Could Leonard beat a prime Hagler?

Read the post properly.Of course i don't think Leonard would do that, but i can also see from the Kalule fight that he isn't going to be able to really open up offensively against a Hagler.Thus i feel a worthy basepoint for expanding on how Ray might go about things.NOt some sort of direct comparison which i'm guessing only those rampantly eager to justify a Leonard win would try and take from it(good old intellectual dishonesty at its best).

The reason Kalule was landing was Leonard's integration of offense and D isn't good enough not to take shots from a really good counterpuncher with accuracy when he's putting forth that sort of effort.NOt that he was just deciding to eat punches, he certainly wasn't.More that he likely knew he was going to be at risk but felt it was worth it knowing the power amd style of the opponent.It was the right approach incidentally.


The main thing for me, is i just can't see that brand of lots of lateral movement and planting to punch working against Hagler when he had his legs, speed and footwork all working.Especially if the fight isn't in a ring the size of a football pitch, which knowing Ray(and Hagler's smug ******* mindset) it would be.

 

This is turning into a good discussion.

If Leonard would have faced Hagler around the same time that Duran did, do you think it could have worked for him with a similar gameplan to the one Duran had? Counterpunching, using angles, slowly giving ground and then resetting etc?

 

Leonard didn't even beat an uninterested, inactive Hagler. How could he possibly beat the motivated, bloodthirsty Hagler who knocked out Thomas Hearns?

 

Barring the torn retina injury, I think its a possibility..This was a prime and more active fighting Leonard that we're talking about, and one that may have been even more equipped to better make a weight transition, due to youth and better conditioning. Hagler was prime, or close to prime around this junction as well, but fighting to a near standstill with an aging Duran, showed that he was not invincible.. The other difference, is that this would be a 15 round bout and not a 12 rounder.. I'm not sure who should be favored under these circumstances, but my answer is that Leonard has a good chance.

 

Uninterested? This was by far the biggest fight of his career, and he wanted Leonard for years... As for inactivity, have you been keeping tabs on who was the less active fighter going into that match? Leonard had fought exactly once since 1982, making for a single appearance in 5 years, and that was against a mediocrity... Hagler had fought no less than 9 times within that same time frame, and had accumulated some of his biggest wins against his best opponents..

 

It's probably better to stay out of that discussion. Will only turn this thread into another 15+ pages of tripe instead of touching upon the actual question of the thread.

 

Marvin Hagler,,,,,,,$20,000,000
Ray Leonard,,,,,,,,,$11,000,000

Would Marvin Hagler have traded $9,000,000 for the Decision Win.
It doesn't matter, we all know who won the fight.

 

Yes, Leonard beat him once he'd do that in his prime too.

 

No, Hagler went into that fight expecting to counterpunch an onrushing Duran. Instead, Roberto decided to hang back and counter in order to last the distance. There would be no such surprises in a Hagler Leonard matchup.

 

But not only was Hagler not that great a counter-puncher, Leonard would have felt no reason to stand there and slug with him like he did AK. He would have been perfectly happy to fence and move like he was in the fight they actually had (until his legs gave in).

 

So he was so surprised that he couldn't adapt for 15 rds? Think you sell Hagler short here.

The very obvious reason that Hagler was a bit tentative and didn't steamroll Duran was because he couldn't. That Duran was too tricky and too slick. Not that Hagler stood there for 15 rds thinking "when the hell is he going to charge then?".

 

Both fights versus Roberto Duran and Ray Leonard, were 'mind' losses to Marvin.

Anthing less than an over-whelming Knock-outs were under-achievements by the
boxing public.