After Sugar Ray Leonard vacated the middleweight belts he won from Hagler, by 1988 the new champions were as follows: WBA- Sumbu Kalambay WBC-Thomas Hearns IBF-Frank Tate. If after failing to get the rematch with Leonard, Hagler decided to fight on, how would he have done against the new titlists? Most interesting would have been a rematch with Hearns with Hagler now the challenger IMO.
I think he would have done quite well, but mentally the Leonard fight did a number on him, so he quit at the right time.
I feel that Hagler in 1988, though he would have been past his prime, would still have enough in the tank to beat the succeeding alphabet titlests. I feel he would stop Frank Tate and Tommy Hearns again and closely outpoint Kalambay. But I also think a 1988 version of Hagler would show his age again in losing a decision to a young and prime Michael Nunn.
