Sugar Ray Leonard Versus Marvelous Marvin Hagler Rematch

hagler wasn't going to change at this stage of his career.

 

Marvelous Marvin already had Leonard figured out in the second half of the fight, in a rematch he would know not to try and outbox Leonard.

 

Unless Ray get's cocky and thinks he can do better than last fight I see another elusive close points win. Unless Marvin decides to try and blitz him in first few rounds. Ray was naturally quicker and Marvin wasn't getting any faster. I think it could be a total damp squid like Leonard vs Duran 3, Ray not taking any chances and Marvin ageing as the fight goes on and getting frustrated to no avail. I personally am glad Marvin decided to retire when he did with pride.

 

Leonard by more convincing decision.
Also, if Hagler was as far past his prime as some say (thought not me) in the first fight, then he’d be even further past it and slower in the rematch.

 

Even if a prompt rematch is over the Championship Distance with eight ounce gloves and a smaller ring with MMH dictating ALL the conditions as SRL got away with in their first bout, Ray would have been in competition condition, collapsed to the floor in the bout they did have, proving he gave more of himself like Ali did against Wepner and at Manila (after which Muhammad also dropped to the deck in exhaustion), and this time he would have had critical experience for MMH's southpaw style for a rematch.

Marv wasn't going to get any faster or improve his reflexes, and SRL would still have the speed advantage and be far less ring worn and with a significant youth advantage. Even if Hagler boxes southpaw in a smaller ring with smaller gloves for 15 rounds, Duran's validated advice to Ray that, "You box him, you beat him!," would resonate more strongly than ever. It pains me to say this as somebody who was on a first name basis with Marv, but as durable and well conditioned as he was, those slowed reflexes simply would not improve, no matter how he applied himself in training.

By April 1987, SRL proved he had MMH's number, even if you believe Hagler won. Even if he had taken it by boxing southpaw in the first two rounds, there then definitely would have been a highly lucrative rematch later in 1987. Again, even if Marv's conditions are met for a rematch with eight ounce gloves, a smaller ring and the Championship Distance, I expect Ray to dethrone him via unanimous decision. Hagler was simply too ring worn and slowed down too much to prevail a second time. In his corner, the Petronelli's were too quiet, while Angelo Dundee was constantly psyching up an increasingly exhausted SRL to insane inspiration. ("That's it! Keep going! Be my man!" A GREAT cornerman. Loud and inspirational when the situation called for it, quiet and calm when working for Foreman in Big George's title winning challenge of Michael Moorer, simply asking at one point, "George, are you all right?")

 

Sugar Ray Leonard, second verse, same as the first.

 

If Marvin needed so much as half a round to figure out that he shouldn’t try to outbox Leonard — much less at least four full rounds — then he was dumber than a rock.

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Leonard didnt need to fight him again , he already won ... so that really is the answer there if you followed SRL. and didnt matter because Hagler was so pissed off about it he moved to Italy to get away from it .. In long run, He didnt want it either .. dont believe the hype ,,,, Hagler already had 1 foot in retirement at that point anyway

 

It was unfortunate for the middleweight division that MMH did not win, because perhaps a unified passing of the MW title like that from Monzon's retirement might have kept it intact. Although the WBA stripped Marv of their recognition for not facing Herol Graham, they probably would have restored it if Hagler then defended against Graham (a bout MMH certainly would have won with Graham not being able to dictate terms and not being able to withstand Hagler's right when he couldn't withstand Julian Jackson's. Marv wouldn't have done it with one right, but Graham couldn't have withstood repeated southpaw power jabs.

SRL gaining the decision over Marv guaranteed the disintegration of the only undisputed title in boxing at that time. Yes, the outcome was sensational regardless of who was awarded the decision, but it would have been far better for boxing if Hagler had retained the Championship. We all knew what Ray would do if he won, and that's exactly what happened. The MW Title would not be unified again until Bernard Hopkins defeated Felix Trinidad in September 2001, an interminable 14 years. Also, B-Hop did it in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, so his achievement was completely overshadowed by the pivotal event of our lifetimes, this era's Pearl Harbor in the States. It was last held by Jermain Taylor in October 2005, and has not again been consolidated in the 18 years since, an era clinching boxing as a tiny niche interest, not one of the Big Three Sports (which in the States, used to be boxing, baseball and horse racing, as reflected in newspaper articles during the first decade of the 1900's).

 

Yeah cause srl gave rematches in fights he won? He was retiring/unretiring and teasing to have the fight.
Hagler been dealing with this snake for years. First the 82 retirement fiasco, always being at his fights looking for him to finally slip and then badically scamming him out of the world title. Like always Ray was priviliged and favoured for being boxing and the media's darling. No wonder Hagler was fed up with the whole thing. I yjinl he even waited about a while before retiring since Ray wasnt giving him the rematch.
Hagler beat every opponent he faced, in the rematch he doesnt fight orthodox from the start and more agressive and either wins a wide ud or stops him. Thats why Leonard kept running and dangling the rematch after that bs fight with the worst scorecard ever.

 

Boring replay of the first fight, Hagler's reflexes looked shot in the first fight, his punches appeared like he was underwater throwing them slow and sluggish.

 

It is called foreplay .

 

No different than if Hagler had retired without losing the title. The alphabets would have chopped the middleweight title up in pieces and handed them out as they saw fit.