I thought it was a good fight, a great fight IMO. It was a win over an ATG who was aot out of huis weight class but made it hard for Hagler. I think its one of his better wins in his reign
on paper it is great win against an ATG but hagler did seem to be very respectful and perhaps was not as aggressive as he could of been ,good fight yes .
Hagler didn't fight well but I thought he clearly won the fight. Duran was actually a decent middleweight and was coming in off that crushing win over Davey Moore, I think. So, as a result it's pretty good. But not a great performance.
I think people overrate this "win over an ATG" thing, and it does a disservice to all those other quality middleweights who Hagler beat, and to Hagler himself. People obssess too much about the "famous names". And ignore the less-heralded solid contenders.
As a fan myself, I think it detracts from his greatness. The outcome was a disputed decision win over an aging fighter who was well above his best fight weight(s).
I think it was proof that Hagler was hardly as invincible or intimidating as his fans and his bald head would have you believe.
For example Mustafa Hamsho put a beating on Benitez when given the chance but a win over a name like Benitez would surely look better on Hagler's record than the two wins over Hamsho. I don't think Hagler's performance against Duran was too good. He would have actually lost a 12 round fight on the judges' scorecards although I don't think Duran was truly ahead at any point in the fight.
It was an okay win over a big name, Duran was of course amazing at lower weights but nothing really special at middleweight. Hagler won that fight clearly, regardless of what three blind judges had it.
I think everyone simply underestimates just how good Duran was. He found a way to fight Hagler that Marvin didn't like. He worked out that going to him was not to play into Marvin's hands. Roberto's blueprint was one of the reasons Ray came back and fought Howard. He saw Duran and how he fought and believed his extra size and youth would take him on to the win that evaded Duran. Unfortunately I think the knockdown spooked Leonard a little bit. Duran was the aggressive animal BUT he was also a very clever fighter.
I am not maintaining that Duran " wasn't good ". But from a legacy standpoint, this was simply not one of Hagler's best fights, regardless of what his opponent's name was.
There hasn't been a fighter born yet who was worthy of the "invincibility aura". Not Hagler, not Duran, Dempsey, Tyson, Ali. Not Greb. No one. They're all human. All beatable. And they all had their off-nights.