Some (dare I say it) critical comments after watching LEONARD v HEARNS I again....

Holyfield-Tyson 1.

A good but not great fight, a grapple-fest, not a top 5 fight of 1996, but wins Fight of the Year by The Ring.

 

Yeah I'm a contrarian I guess. I would have rated it a 4 at the time. But a 7 to 7.5 would seem fair to me.

 

Barrera vs Mckinney was the best fight of 1996.

 

True but FOTY for The Ring goes behind just a good fight. Tyson-Holyfield was the BIGGER fight which is why it won out.

 

Watch Hagler-Hearns the same way. You'll see one guy break his right hand within the first 30 seconds and then get walked down by the other guy.

Sometimes who the fighters are make the fight what it is.

 

ya see that kill?!

 

It was the biggest fight of both fighters careers..so I think they were a little tense and perhaps even nervous. I think once Hearns decided to become more technical, the fight slowed dramatically. A great fight in historical context but overall? I dunno.

 

I didn't mean that great fights need be by great fighters, just that sometimes great fighters can make ordinary fights great.

I have to admit Leonard-Hearns is one of my favorite fights, I've seen it dozens of time but I'm a Leonard fan so maybe I'm a little biased. I'll try and watch it again barring in mind what you've posted but I really like fights that ebb and flow (as well as liking ones with all out action) and thats what does it for me. I really enjoyed Berto-Collazo for those reasons, not that much action but the fight was going one way and then the other.

I'll take another look at Leonard-Hearns..:good

 

I think Marco was a better fighter overall in 2002 than he was during his days at 122lb. He wasn't as insolent, his defense had greatly improved after that defeats to Junior Jones, but his offensive arsenal wasn't as impressive because he wasn't as offensive minded. You also have to consider that he was fighting much better opposition in the early 2000's than when he was in 1996, and for that reason, it's hard to make a comparison on footage alone.

He was a better spectacle at 122, but he was much harder to beat at 126.

 

The fight was fairly even then there was a moment in the 3rd or 4th when Leonard clipped Hearns and slightly wobbled him, after that Hearns decided to get on his bike and built up a big points lead before Leonard managed to stop him. Like I say, I'm probably biased but I do think its a better fight to watch than Hagler-Hearns.....