Who Did You Pick To Win...?

1. Avoided the fight. Knew Marvin was going to show a lot of wear and tear > the mugabi fight. And Leonard was perfectly capable of fighting as a cutie pie which did not help Hagler stylewise. Also some of that pre-fight sparring stories were not good for Hagler. And I really liked a candid interview I saw w/ Dundee.

2. Barkley both fights. Won a lot of money on those.

3. Barkley. Thought he deserved the decision.

4. Avoided. Did not like the idea of Hill fighting in Vegas under all that pressure. Not > all those North Dakota efforts. Did not like Tommy that much at lh, but Hill was not that big of an opportunist and I figured that to be a big subtraction and him not capitalizing on windows of opportunity against a guy like Hearns. A tough physical fighter is a different risk but Hill was not that kind of guy.

5.Norris. Big. Won a lot on that one. But betting against Ray Leonard in fights most likely drives you to the poorhouse. Very very nervous about the bout and was scared to death of the scoring by the judges. But rally liked the youth of Norris in this and thought Ray did not match up so well with him.

 

Hagler
Hearns 1st fight, Barkley second fight
Heans
Barkley
Hearns
Norris

 

Hagler
Hearns
Leonard
Barkley
Hearns
Norris

 

I picked Hagler over Ray, Hearns over Ray, Barkley over Duran, Hill over Hearns and Norris over Ray. I watched every one of these fights live and only got the Norris vs Leonard fight right. Lol

In my defense, I still think Hagler and Hearns beat Leonard.

 

Exactly how old are you all? They call me old at work & I was barely walking when Hagler & Leonard were fighting.

 

I was thirteen years old for Hagler vs Hearns. I remember my dad and uncle buying the pay per view and both of them arguing about who won the fight. My dad thought Hagler and my uncle thought Leonard. I sided with my old man. Pay per views were always an event at my house. In those days, pay per views were mostly just the fab four or Tyson fights. Don King always had excellent pay per views to offset all of the Tyson blowouts lol.

 

1) Hagler

2) Hearns on both occasions, though I did see Barkley as a live underdog.

3) Barkley. Thought he would have had a second consecutive win over a legend after his KO of Hearns. Great performance by Duran proved me wrong.

4) Hearns. Thought he had the quicker hands, better jab, and more power. Had my doubts that Hill would be able to take advantage of Hearns' not so great chin. The only one on the list I got right.

5) Leonard. Was definitely pulling for Norris, but was doubting that he'd win this after seeing him starched by Jackson. Thought Leonard would eventually get him in trouble and finish him later in the fight. Leonard was showing signs of slowing down in his two fights prior to this, but I didn't realize just how far gone he was at that point. It was pretty clear that he was completely shot early in this one.

Made some bad picks in the fights above, but Leonard over Norris was the worst of the bunch.

 

Leonard v Hagler (Leonard) I read a Leonard interview (Ring or Ko Magazine) saying how he decided to face Hagler after seeing him struggle in the Mugabi fight. In my youthful ignorance that sounded good to me so picked Leonard on points.

Hearns v Barkley (1 and 2 ) (Hearns) Picked Hearns for both. Still can´t believe Barkley won titles at 3 weights and holds 2 wins over Hearns.

Leonard v Hearns (2) (Leonard) I thought Hearns was shot after Barkley loss and Kinchen dropping him. Thought Hearns deserved the decision though it was close.

Duran v Barkley (Barkley) Thought Barkley was just too big for Duran who had lost to Hagler and Sims at middleweight.So glad Duran won and that 11rd knockdown sequence is classic.

Hearns v Hill (Hill) Imagined Hill would win. Seemed such an all round boxer with solid power, shocked that Hearns boxed so well though he faded down the stretch.

Leonard v Norris (Leonard) Just could not bet against Leonard especially as I couldn´t forget Norris´ loss to Julian Jackson. Norris fought a perfect fight.

 

Hagler
Hearns - for both
Leonard
Barkley
Hearns
Norris

 

Leonard v Hagler................Thought Hagler would slaughter him.

Hearns v Barkley (1 and 2 )................Thought Hearns would outbox & TKO Barkley both times.

Leonard v Hearns (2)............Thought Leonard by mid rounds K.O.

Duran v Barkley............Thought Barkley would be too strong.

Hearns v Hill...........Thought Hearns had a shot at outboxing Hill.

Leonard v Norris.........Thought Leonard would K.O Norris.

Now you see why Ring Magazine where keen to sign me up as writer......Not.

 

Also, I had Leonard beating Hearns in the rematch. Thought for sure Leonard would stop him in the mid-rounds. Thought Hearns definitely deserved the decision in that one.

 

I was 16 years old when Leonard-Hagler took place. I listened to the live report on South Florida radio station WIOD (which I recorded on a cassette tape and still have somewhere). Saw the replay a week or so after and thought Leonard won. My Brother, who was a Hagler fan, disagreed. I remember really anticipating that fight, and being really surprised at the result. Pretty fun night, even just listening over the radio...