Both were old, This fight was lost in Haglers HEAD, he let his emotions get the better ov him regarding his hatred ov SRL, as i said earlier he had this inferiority complex which inhibited him when it mattered most, it worked 4 him on occasions but in this fight it was his downfall, the "whole world is against me" chip on the shoulder effect & as we all know he should have just ran accross the ring as in the Hearns fight & smashed up an exhausted Leonard after 6 max & as we all know Leonard could'nt hurt him. You would have thought that it better policy 2 lose the first 3 rounds by exhausting yer foe rather than poncing around trying 2 prove a point that yer opponant could'nt give a **** about:smoke
I dont think you know when a fighter is shot. Either that or you were raised on Leonard fights Past his best? You missed it by a mile
hagler definately wasnt shot but he was past his prime. leonard said his own mouth that he decided to fight hagler after seeing him struggle with mugabi. gad hagler koed leonard, he probably wouldnt even fought hagler. having said that leonard wasnt out of boxing for years and hagler still had enough to get the job done but screwed up and leonard did what he had to do.
No and no, on both counts. A shot Hagler wouldn't have won 2 rounds against Leonard, even that version of Leonard. I really hate this situation where you have Hagler fans on one end and Leonard fans on the other. As fans of the sport first and foremost (ideally anyway) some sort of parity should have been reached long before now. Christ guys, make your peace with it already. I'm a Hagler fan too but this is just ridiculous. Has anyone actually thought that the decision, in the long run, was maybe the best thing for Marv? He could complain about it to anyone willing to listen and have at least a justification for doing so. He lost a close decision to a fellow all-time great. He could have (and should have) left with dignity. Picture instead an old Marvin trying to catch up with a Michael Nunn, who would have run rings around him, or Kalambay. Hagler would have lost convincingly to both, but thankfully we were spared that. So make peace with what happened.
Rooster, Ali was shot in the Holmes and Berbick fights. Tyson was shot against McBride. Hagler was nowhere near that stage yet.
Yes on the first one. The guy had Parkinson's at that point so I think he would qualify. However, you're wrong on the second one. Tyson was past his best, unmotivated, decently conditioned at best. He still had fairly good speed and could swat and his head movement was still above par compared to most fighters... but bad compared to his best. Not shot, though. I think in some ways Hagler slowed quicker than Tyson. I would say both were past their best, especially Tyson at that point and being near 40. However, Hagler definitely slowed down and his reflexes were unremarkable. If that's the only fight of his you watched you would have thought he was a careless slugger... but he's not. This thread seems to have gotten into a semantics debate. I hate those. But for what it's worth Hagler was definitely past his prime. Discrediting or justifying Leonard's win is lame considering the circumstances he was up against... and the fact that Hagler in reality blew it by giving away the first few rounds. Hagler for what he was worth could have still won. Says a lot about both fighters at the time. Still, it's a very close fight and it's important to note how smart/slick Leonard was about the whole fight. From ducking Hagler earlier to getting a bigger ring, getting the gloves he wanted all for cashing in on less money in the negotiations. This little things, all while the rest of what's been covered played a huge factor in the ultimate outcome. Tough close tactical battle either way.
He was mentally shot. As you said, demotivated, demoralised, he knew he was done. Tyson could not compete against a decent heavyweight any longer, at least not for more than two or three rounds. Hagler had his dream fight right in front of him and had everything to look forward to. Sure he was well past his absolute best, but there is a world of difference between the two men's circumstances. That's something a lot of people forget. Hagler chose the money and conceded the shorter distance. Yes Leonard may have brought those conditions to the table, but Hagler didn't have to accept them. And strategically he fought a stupid fight. Hagler has himself to blame for the loss as much as anyone.
That's it. That, and the conditions accepted by Marv the whiny boy. Best explanation on what happened that awful night.
One consolation is he wound his career up better than Leonard with back to back losses. Still, Hagler was shot
No, he was shot. I TOLD YOU I watched him in sparring didnt I? I told you what happened. I thought the whole board knew. yet they dummy up whenver the subject is brought up. I thought you people were fans but seems more like you only like rehashing stuff that's been taken around the block a few times. Only one person has ever taken my word for what happened over at cyberboxing EVEN THO I HAVE THE DAMN PHTO TO PROVE IT. its like talking to a bunch of dumb mules! I get it, the place is crawling with leonard fans that dont want others to mar the win. I get it But...if you want a second opinion, refer to the article in KO magazine following the bout. There was a discussion regarding both men's futures. Now this is coming from writers I cant stand and even they admitted hagler's career was over. and this was written within a month of the fight. the writer says that Hagler's legs were dead and that he was shorn of his reflexes. So what good's a fighter if his offense and defense isnt worth a ****. Then what are left with? A fighter who's toothless essentially. so to me, Leonard beat Hagler in name only and knowing the kind of condition he was in it cheapens it
even with the stipulations that leonard asked before the fight and the fact that hagler wasnt in his prime form, he still should have beaten leonard. trying to outbox leonard was just stupid.
Hagler showed Leonard too much respect over the first 4 rounds or so. No question. He hung back far too much. With the chin he has he should have stamped his authority on the fight early.