard in my mind wins it still each time, scoring round by round, Leonard wins, if Hagler had treated Leonard with the same attitude as Hagler, he would have won, he seems to take this fight with less agression, less everything, he acts like, I'm the champ, all I have to do is follow him around the ring, through some punches & I win, he is very laid back for some reason in this fight, no urgency at any point as if he is losing, how can any champ, especially fighting a Popular flashy guy like Leonard ever think that way against him.

If Hagler goes all out and attacks like he did Hearns, He wins I think, but he didnt defend his title like he might lose it, so he deserved the loss & I don't feel for him at all about it.

[rightsideup]

it was an extremly close fight and leonard fought smartly by ending each round with a flurry. I think leonard won by a hair. Not only was I disappointed with hagler's lack of affective agression his corner did not seem to have a sense of urgency as well.

[Anthony342]

Watched it recently and gave it to Leonard, I believe 7 rounds to 5. Could arguably be 8 to 4 maybe.

[BennyST]

I've never been able to score it for Hagler, as much as I've tried sometimes. Always have Leonard a pretty clear cut winner.

[Emon723]

I've always had it for Leonard, first time I watched it I had it very clear; but on subsequent watches it did seem closer. Its near as dammit impossible to argue that Hagler won more than five rounds though.

He gave away too many rounds early and didn't show enough intensity later on (I blame his corner, even Gil Clancy said they were talking to him between rounds like it was an 'IBM meeting', not a fight which was very close).

Plus, Hagler simply wasn't as good as he was two years previously. He looked slow, his reactions were poor, his accuracy wasn't great and his gameplan was unfathomable.

If Leonard had come back in 1985 I think we'd have seen a better fight from Hagler, almost certainly one that he'd have won.

Leonard caught him at the right time.

I've always thought what took Hagler one more year of inactivity before he and Leonard get it on, I felt in the second half of 1986, these fight was already made.

[CHEECH]

We can talk about this one forever and a day, really. watchin the fight I got it 6-5-1 haggler, years later I can see ray winning it. haggler did not giv no rounds away, ray ran like a rollerdisco hoe. giv him credit, ray fought the perfect fight even if u got him losing u must admit he fought the perfect fight. if he had stood and traded anymore he woulda been stopped. all the xcessive holdin lowblows, hitting after the bell were very important for leonard. had steele been a really good ref, he wouda taken a couple points away and made the fight legit but then we wouldn't be talkin about it now would we? also if Guerra had actually watched the fight, he woulda scored it close n we wouldn't b talkin about it now. I been watchin boxing a long time not longer than corso but long enuf to know that I don't know everything but what I do know is that the commentary can very strongly affect a viewer's perception of a fight. especially when the viewer is hardheaded enuf to think that he cannot be affected by commentary. thems usually the ones who think Oscar won the first 6 rounds against tito. u feel me? but about haggler leonard, u mght not know it but leonard collapsed after the final round and was helped back to his corner, then he was ok but he gave it all up in there and haggler started goofy dancing so another way of looking at it, ray just let it all go while haggler just fought on pace like an old fighter n if u check his fight with mugabi, u know he was getting old n ready to retire.

[Humean]

Last time I scored it I had it for Hagler, he simply punched harder. Too much of Leonard's work didn't seem to have the power on it that Hagler's did and Hagler seemed to have a good amount of success to the body. Leonard clearly landed more punches in the fight but I thought Hagler was more effective with what he landed. Tough to score though.

[mickey malone]

Last time I scored it I had it for Hagler, he simply punched harder. Too much of Leonard's work didn't seem to have the power on it that Hagler's did and Hagler seemed to have a good amount of success to the body. Leonard clearly landed more punches in the fight but I thought Hagler was more effective with what he landed. Tough to score though.

More effective with the punches that he landed, but Leonard was making him hit thin air with a lot of them too.. I'd say it was the punches Hagler missed with, that swayed the judges in Leonard's favor..

[Daddy T]

115-113 Leonard, hagler gave away the first few rounds and wasn't able to make it back up.