Your unpopular boxing opinions

No he didn`t, he ran like a thief the whole fight.

 

I guess Mark Anthony proves my point of "unpopular opinion.

 

If Aaron needed to cheat that implies he wasn't good enough to beat Arguello without it. There is alot that we don't know about that situation.

Two excuses you made for Arguello regarding the rematch also applied to the first bout. He was a veteran of 70+ fights and he was 4 divisions north of his best.

Taking the rematch and winning decisively was the only thing Pryor could do at that point.

 

One doesn't get to blatantly cheat and claim afterwards he would have won without it. And we know from Emmanuel Steward's testimony that Pryor did in fact cheat.

The main point was that Arguello suffered a career-altering beating in the 14th round of their 1st fight at the hands of a fighter with an unfair advantage. I mentioned his mileage and the fact he was fighting well above his natural weight class because those two things make it extremely unlikely that Arguello could ever be the same / recover properly for their rematch.

He could have not cheated in the first place ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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To expand on this topic, I believe Pryor's other pre-Arguello victories should also be re-evaluated and potentially have asterisks above them. Panama Lewis was in his corner during other fights as well (against Montilla & Kameda for example) and we all know what he did.

 

Hi Buddy.
I think it might have been prudent for you to have rewatched the encounter before your assertion that Leonard " ran like thief " of which he palpalay did not, moreover there were plenty of times where by Leonard instigated a toe to toe engagement, and times that he hurt and stung Hagler, at the time I don't think Leonard was given the credit he deserved, he was coming off a long layoff, and up against a much feared and fearsome middleweight, from memory he was given scant chance of pulling such an almighty feat , Hagler was seen as almost unbeatable, andthe comebacking Leonard was seen as going to the well once too often, as it turned out , I am of the firm opinion that on that night, and in that fight Leonard confirmed his greatness, but it was the king with no clothes, he ran, he avoided confrontation, back peddled, was scared of going to the wire with Hagler, then it was Hagler was not himself, he paced himself all wrong, he took Ray too lightly, C, mon when was Hagler not in tremendous shape, this was a tour de force of box/fighting, lighting combos to head and body, stiff jabs to offset Marvin, and then when Hagler did land guess what, it didn't faze Leonard one jot, he took all Hagler's punches and then came back for more, he outpunched, outboxed, outfought, Marvin at every turn, sure he was hit plenty , and rounds were very close at times, for what it's worth, I have Ray winning, not by much, but winning, and even if you thought he lost, what disgrace is there in that, he fought a top 3 Middleweight to a standstill, and I believe that is forgotten by all, in fact the standing of Hagler as top 3 should be in jeopardy, shouldn't it ? alongside that, Leonards rating as an AGT should be elevated in my eyes, imagine a former WW , coming off a long lay off, went down to the wire with Monzon, and maybe beat him, what would we by saying, exactly. This was Leonards finest hour, forget the Duran return, LaLonde, Benitez, Hearns, and all the other magnificent wins, for me the Hagler fight cemented Ray as a true great, and the sooner the fight fraternity recognise that the better all round.
you are much put upon sometimes Mark, so I will not compound this, you have some nice and informative post to you credit, keep it up buddy. stay safe buddy, chat soon.

 

Excellent post,Mike and a fine summary of that fight. All those who criticised Leonard for waiting till Hagler was past his prime before he agreed to fight him are forgetting one fact - Leonard was also post-prime and fighting an all time great 160lb man in his first fight for three years. And I'm saying this as a fan of both men.