Did Marvin Hagler or the Petronellis ever address his game plan vs Ray Leonard?

I think it’s clear that Hagler really bungled his biggest fight, eschewing his southpaw stance and not really pressing in the first few rounds to try to prove something by outboxing Ray Leonard in the early rounds.

We also know that Hagler had his problems with Roberto Duran early (and rallying late by pressing the action and grinding, whereas he allowed Roberto to outfox him a lot in the earlier rounds) and let his foot off the gas in his draw with Vito Antuofermo. Heck, he nearly let Marcos Geraldo sneak away with a win before picking up the pace in the last three rounds. So this wasn’t the first time he made some choices in approach that weren’t to his benefit.

But Marvin, for all his barking that he thought he won the Leonard fight — did he ever get pressed on this colossally stupid idea of deciding he wanted to outbox Ray from an orthodox stance? Did he or Goody or Pat ever acknowledge that this wasn’t the best approach — that it very likely cost him the decision?

I can’t recall him or his corner ever owning this miscalculation. Did it happen?

 

It’s beyond ironic that there’s a narrative that Ray got all the advantages in negotiation (as if $20M for MMH to $12M for Ray isn’t worth considering in real-life terms) as far as number of rounds (Marvin hadn’t fought a scheduled 15 in like 2/12 years), ring size (has anyone ever bothered to see what sized rings Hagler had fought in for his previous defenses?) and glove size (middleweight had long been a ‘tweener’ division — below it was always 8 ounces, above it 10 — but did anyone bother checking to see if Hagler fought in 10s or 8s vs Hamsho, Obel, Mugabi?) — yet in the actual fight, he didn’t use his own natural advantages in size, aggression and the southpaw stance. Nobody took those away … except Marvin.

(Also, if Marvin had to have a smaller ring, smaller gloves and more rounds to win … doesn’t that make his wins with those advantages tainted? Wasn’t HE the won with all the advantages if it was 8-ounce gloves, smaller ring and 15 rounds, and wasn’t HE the won who was insisting on having the edge if he was getting those things? Hmmm.)

 

Haha, I just addressed that in the post above yours.

He didn’t give away southpaw in the negotiations, nor aggressiveness nor strength and power and being the naturally bigger man. So who’s to say he takes advantage of any other conditions?

But if your point is Marvin was a Goldilocks who had to have everything ‘just right’ and all in his favor, I agree.

 

Points well taken. I think Marvin is at a stylistic disadvantage vs Kalambay, McCallum and Nunn if the timeline had worked out.

Bomber Graham, I’m with you — he’d find a way to lose it.

 

Easy hoss. You can lose the ‘genius’ and hostility.

Leonard did not ‘control’ the negotiations. Both sides got what they wanted — Marvin wanted the bigger cut, Leonard said ‘ok then I want these things.’ It’s a give and take. Hagler took the money.

Could they have made it for 15 rounds? Yes, but those were being phased out.

The point is that Marvin hadn’t fought a scheduled 15-rounder for 2 1/2 years, so if that was important to him he would have still been fighting 15-rounders up to the Leonard fight. It’s suddenly important because he lost, and only because he lost.

If it was an important factor for him, he would have insisted on 15 rounds for Hearns and Hamsho. But obvious;y he didn’t. Never heard a peep about how many rounds his fights were scheduled for at this stage until AFTER he lost.

Winners adjust. Losers make excuses. It has always been so in all of sport.

 

Yes, I saw what I typed lol.

The point is, seems like Goldilocks had to have his porridge just right — his size gloves, his sized ring, his number of rounds — for those many title defenses he won, but nobody ever brings that up do they? When Marvin gets his conditions and wins, it’s ’fair.’ When he doesn’t, it’s not (according to some).

Everybody who says Ray ‘won the negotiations’ only says so because Marvin lost. But Hagler ‘won’ the financial negotiations and got the lion’s share of the money. Which is what he wanted. So he got his way on that, Ray got his way on some other things.

That means both guys won what they thought was most important. Ray wanted to win the fight more than he wanted money, Marvin wanted money more than he wanted to win the fight.