Hagler basically froze the division looking for a payday with this fight.None of that "blue collar" peoples champ pish here. Compared to the way Monzon went out fighting Valdez twice, this was minor league stuff.
Truth.I have been talking about this for as long as I could remember.If Leonard was so confident that he could have taken Hagler when it really mattered,why did he wait until '87 when it was obvious that Marvin was shot even though Leonard spent the better part of 6 years talking about fighting Marvin knowing that he held all the trump cards as the money maker.Anybody say con?
The 15 rounds argument is BS. Leonard fought a 12 round pace and left it all out there. If it was 15 rounds, then his pace would have been different. Hagler nicked the fight, by the way. He didn't need the extra three rounds IMO
To be fair to Leonard, though, he doesn't really go around claiming he could have beaten Hagler in his prime. He did say Hagler was getting old and slow before the fight. It's only the diehard SRL fans, and less knowledgeable fight fans who claim the fight shows Leonard would have whipped Hagler in his prime. Leonard got the bragging rights and the spotlight, and that's what he wanted. I must say though, what a terrible shame this never happend 82,83. I favor Hagler pretty strongly, but what an exhibition of skill and will it would have been. We fans were possibly deprived of one of the greatest fights of the 80s.
Well put and well said.However,Leonard ALWAYS claimed he could beat Hagler.After the Hagler-Duran fight when Duran was on a high for going the distance,he said to Leonard,"You beat Hagler."To which Leonard replied,"I know."Read Steve Marantz's book for more examples.Concerning Hagler,Leonard always talked the talk,but NEVER walked the walk until he was absolutely certain that Hagler was shot,which is exactly what happened.
The whole event was a fraud, not a real fight. But it was great entertainment, great television, and it made GREAT amounts of money. :good
That's why Leonard came back against Howard. Duran showed how to beat Hagler. Roberto was just a little too old, too small and not quite dedicated enough to do it at that point in his career. Duran provided the blueprint and Leonard executed it. Hagler always struggled when the other guy wouldn't come to him.
I know what you mean but no matter how you pace yourself the extra three rounds still make a big difference.
This is foolsih talk. Your case has holes all over it For one, what do you mean "always"? What other fights were there? Hagler could always go after somebody the way he did in the Obel, lee fights, the Hearns fight. He could have done the same with Duran. Also, if Ray felt the blueprint worked so well on Hagler then why didnt he just take up the challenge following the Howard fight instead of waiting 3 more years when Marvin was at the end of his career holding the last of his belts.
Check out all the fights he lost and all the fights he didn't do as well as expected in. Ray came back got dropped, spooked and decided it was a bad idea.