If Hagler got the decision against Sugar Ray?

Leonard had been training during his lay off and actually fought some low level bouts during that time.

 

In March 1987, a couple of weeks before they fought, Marvin Hagler said:

"When he felt I was ready to retire, all of a sudden, he gets brave."
"He waited for me to get old. Now, he thinks he sees something. He sees something in the Mugabi fight. I think he's on an ego trip."

Since 1987, Leonard has repeatedly told the story that he was watching Hagler closely in those years and it was until the Mugabi fight that he thought he had a realistic chance.

It was a remarkable feat by Leonard, whatever way you look at it.

 

I have to feel for Hagler. He's the epitome of an all-action champion. No BS with that guy.

 

So what? People train, they get in shape. You're trying to tell me that sort of thing replicates real bouts? Low level bouts? Says who? Funny you read about this only years later, and that a personality like Leoanrd somehow kept all that quiet at the time is rather remarkable, wouldn't you say?

 

At the end of the day, if you want to weigh Leonard's insane layoff length as being less a handicap than Hagler's general decline, fair enough. I don't care. If you're one of the very few who picked Leonard at the time, well then aren't you clever, way to think outside the box I guess. My point was that it was not perceived that way in general, yet you seem to try so hard to blow that up. Not sure why. All I tried to do here was highlight a portion of the story I thought (and still think) is increasingly ignored now, Leonard's layoff and its potential hindrance on his performance. I'm aware of Hagler's decline and noted so in my previous posts, so I don't see how I'm suddenly telling half the story.

As to Hagler not molding his image, well...............just gonna have to disagree there. Not sure what else to say. You're going to try to tell me that a man who entire world was destroyed when Leonard won doesn't have an image he's trying to protect? That that man doesn't care about how the world perceives him? Please.........that image he had may not have been manufactured by Madison Avenue (at least until after Hearns), but that doesn't make it any less real, or something that he didn't fastidiously protect. All boxers are ego driven. He was proud of what he built, and basked in the image it gave him.

 

I think Sugar Ray Leonard saw his layoff as being less of a handicap than Hagler's general decline. He was proven correct, and he continues to state or imply that he had no wish to face Hagler in 1982 or '83.
Objectively, usually I'd regard long inactivity as more of a handicap than Hagler's apparent level of decline but in real life it doesn't always work like that, a lot is depending on the styles of the individuals concerned and the strategies employed.
And that shows how shrewd Leonard was, in terms of timing and as a ring strategist in general.

 

I would agree he was eventually proven correct, but going into it, how many really thought that? That's the point I'm trying to make. Of course there were outliers thinking Leonard were, but they were few and far between.

How could anyone (even Leonard, really) truly know what HE had left, regardless of what Hagler had left?

I know this reads like I'm a huge Leonard fan and I'm not...........I actually rooted against him and was a huge Hagler fan.

 

Hagler would have been forced to rematch Hearns, if he had beaten Leonard. I have watched Hagler vs Leonard many times over the years, and i alway's have Leonard winning by a landslide. Leonard is very ring-rusty, yet still has far too much for Hagler. What i find fascinating was Hagler's tactics, switching from leftie to rightie, he looked cumbersome and off balance. Leonard easily made him miss wildly, then punished him for his amateur mistakes. IMO Marvin was "Totally Exposed". i was shocked watching him out-point Roberto Duran. Shocked at his limitations, and how Duran exposed him. Yet against Ray Leonard i watched in disbelief, as he was soundly beaten. I sat laughing at him as he put on a phony, shuck and jive pretense while awaiting the judges decision. Surely he never felt he won.

 

I agree with what you are saying.
I tend to rate it as a huge boost to Leonard's legacy, even while having Hagler winning by a point or two on the scorecards. And largely for the fact that Leonard was coming back from that layoff.
On the other hand, it's a blemish on Hagler's record but not a majorly important one, all things considered.

Prime for prime, I think the thing tips clearly in Hagler's favour for a very convincing win. But that's pure speculation

 

Agreed; what really made me wonder was why at that age, Hagler suddenly decided to start maintaining a schedule of one fight a year. He needed to be more active, but of course that's just Monday morning quarterbacking. And I suppose if I'm suddenly making huge paydays after years of fighting for relative peanuts, I'm going to take it easy some too.

 

I think he was scheduled to fight in November 1985. Somebody got injured, so they did the same bill in March 1986 instead.
Then after beating Mugabi, I think he was genuinely going to retire, and when SRL contacted him he was undecided for months, and then probably kept SRL waiting a little longer to make a point.

 

Yeah, I think he broke his nose in sparring, something like that.

 

Willie" The Worm," Monroe and Bobby" Boogaloo" Watts were hardly unknown. Hagler was slipping by the time of the Leonard fight ,winning doesn't really change his standing for me.Top 4 at middle imo.

 

You obviously don't know the reason that fighters aren't as good during lay offs. It's because they don't train.

Now revise your statement.

 

Revise yours, dimwit.