My friend, a MMA fan, decided to get into boxing recently and has a major interest in the 4 Kings. I studied all of them a very long time ago, but off the top of my head, it's hard to give him a list of standout performances. I'd say Duran is the hardest since there is so much to pick from his Lightweight and multiple weight-class performances. Which standout fights from Hagler, Leonard, Hearns, and Duran should my friend watch to get into them?
Well, MMA fans don't have long attention spans. Their fights don't last an hour. So go easy on him. Keep the fights exciting. Hearns - Cuevas, Duran, Andries (lots of knockdowns -shows what a puncher Hearns was across weight classes) Leonard - Green, Price, Lalonde (again, shows Leonard's power ... and shows an older Leonard getting off the floor to KO a light heavy) Hagler - Minter, Hearns, Mugabi (lots of drama) Duran - Palomino, Moore (the MSG crowds for those fights were part of the excitement)
I think @Dubblechin pretty much nailed it with his excellent post. Obvious but I would probably add Duran vs Barkley as a signature and exciting match, maybe Hearns vs Leonard 2 which punch for punch is maybe more exciting than the first and shows Tommy's redemption but with a lot of tension as Ray rallies. Although I suppose you need to watch the first one to get the story, which is no bad thing!
If attention span is a problem, I’d start with Hagler-Hearns. If he wants to get more into depth with it, I’m sure he’ll come to that himself. Then he can get into some longer fights.
Right. You don't want to sit them down to watch a 15-rounder that goes to the cards out of the gate. I was going to say Leonard-Duran 1, but you show them some fights where those four look really good, then the new fan can explore the various round-robins themselves. Here's a one-round KO. Here's a two-round KO. Here's a slower demolition that goes seven or eight. Knockouts attract new fans. I remember when Leonard knocked out Green, that's all people could talk about at school the next day. Still an amazing KO.
Duran = Barkley, Leonard 1, De Jesus 3, Moore. Hagler = Hearns, Sibson, Mugabi, Minter. Leonard = Hearns 1, Hagler, Benitez, Green. Hearns = Cuevas, Leonard 2, Duran, Hill.
Good choices with most of these except Mugabi, I'd replace that with Caveman Lee or Bennie Briscoe (which shows how beautiful Hagler could fight on the backfoot. I'd trade Lalonde for Benitez or Hearns (shows his guts even getting outboxed by Hearns). I'd also add in Barkley for Duran (one of my favorite tiny man/huge man fights).
I've always liked the Leonard-Lalonde KO. The way Lalonde is just totally wiped out. The Leonard-Hearns and Leonard-Benitez endings didn't have that drama for me. And I thought Barkley actually won the fight with Duran. Fat Duran was a never a favorite of mine. For me, he should've quit fighting about 16 years before he did. When Gil Clancy was yelling the knockdown round against Barkley might be a "three point round" I was rolling my eyes. Duran against Palomino, IMO, was Roberto firing on all cylinders as a boxer. Against Moore, he scored an upset and totally demolished a young champ. And the crowds at MSG both nights were part of the story on both evenings. They loved him.
You could also mention Wilfred "The Radar" Benitez to him as well. The youngest boxing champion ever. The only one he didn't fight of the 4 Kings was Hagler. Your friend could watch Benitez vs. Hope for the killer knockout or Benitez vs. Duran to watch incredible boxing skills. His matches against Leonard and Hearns are some of my favorite boxing matches to rewatch.
Why not suggest all of their good/great fights against each other? Leonard-Hearns 1 & 2 - great fights. Leonard-Hagler - very good fight. Duran-Leonard 1 great fight. Duran-Hagler - good fight. Hearns-Hagler - great fight. Hearns-Duran - Awesome KO. Then after that, maybe their fights with the "5th King", Wilfred Benitez. So your friend gets to see them all vs each other, then 3 out of 4 of them against a common opponent.
