Ahh yes... The thing is as battered as Leonard is he's never out of the fight. And in the last round I'm thinking: No, not again, surely he can't stop him at the finish... It would have been too much. Those were great years for boxing. Back then though you couldn't see all the fights so easily. I still have you to thank for sharing McCallum-Jackson with me. As a Brit the domestic scene was good too. Fighters still wanted to be British Champion and hold the Lonsdale belt.
I near had a heart attack that last round. It seemed to go forever and i feared the ref might stop it anytime but Hearns hung in there and showed the lessons learned from the first fight all those years ago. It would have killed him (and me) for him to have fought so valiantly and have it nipped in the bud oh so close to the finish line. It would have taken me a long time to recover! I breathed them and loved them. The pleasure was all mine regarding anything shared. When the new wave DSL finally comes right down around my region i will be able to share some more undoubtably. For sure - not a bad era all round TBH. I lived for boxing back then, jeez. I used to scour the newsagent most every day holding out for the newest mag and the latest results of which i had almost zero access to.
Marvin was shameless in that fight! This is still one of my all-time favourite fights, despite Leonard and Hearns being faded. For me, this fight was every bit as dramatic as anything from that decade. I also thought Hearns won, but to say he was robbed is a little harsh. He did deserve the nod though, undoubtedly so in my opinion. Great fight. I seem to remember a youngish Ray Mercer getting a first round KO on the undercard and Hagler describing the knockout with obvious relish - "just like choppin' down a tree." At one point Marv also said "It's not easy coming back." There was this stunned silence for a few seconds and Tim Ryan says "Coming back?" Marv chortles a bit and says "I mean, staying that way." (retired) Ah, the good old days. :good
I agree it's underrated actually, an excellent see sawing bout with loads of two way drama amd a helluva story. Marvin's commentary was a highlight too, his obvious agenda made it all the more enjoyable, especially since we were rooting for the same guy
Who cares, both were washed up fighters. the real fight happened in 81 at there peaks, leonard won. end of story.
It was lots more than that Suzie, even if both were quite past it. You'll see in previous posts in the thread plenty of us do care :yep
Maybe its just me, but I dont like bringing up fights where both legends fought eachother when well were past it. too me it doesnt mean anything to there legacy. I can't stand talking about Manilla ali-frazier III fight, both looked awful. I love talking about fight of the century though. I thought hearns edged out that fight, but leonard looked pretty shot. The first fight was so good i dont like talking about anything but that. its like bringing up holmes-weaver II after there great first fight. I would like to add while marvin hagler bitched about controversial decisions, I think leonard showed he was the classier one by admitting that hearned deserved the win over him. Leonard doesnt need to hide anything, he knew how great he was.....he has enough confidence to man up when he knew he was beaten. it takes a man to admit what he did.
Come on Suze, it's nothing like Holmes - Weaver II. Hell, Hearns beat the number 1 light heavyweight in the world two years after this. Tho well past their best they still had some championship calibre. Holmes and Weaver sure weren't still capable of winning any world title. Holmes was over 50 Hearns and Leonard were 30 odd and 32'ish. Agree with the kudo's on Ray manning up, especially given his ego.