Sugar Ray Leonard Versus Marvelous Marvin Hagler Rematch

I always thought an angry Marvin is a more effective fighter. Had he fought angrier against Duran it would have benefited him, and in the rematch that extra aggression gives him a late tko over Ray I think.

 

Agreed. And this time around Ray wouldn’t be coming fresh off a layoff which is the biggest advantage Marvin had in the first fight

 

Very likely, as the alphabets were then hell bent on destroying boxing in order to turn it forever into the tiny niche interest it has now been for decades and always will be. (I honestly do not see the contact gridiron lasting much longer either. The more that is learned about sports related head trauma, the sooner interests in these head to head competitions will die out. The National Football League's demise will be especially catastrophic, economically and in terms of historical legacy. Canton and Canastota will become like the Bare Knuckle Hall of Fame in Belfast, New York.)

 

I've come w peace long ago w the decision and admit it was a close fight that could've gone either way. I hold more understanding to the belief that Hagler may have done cleaner work which I was skeptical w at first. A rematch I again see being close but like said, it would b a confidence boost in SRLs favor. He would enter the champ and know he could bang w Hagler if he had to. I'm uncertain if Hagler would've pressed the issue sooner but he still would b a declined Hagler no fault of SRLs. It took guts to get in there w arguably the greatest MW in the first place.

 

That loss did sting Hagler and he was very butt hurt over it for the longest. Losing to a rival does that tho tbf.

 

There's lots to digest here.

Leonard would have a good hard fight under his belt but he did look good as it was, timing wise. He'd probably gain a bit of wind more than anything.

Leonard had climbed his mountain, reached the pinnacle. His quest for career glory was over and nothing he could ever do afterwards could equal it. Just how "up" could he get for a guy that he'd just beat? There's lots to lose, but how much is there to win? Hagler would have lots more incentive.

How much did this fight ages Hagler? He was slipping very fast after the Hearns war and it was obvious to the eye.

Hagler would likely have his bigger ring. Would he have different gloves? He wasn't going to get 15 rounds. Leonard would have by far the upper hand in negotiations.

Hagler would start southpaw. Let me say now i find this a bit overstated. Leonard was fresh and fast in those early rounds and IMO it was as much a case as Hagler being outslicked by speed and class as anything Hagler was or wasn't doing.

I'd have to favor Leonard but i think it would be another competitive fight.

 

If they fought earlier I think Hagler wins pretty easily, if Hagler knew the stakes of how he'd feel after the first fight, before the first fight, Hagler wins. He got ensnared in the Sugar Ray Magic Johnson Leonard trap and thought the smile was a joke until he got his ass stung. After, I think the mental trauma of being robbed by the industry yet again vs Leonard in his mind as well as the Philly wars had worn Hagler down a little too much to win a rematch

 

Although Marvelous Marvin Hagler looked unbeatable in many of his 13 title bouts, he struggled when it came to the bouts that he was heavily favored to win, the first Antuofermo title bout on Nov 30 1979, ended in a 15 round draw. Vito retained his title. Nov 11 1983, Hagler struggled to defeat a smaller Roberto Duran by 15 round verdict. April 6 1987, Hagler loses his WBC portion of his World Middleweight Title to an out of commission for 3 and a half years Sugar Ray Leonard by a majority decision. Either it was poor strategy on Hagler's part or an overestimation of his opponents, all champions have an off night but these were not just average title bouts, these were big fights that Hagler was expected to win with ease.

 

Would be close who ever won