Couldn't take a punch as well as he could dish one out, but boy did he have some heart. After establishing his power with a pile of unconscious opponents left in his wake, including a single round dispatching of Marcus Geraldo (who took Leonard and Hagler the distance), the reputation for rising off the canvas burgeons when he gets off the canvas to stop strong, 6'2"/81" wingspan Jerry Holly (used as a Hagler and Barkley sparring partner to emulate Hearns) in 4. <No video of Holly available, but by accounts and judging by his lean and cut physique for his size, he seems to be the type you had to work at stopping if you didn't want to get stopped yourself - he has few wins of note but did KO Sam Nesmith significantly faster than Sugar Ray Seales in either attempt>: This content is protected Then the '81 Classic against LoCicero [yt]y9K3YHpVAJQ[/yt] [yt]LSRBfgfreiw[/yt] And, ultimately the misfortune of running into a ferocious mid-reign Marvelous Marvin. [yt]L5yi5KGY1JA[/yt] And that was that, with the exception of a pair of comeback attempts in the late 80s after serving his first time for armed robbery...which he would ultimately do thrice. He had this to say about the last stages of the contiguous portion of his career, in a jailhouse meeting with another incarcerated Kronk amateur alumnus, Aram "Rocky" Alkazoff: "What the hell happened against Hagler?" Rocky asked. "I figured you were going to go to war with the guy. You got the break when Goodwin pulled out, and I figured you would fight him like a animal." "I wanted to," he said, perking up at the mention of boxing. "I planned to. When Mickey pulled out and I got my chance, I was in good shape. But the fight with the Puerto Rican took too much out of me Rock." "Real tough," he said, thinking back. "I thought one of us was gonna die. Johnny LoCicero was a tough dude. He could hit, but I wanted that fight so bad. I would'a died rather than lose. But against Hagler it was different Rock." "Man it was a different atmosphere Rock," he said, shaking his head. "It was too clean. Too controlled. Hagler was so smooth, so confident. He came right out and nailed me. It wasn't as hard as LoCicero hurt me, but it was from him. From Hagler. He was too good. I stayed down. To be honest with you Rock, I think the LoCicero fight took it out of me. I wasn't the same. Then I got a few bucks and everything got crazy." Had he kept his nose clean (literally - cocaine problems began during or shortly after the time of the Hagler challenge) and fought on through his prime and improved under the tutelage of Emmanuel Steward - he could well have been recognized as one of the top contenders of the decade, rather than a footnote with a Ring Mag ROTY against a tough trial horse and a blowout loss to an ATG as his chief merits.
after the hagler fight the new jersey state athletic commission reported that post fight lab tests found that lee had been using several narcotic substances including morphine and quinine. he probably didn't feel a thing
Lee's epic battle with John Locicero was an absolute classic. I remember watching classic rewinds of ESPN top rank boxing, and Al Bernstein mentioning that the arena was so hot on that evening, that he felt like he was going to pass out, but could only imagine what the fighters must have felt like. Although neither Lee nor Locicero were all time great fighters, their incredible matchup was as exciting and dramatic as any war that ever took place in a professional ring.....
As down on himself as he sounds about the ill-fated world title performance, I think he gave a decent account of himself for a clearly overmatched late replacement, with nothing to be ashamed of given what a machine Marvin was at that point. I've never seen anyone that eager to spring up and get back in action after being knocked down by Hagler, other than maybe Ray Seales. Consider that the initial knockdown wasn't just some flash balance affair - he did a full on faceplant. He not only got up but tried to gain his footing and throw punches, right up until the bitter end. Winding up napping on the ropes as though they were a hammock is about as "out on your shield" as it gets.
i think its in the four kings it states that steward had set up a deal with arum and haglers people that first hagler would fight goodwin then lee and finish with hearns
He really had it in for Brockton's finest, didn't he? Perhaps he figured the law of averages would be on his side, three chances with his best punchers and he might hit the KO lottery.
So true about the Caveman. Ya knew he couldn't take a good punch, but could crush you with a shot. Like a poor mans version of J. Jackson. If Lee was on the card you knew ya where going to get your moneys worth.
Apparently his nickname came from some groovy mutton chops when he was ascending in the 70's, but alas my efforts to find a visual have borne no fruits. No posters, nada. Other than still-frames, this is what we have. This content is protected
He couldn't take a punch? LoCicero threw the kitchen sink at him, and he was hailed as a talented puncher.
The John Locicero fight is one of the most up and down how much more ridiculous can it get fights in boxing history. Right up there with Ezra Sellers/Carl Thompson.
Absolutely not, as he clearly didn't have the chin to last for any length of time with Marv. During the prefight broadcast, Howard Cosell (in one of his finer moments) went on an editorial rant about how damaging to boxing such egregious mismatching was, and his tirade seemed to last longer than the action itself. I fully expected this one to end in the first round, and everybody I knew likewise figured this would be the easiest title defense of Hagler's career. I don't know how Goodwin would have done against Marv, but he wasn't going to be going in with the taint of vulnerability that Caveman was saddled by. Mickey wasn't as exciting, but he had the durability necessary to generate greater interest in such a challenge.