Could Leonard beat a prime Hagler?

That was my own take on it, since we never saw a prime Leonard at MW. But let's say that Leonard goes up directly to face Hagler, instead of taking on Hearns. In that scenario Hagler would be the favourite, no doubt. Still don't think he'd have an easy time of it. Definitely not.

Man, this thread is full of speculation presented as facts. He underwent a retina operation and then he also had personal problems/drug problems etc.

I can't say for sure why he retired, but the above reasons seem much, much, much more likely than that he retired because he didn't want to face Hagler. He could have moved to 154, he could have stayed at WW - he had a lot of options that didn't involve Hagler, whether he fancied taking him on or not.

More speculation. What we do now is that he had a detached retina and then a somewhat troublesome personal life that involved drug problems. As far as I know Leonard hasn't divulged more than that. Don't how this can really be translated into him going into hiding and waiting Hagler out. One can never rule anything out completely, but there's really nothing to suggest it.

 

What is it with this subject that makes so many go so bat-****?:think

 

Id pick Leonard over Hagler prime v prime... Hagler aint stopping Leonard & aint outboxing him either.

Leonard W15 UD Hagler (9-6)

 

I don't know, but you, power puncher and myself seem to be alone on this issue.. Frankly, with the advantage of internet access and the ability to research history, you'd think there would be more of us sticking to the facts, but apparently that's not how human nature works.

 

Well, all the speculation at the time was about Leonard moving up to fight Hagler. It was the biggest fight in boxing.
That's why he invited Hagler to his "mystery announcement" event in 1982, where he allegedly walked away from the sport, while sticking the knife in Hagler's camp, saying "it would be a great fight. Unfortunately it will never happen". Egomania games.

You talk about "facts" that he retired because he had a torn retina. If the torn retina and genuine health fears were really the reason he retired, he probably would have announced it earlier, and would probably have stuck to it for a bit longer. A year later he's already announcing that he's coming back. But not to fight Hagler.

Why is that hard to believe ?
(Let's not forget the Kevin Howard fight though)
Leonard was a guy who needed motivation, and picked and chose his fights. He knew Hagler was the biggest fight, the biggest challenge, the biggest money. He just also knew he couldn't beat Hagler in '83, not even with the hit-and-run strategy.

When Mayweather "retires", we all know he's planning to come back. In hindsight, we know that's the same thing with Leonard's (first few) retirements.

 

his jabs are like power shots themselves!!

 

Leonard is too fast of hand & foot at his best even for this version of Hagler & he has the grit to fight thru the tough spots were Hagler forcs the exchanges... I see Hagler playing catch-up similar to their actual fight but Leonard was also a great championship rds (13-15) fighter too so I dont see Hagler overtaking him as long as Leonard keeps it at range & uses his legs a lot.

 

at middeweight a Prime hagler bears any version of leonard. P4P leonard is better.

But this isn't saying Prime Hagler vs Prime Leonard. so even if you took a prime leonard you'd have to blow him up to middleweight, which is why hagler takes this one.

 

Seriously ?

Dont see that at all myself, Marv was an accumulation puncher & I dont see him landing enough clean shots on Ray to come anywhere close to stopping him... Leonard was tough as **** & no-one came close to stopping him in his prime.

 

Remind me again of the serious injury Mayweather had. And remind me also of how he went into retirement a second time after beating Marquez, for three years this time.

 

He TKO`d Ayub Kalule in 9 rds for the 154lb title before dropping back down to welter to fight Hearns in 81.

 

A very underrated and forgotten win.

 

The Robinson that beat Lamotta in 51 punches the **** out of Hagler, any Hagler IMHO.

 

I dont know what planet you`ve been living on... the majority scored it for Leonard because guess what ?.... he did actually beat Hagler (7-5)

Hagler was 5-1 down going into the 2nd half of the fight... no way Leonard never won another 2 rds out of those last 6.