Why did Sugar Ray Leonard have so few fights?

If Marvin was talking **** that would've been good.

What Hagler actually said was IF you had the WBC belt maybe I'd fight you. (Leonard didn't have the WBC belt.)

IF you had all the belts maybe I'd fight you. (Leonard didn't have all the belts.)

IF someone wins all the belts and you (Leonard) beat them, maybe I'll fight you. (Nobody had all the belts.)

Tim Ryan was even trying to help Marvin along. (Marvin that might take a long time for someone to win all the belts first.)

Leonard was the one saying Hagler was a bad sport. Taunting Hagler for not knocking him out. Telling Hagler he wanted more money than Marvin for the rematch.

For a guy who apparently really wanted a rematch with Leonard, when Marvin got face to face with Ray, Marvin didn't try very hard and put conditions on it the whole way. When Marvin finally gave his attorney permission to negotiate, Marvin stopped the negotiations and retired.

Tim Ryan called out Ray Leonard more than Marvin Hagler did.

 

Love that Norris SPEED!

 

it's pretty straightforward that Ray wanted no part of a rematch otherwise, he'd have accepted saying something to the tune of "You're ON!"

i mean, we got Leonard - Lalonde, didn't we?

you can't blame Marvin for Leonard's trepidation. It's not becoming of proud champions to beg

 

If Marvin wanted any part of a rematch with Leonard, he wouldn’t have let himself be run clear out of the country by the loss.

Seriously, all he had to do was pick up a phone and it would have happened. But I know this is back in the day when overseas calls from Italy were really expensive.

 

that's Leonard fans for you.

though they are seeing the obvious, they cant bring themselves to admit to it and sink to self delusion

"all he had to do was pick up a phone and it would have happened "

as though no one from the Hagler camp had thought of it

The video clearly reveals WHO declined the fight. Champions should not be expected to beg for rematches

Even Tim Ryan was trying to get Leonard to take the fight to spare hagler the embarrassment of begging and that too was rejected

 

You couldn't possibly score that last round 10-7. Hearns easily won the first minute of it and was never down.

The vast majority actually score it 10-9.

 

Yep, round 5 has a very good case as a 10-8 despite no KDs, but round 12 should be a 10-9.

 

I think Hagler most likely just got fed up with it all and had one eye on retirement before the fight. He was never a politician like Leonard was, so any of the fallout from that their fight just probably pushed him more towards ultimately retiring.

One thing is for sure, he made absolutely the right decision.

 

You know JT you're right .. I rewatched it the other night and realized at best, maybe a 10-8 ... must be getting punchy myself ... I guess I need to rewatch the while fight as SBat is probably correct as well ... that's what I like here , dealing with the top guns !

 

@he grant knows his boxing but I'm sorry that comment is utterly bizarre. How in the world can you score a round 10-7 with no knockdown ? It was a good round from Leonard but I'd find it a stretch to even score it 10-8, let alone 10-7 which isn't even possible. Unless you break the rules of scoring a fight and just make it up yourself.

Hearns won the rematch end of there is no debate, Leonard himself admitted years later that he felt he lost the fight, what more evidence do you need.

 

This is my favorite post of the whole thread.

Have a great weekend.

 

He didn't have to beg for a rematch. Hagler's lawyer, who was negotiating with Mike Trainer, told the whole story.

Hagler didn't give his lawyer permission to negotiate a rematch with Leonard until May 1988. And Hagler retired in June 1988.

Through all the smoke and the "he said, he said" ... that's it. The two lawyers in charge of negotiating the details were in touch with each other the whole time waiting for the okay to begin talks. Just after talks began, Marvin retired. And Leonard moved on.

 

Especially when you consider his amateur career.

 

Good on you HG!!!!

 

Ray Leonards career was short by most standards.
But his will to fight the best available competition is what's the difference between him and most of the last 20 yrs .
Also, the blessing of coming along when 3 of the very best welterweights in history in their primes were in the weight class, in Benitez, Hearns , and Duran, all with a very unique style, and skill level that only a true ATG could get past.
The eye injury was a major distraction for him, it caused him to waste some of his prime with partying and drugs, and feeling sorry for himself.
If no eye injury? I believe he fights and beat Hagler as early as 1983.
He certainly had the talent and toughness to do it. A earlier rematch with Hearns would have been a pick em fight.
I'd love his chances against fighters like Pryor, Curry, Moore, or Duran at Jr. Middleweight.
Leonards career was a comet. It shined so brightly it lit up the world, but ultimately just like that, it was gone.
But he demonstrated more in those few fights than most fighters demonstrate with many more.