Nostalgia: Marvin Hagler Vs Sugar Ray Leonard at Caesars in 1987.

wilheim · May 26, 2009

On April 6th. 1987 - Marvin Hagler put up his WBC Middleweight Championship Crown up for grabs against the #1 contender at the time Sugar Ray Leonard at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas..The result was a split decision. You can find out who won if you don't already know by watching the final two rounds in the next post.

Scoring:

Referee: Richard Steele | judge: Jose Juan Guerra 110-118 | judge: Lou Filippo 115-113 | judge: Dave Moretti 113-115...

wil..

wilheim · May 26, 2009

Boxer22 · May 26, 2009

Amazing that you bring this up. Me and a few of my friends talk about this fight atleast once a week if not more.

I have probably watched this fight between 40-50 times in my life. Every single time I have scored it for Hagler. I know about 15 people personally who stopped watching boxing for awhile after this fight because this was the definition of a judge fixing the scorecard. Hagler quit boxing after this and rightfully so. Jose Juan Guerra obviously was paid a pretty nice sum before this match.

Its a shame that a great fighter like Hagler had to go out like this.

TomBrady#1 · May 26, 2009

Boxer22 said:
Amazing that you bring this up. Me and a few of my friends talk about this fight atleast once a week if not more.

I have probably watched this fight between 40-50 times in my life. Every single time I have scored it for Hagler. I know about 15 people personally who stopped watching boxing for awhile after this fight because this was the definition of a judge fixing the scorecard. Hagler quit boxing after this and rightfully so. Jose Juan Guerra obviously was paid a pretty nice sum before this match.

Its a shame that a great fighter like Hagler had to go out like this.

I agree. The fight was close but you have to take it from the champ. I am from Boston and have watched many Hagler fights 1000's of times. Most people think Leonard won this fight. What a shame. History is changed because of this. Hagler won.

Boxer22 · May 26, 2009

Tom Brady#1 said:
I agree. The fight was close but you have to take it from the champ. I am from Boston and have watched many Hagler fights 1000's of times. Most people think Leonard won this fight. What a shame. History is changed because of this. Hagler won.

No doubt about it. I have to ask you this because your from Boston and this is a boxing thread.... Have you ever been to Lowell?

steaktartar · May 26, 2009

i watched the fight....we needed hagler for our lungs everyone bet leonard..........i thought leonard won but it was close.......i do remember being sick at the time though

TomBrady#1 · May 26, 2009

Boxer22 said:
No doubt about it. I have to ask you this because your from Boston and this is a boxing thread.... Have you ever been to Lowell?

Live right near Lowell. Been there many times.

You talking Golden Gloves? THey are in Lowell and Lowell is known for boxing.

Boxer22 · May 26, 2009

Tom Brady#1 said:
Live right near Lowell. Been there many times.

You talking Golden Gloves? THey are in Lowell and Lowell is known for boxing.

Im talking one of my favorite boxers that ever put on the gloves and that's Micky Ward. He's from Lowell.

TomBrady#1 · May 26, 2009

Boxer22 said:
Im talking one of my favorite boxers that ever put on the gloves and that's Micky Ward. He's from Lowell.

My brother talked to him a few times and know a mutual friend. Not me though. Ward was a warrior and a half as you know. Guy was a heck of a fighter. Those Gatti's fights were the stuff legends were made of.

I have talked to Hagler like 4 or 5 times about boxing.

Boxer22 · May 26, 2009

Tom Brady#1 said:
My brother talked to him a few times and know a mutual friend. Not me though. Ward was a warrior and a half as you know. Guy was a heck of a fighter. Those Gatti's fights were the stuff legends were made of.

I have talked to Hagler like 4 or 5 times about boxing.

That's awesome. I don't know if you ever read it but Wards book "Irish Thunder The Hard Life & Times of Micky Ward" is one of the best books I have ever read.

TomBrady#1 · May 26, 2009

Boxer22 said:
That's awesome. I don't know if you ever read it but Wards book "Irish Thunder The Hard Life & Times of Micky Ward" is one of the best books I have ever read.

I have not read it but I bet it is a good read with his life. I might check it out. Thanks. He worked hard and overcame a lot to do what he has,

wilheim · May 26, 2009

FYI - Where to buy "Irish Thunder The Hard Life & Times of Micky Ward"..

"Irish Thunder The Hard Life & Times of Micky Ward"

BOL. wil.

Boxer22 · May 26, 2009

Wilheim who do you think won the fight?

wilheim · May 26, 2009

Wilheim who do you think won the fight?

FWIW - Leonard was flashier and busier, Hagler stronger and more solid. Those fights are always difficult to score. What is undeniable though is that Leonard played with Hagler's head with stuff like having a friend of one of the judges make a huge bet on Leonard (rumor had it anyway). The Leonard camp insisted on 12 instead on 15 rounds with a larger 20 ft. ring which favored the long retired Leonard more than most people know. There was no bargaining on these two points.

Leonard had to concede purse money for these concessions but without them the outcome of the fight would have been much different. 15 rounds were too many for the no matter what anyone says very rusty Sugar Ray Leonard and the 20 ft ring gave him plenty of room to show his flashy style to the judges at a safe distance.

Hagler had not lost a fight in more than a decade. Leonard, meanwhile, had fought only once in the previous half decade. The talk was about how badly would Marvin Hagler destroy Sugar Ray. Hagler could easily have been overconfident, something only he knows.

During the seemingly endless prefight hype Leonard was a master at getting under Marvin's skin, Hagler walked around with a short fuse on his temper, actually ignoring sportswriters while Leonard never uttered a word that would give Hagler reason to get fired up. The ultimate head game had Leonard ahead on points before the first round bell rang.

Durung the prefight hype an angry Hagler stopped showing at press conferences all together while butter would melt in Leonard's mouth as he talked to the press at preplanned events next to an empty chair where Marvin should have been.

Rumor has it that Leonard got his bell rung sparring (a fighter named Taylor picked to spar Ray because of his style that was similar to Hagler's) shortly before fightnight which caused him to rethink his entire stratedgy of going toe to toe with Hagler especially in the early rounds to keeping his distance from the get go. Lots of seemingly minor but actually important events all added up were building up confidence in Leonard's camp. The fight dropped from 6-1 Hagler to 3-1 Hagler as fight night arrived. Someone knew something.

Angelo Dundee added his considerable experience to the mix and trained Ray how to deal with a righty turned lefty, something not all trainers could do. When Hagler came out righthanded, even that helped Leonard because fighting righthanded slowed Hagler down and gave Leonard even more of a chance to dance around the ring much to Marvin's frustration and further impress the judges.

Bottom line is all this kept Ray on his toes and not flat footed like he was in the first Duran fight. Ray used the clock in each round perfectly, only with under 10 seconds to go in each round with the no knockout rule in place would Ray move in to flurry with Marvin to impress the judges.

At the end of the 12th round when Marvin was doing his little cha cha Ray was on his knees exhausted, the 12 round move had paid off in spades. So hadn't the big ring, allowing Ray to get on his bycycle whenever he wanted.

Today everyone knows technically Marvin Hagler won the fight but 22 years ago Sugar Ray Leonard won the pagent that was the greatest fight of all time according to it's build-up. That buildup lasted many month and only ended when ring announcer Chuck Hull yelled into his micrphone "and the New WBC Middleweight Champion of The world" the name Sugar Ray Leonard was anticlamatic.

Sure in a Gym with all things being equal Hagler won the fight but that was not the case, The greatest fight of all time was more than 12 rounds of boxing that gave the big underdog Leonard a chance to make history.

wil.

Phonebook · May 26, 2009

excellent write up wil.

thx

DickGozina · May 26, 2009

Marvin Hagler clearly won the fight but anytime you let a boxing match go to the judges, you're asking for trouble and that's exactly what happened to Hagler. He should have knocked that has been Leonard on his ass. All Ray Leonard did for the entire fight was dance, run around and throw a few slap punches that couldn't have broken a pane of glass.

Ray Leonard is one the the most overrated athletes of all time. He was a good fighter, not a great fighter. He beat total stiffs in the Olympics and then fought nothing but tomato cans early in his career. When he fought fighters that were as good or better than him, he either lost or was given a bullshit decision. The only time I can remember him actually beating a very good fighter was in the first fight with Tommy Hearns.

TomBrady#1 · May 26, 2009

Dick Gozina said:
Marvin Hagler clearly won the fight but anytime you let a boxing match go to the judges, you're asking for trouble and that's exactly what happened to Hagler. He should have knocked that has been Leonard on his ass. All Ray Leonard did for the entire fight was dance, run around and throw a few slap punches that couldn't have broken a pane of glass.

Ray Leonard is one the the most overrated athletes of all time. He was a good fighter, not a great fighter. He beat total stiffs in the Olympics and then fought nothing but tomato cans early in his career. When he fought fighters that were as good or better than him, he either lost or was given a bullshit decision. The only time I can remember him actually beating a very good fighter was in the first fight with Tommy Hearns.

He beat a GREAT duran that had not lost in 10 years and beat Benitez to win the titel and also beat Aldmaa a great Cuban for the gold. Aldama never lost after that and went on to win gold in 80 showing how good he was. That fight is on youtube and a good fight.

eltonio · May 26, 2009

If the Hearns/Leonard fight had been 12 rounds, Hearns would have won easily.

wilheim · May 26, 2009

Shed no tears for Marvin Hagler.

Marvin thought his decision loss to Leonard was undeserved, and quit boxing, saying he was tired of the backroom politics of the sport. The loss, however, was hardly bad for Hagler, as he walked away with an estimated $37 million from his purse and revenues from pay-per-view.

Hagler now lives in Italy. On May 2000, he married his second wife, an Italian woman, in Pioltello, Italy. Hagler also has a home in Bartlett, New Hampshire, USA.

The fight was the only time Leonard fought as a middleweight in his career.

Professional record (in reverse with last fight at top) of Ray Leonard:

date Lb opponent Lb W-L-D last 6 location

1997-03-01 159 Hector Camacho 158¾ 62-3-1
Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States L TKO 5 12
~ time: 1:08 | referee: Joe Cortez ~
~ International Boxing Council middleweight title ~

1991-02-09 154 Terry Norris 152½ 26-3-0
Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States L UD 12 12
~ referee: Arthur Mercante Jr. | judge: Sid Rubenstein 103-119 | judge: Barbara Perez 104-120 | judge: Bill Costello 110-116 ~
~ WBC light middleweight title ~
Leonard knocked down in 2nd and 7th round

1989-12-07 160 Roberto Duran 158 85-7-0
Mirage Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States W UD 12 12
~ referee: Richard Steele | judge: Jerry Roth 119-109 | judge: Joe Cortez 116-111 | judge: Bob Logist 120-110 ~
~ WBC super middleweight title ~

1989-06-12 160 Thomas Hearns 162½ 46-3-0
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States D PTS 12 12
~ referee: Richard Steele | judge: Tom Kaczmarek 113-112 | judge: Dalby Shirley 112-112 | judge: Jerry Roth 112-113 ~
~ WBC super middleweight title ~
~ WBO super middleweight title ~
Leonard knocked down in 3rd and 11th rds.

1988-11-07 165 Donny Lalonde 167 31-2-0
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States W TKO 9 12
~ time: 2:30 | referee: Richard Steele | judge: Chuck Giampa 77-74 | judge: Stuart Kirshenbaum 75-76 | judge: Franz Marti 77-75 ~
~ WBC light heavyweight title ~
~ vacant WBC super middleweight title ~

1987-04-06 160 Marvin Hagler 160 62-2-2
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States W SD 12 12
~ referee: Richard Steele | judge: Jose Juan Guerra 118-110 | judge: Lou Filippo 113-115 | judge: Dave Moretti 115-113 ~
~ WBC middleweight title ~

1984-05-11 149 Kevin Howard 150½ 20-4-1
DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States W TKO 9 10
~ time: 2:27 | referee: Dick Flaherty ~

1982-02-15 146 Bruce Finch 145¼ 29-3-1
Centennial Coliseum, Reno, Nevada, United States W TKO 3 15
~ time: 1:50 | referee: Mills Lane | judge: Duane Ford 19-17 | judge: Henry Elesperu 19-18 | judge: Herb Santos 19-17 ~
~ WBC welterweight title ~
~ WBA World welterweight title ~

1981-09-16 146 Thomas Hearns 145 32-0-0
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States W TKO 14 15
~ time: 1:45 | referee: Davey Pearl | judge: Lou Tabat 122-125 | judge: Chuck Minker 121-125 | judge: Duane Ford 122-124 ~
~ WBC welterweight title ~
~ WBA World welterweight title ~
1981 Fight of the Year - Ring Magazine

1981-06-25 153 Ayub Kalule 153 36-0-0
Astrodome, Houston, Texas, United States W TKO 9 15
~ time: 3:06 | referee: Carlos Berrocal 78-76 | judge: Harmodio Cedeno 78-76 | judge: Ismael W. Fernandez 78-75 ~
~ WBA World light middleweight title ~

1981-03-28 145 Larry Bonds 144½ 29-3-0
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York, United States W TKO 10 15
~ time: 2:22 | referee: Arthur Mercante | judge: Carol Castellano 88-85 | judge: Harold Lederman 90-80 | judge: Vincent Rainone 90-80 ~
~ WBC welterweight title ~

1980-11-25 146 Roberto Duran 146 72-1-0 (The No Mas fight)
Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States W TKO 8 15
~ time: 2:44 | referee: Octavio Meyran | judge: Mike Jacobs 68-66 | judge: Jean Deswerts 68-66 | judge: James Brimmell 67-66 ~
~ WBC welterweight title ~

1980-06-20 145 Roberto Duran 145½ 71-1-0
Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada L UD 15 15
~ referee: Carlos Padilla | judge: Harry Gibbs 144-145 | judge: Angelo Poletti 147-148 | judge: Raymond Baldeyrou 144-146 ~
~ WBC welterweight title ~

1980-03-31 147 Dave Green 147 33-2-0
Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland, United States W KO 4 15
~ time: 2:27 | referee: Arthur Mercante 30-27 | judge: Harry Gibbs 30-27 | judge: Larry Barrett 30-27 ~
~ WBC welterweight title ~

1979-11-30 146 Wilfred Benitez 144½ 38-0-1 (Great fight saw it live - wil)
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States W TKO 15 15
~ time: 2:54 | referee: Carlos Padilla | judge: Art Lurie 137-130 | judge: Harry Gibbs 136-134 | judge: Ray Solis 137-133 ~
~ WBC welterweight title ~

1979-09-28 146 Andy Price 147 28-5-3
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States W KO 1 12
~ time: 2:52 | referee: Harold Krause ~
~ NABF welterweight title ~

1979-08-12 147 Pete Ranzany 147 45-3-1
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States W TKO 4 12
~ time: 2:41 | referee: Joey Curtis ~
~ NABF welterweight title ~
Ranzany was knocked down twice in the 4th round.

1979-06-24 151 Tony Chiaverini 153 30-3-1
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States W RTD 4 10
~ referee: Ferd Hernandez ~

1979-05-20 153 Marcos Geraldo 160 43-14-0
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States W UD 10 10
~ referee: Pete Giaruso 7-2 | judge: Charlie Joseph 6-3 | judge: Maxie Docusen 6-3 ~

1979-04-21 144½ Adolfo Viruet 147¼ 16-3-0
Dunes Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States W UD 10 10
~ referee: Richard Green ~
Viruet was knocked down in the 4th round.

1979-03-24 148 Daniel Aldo Gonzalez 146 52-2-4
Community Center, Tucson, Arizona, United States W KO 1 10
~ time: 2:03 | referee: Roger Yánez ~

1979-02-11 149½ Fernand Marcotte 155½ 48-8-3
Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, United States W TKO 8 10
~ time: 2:33 | referee: Jay Edson ~
Bout was stopped after Marcotte was knocked down.

1979-01-11 146 Johnny Gant 144¾ 44-11-3
Capitol Centre, Landover, Maryland, United States W TKO 8 12
~ time: 2:57 | referee: Joe Bunsa ~
Gant was knocked down in the 6th round.

1978-12-09 149 Armando Muniz 151 44-13-1
Civic Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, United States W RTD 6 10
~ referee: Dick Flaherty ~
Muniz was unable to continue after the 6th round, due to tendinitis in his left arm.

1978-11-03 146 Bernardo Prada 146¾ 21-6-3
Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, Maine, United States W UD 10 10
~ referee: Rene Laliberte ~

1978-10-06 147 Randy Shields 143½ 31-4-1
Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland, United States W UD 10 10
~ referee: Tom Kelly 49-43 | judge: Ray Klingmeyer 47-44 | judge: Harry Cecchini 48-45 ~
Cecchini refereed the 10th round, after Shields had hit Kelly with a punch in the 9th round.

1978-09-09 146¾ Floyd Mayweather 146 16-1-0
Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island, United States W TKO 10 10
~ time: 2:16 | referee: Martin Taber ~
Mayweather was knocked down twice in the 8th round.

1978-07-18 146 Dick Ecklund 146 11-3-0
Hynes Memorial Auditorium, Boston, Massachusetts, United States W UD 10 10
~ referee: Tommy Rawson ~

1978-06-03 147 Rafael Rodriguez 145¾ 22-8-1
Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland, United States W UD 10 10
~ referee: Tom Kelly ~

1978-05-13 Randy Milton 12-4-2
Memorial Auditorium, Utica, New York, United States W TKO 8 8
~ time: 2:55 | referee: Jimmy Devlin ~
Milton was down three times.

1978-04-13 147 Bobby Hayman 144 20-7-1
Capitol Centre, Landover, Maryland, United States W RTD 3 10
~ referee: Harry Cecchini ~

1978-03-19 144½ Javier Muniz 144 19-7-2
Veterans Memorial Colisuem, New Haven, Connecticut, United States W KO 1 8
~ time: 2:45 | referee: Sal Maltempo ~

1978-03-01 145¾ Art McKnight 147 10-1-0
Hara Arena, Dayton, Ohio, United States W TKO 7 8
~ time: 1:52 | referee: Pete Rademacher ~

1978-02-04 143 Rocky Ramon 142½ 19-10-1
Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland, United States W UD 8 8
~ referee: Terry Moore | 40-30 | 40-30 | 40-30 ~

1977-12-17 145 Hector Diaz 143¼ 11-6-3
DC Armory, Washington, District of Columbia, United States W KO 2 8
~ time: 2:20 | referee: John Sneed ~

1977-11-05 145 Augustin Estrada 139 6-12-0
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States W KO 5 8
~ time: 1:54 | referee: Joey Giambra ~

1977-09-24 142¾ Frank Santore 138¾ 27-3-1
Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland, United States W KO 5 8
~ time: 2:55 | referee: Tom Kelly ~

1977-06-10 142 Vinnie DeBarros 142 15-4-0
Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut, United States W TKO 3 6
~ time: 1:59 | referee: Sal Maltempo ~

1977-05-14 141 Willie Rodriguez 139 10-1-0
Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland, United States W UD 6 6
~ referee: Terry Moore 30-23 | judge: Tom Kelly 30-23 | judge: Ray Klingmeyer 30-24 ~
Rodriguez was given a standing eight count in the 3rd round.

1977-02-05 141¼ Luis Vega 141 8-11-3
Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland, United States W UD 6 6
~ referee: Harry Cecchini 30-24 | judge: Terry Moore 30-24 | judge: Tom Kelly 30-24 ~

Important milestones in bold face.

wil.

wilheim · May 26, 2009

Leonard vs. Benitez

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