Comments Thread For: Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Marvin Hagler - Boxing Classic Turns 33

[landotter]

The first time I ever saw this fight all the way through, I was young. A huge SRL fan, I saw a complete win that I thought should have been a UD, and that it was a load of crap it wasn't.

I have seen it in it's completion maybe 6 more times since then, and every time it gets a little closer. I still think the right man won, but it is not hard to make an argument for Hagler.

[The plunger man]

The first time I ever saw this fight all the way through, I was young. A huge SRL fan, I saw a complete win that I thought should have been a UD, and that it was a load of crap it wasn't.

I have seen it in it's completion maybe 6 more times since then, and every time it gets a little closer. I still think the right man won, but it is not hard to make an argument for Hagler.

the fight was scored on a 10 point must system and was scored at the end of each round and I have watched this fight over 20 times and Leonard at the end of the fight won more rounds than hagler....1,2,3,4 rounds leonard skated them , 5 was hagler’s , 6 again for leonard , 7,8,9 for hagler , 10 and 11 leonard again took those and 12 was a swing round and could be scored even.
I had either 7-4 or 7-5 to leonard and that has never changed.
listen to haglers corner at the start of the 12th ....the petronellis knew hagler needed a knockout to win.

[Dasmius Shinobi]

I like these types of articles.

OH! My goodness, this article reopen old wounds. Sugar Ray Leonard win this one, end of debate.

[champion4ever]

It appeared that the Hearns' fight had taken more of physical toll on Hagler's body than we had originally believed. That single fight alone aged him in one night.

He was never the same fighter afterwards. Then he subsequently struggled with John Mugabi; A Junior middleweight where his reflexes seemed to be a bit slower and his punches were not as fluid as they once were either.

Leonard noticed all of this and it was the reason why he finally agreed to fight Marvin Hagler in 1987.

[Hooded Terror]

Lost in the shuffle, the rumor that Ray had eight actual behind closed doors contests with referee to shake off the ring rust and acquire the sort of timing and polish required to meet a certain standard for Hagler, who at the time, if I recall, was #1 pound-per-pound.

The match itself started months before the 1st bell. In that time, Ray had managed to climb into Marv's head and rearrange the furniture, hence Hagler's need to waste the initial third of the contest trying to fight Ray's fight instead of fighting his own fight, among other things. After the final bell, Hagler's out-of-character prance in the ring, to me, said it all.

I remember wanting to be happy for Ray, even as I was aware of the historical context of his win, but I was too heartbroken for Marvin to celebrate.

How did I score it then? Leonard. Today? Leonard.

[JakeTheBoxer]

One of my favorite fights.

[JK1700]

Unbelievable fight. Never gets old to me I could watch it over and over again. I thought Hagler won but it’s been debated a million time’s already so I’m not gonna do that, lol.

[RespekonMyName]

Hagler gave away some early rounds and blew the fight. He got outsmarted. That simple.