On This Day: Sugar Ray Leonard defeated Marvin Hagler in one of boxing’s most controversial decisions

[oogiebe]

I've said it before and I"ll say it again. Ray won by fighting the last 30 seconds of each round which prompted judges to give him rounds that perhaps he didn't win. An old Ali trick. I have absolutely no skin in this game, and so I feel comfortable saying that I thought Hagler won.

[APerno]

Leonard out-boxed Hagler. I Prefer a prize fight; I wish one would have broken out. I am the one vote for a draw.

[gilgamesh]

I had it a draw

[gilgamesh]

Leonard out-boxed Hagler. I Prefer a prize fight; I wish one would have broken out. I am the one vote for a draw.

I'm the 2nd vote for Draw then.

First 5 rounds to Ray, 6 thru 11 to Marvin, Round 12 to Leonard.

[Kalan]

Nah.... The first 5 and the 12th go to Leonard, except possibly the 5th... but you gotta give Leonard the 6th and 11th.

The 11th was more decisive for Leonard than the 12th... The 10th was close. You can give it to Hagler... The 7th and 8th Hagler was coming on... Then the 9th I don't remember that well.. What I remember most about the fight is Hagler looked slow compared to Leonard.. He got rocked a few times.. He should have stayed in Leonard's body and ripped harder.

I thought Leonard should have been point deducted at least once for holding... Holding is illegal and he kept doing it.. Ray was warned about 60 or 70 times.. Hagler got so frustrated he finally grabbed Leonard and held him for a while.. The referee really got on Marv for that and said "NO HOLDING MARV YOU CAN'T DO THAT" I laughed so hard and was thinking "He's not holding to escape punishment you idiot... He's frustrated you're not taking points and issuing endless warnings."

I gave Hagler a couple super close rounds... I still had Leonard winning 116-112... The fight surprised me because Leonard was coming off a 3-year layoff and looked rusty and ragged.. He had a lot of tricks and finesse that Hagler wasn't used to seeing, like his holding techniques.. If the referee allows a guy to hold, you have to grab his arm and wrench it or break it or something.. Throw him down on the floor like you're wrestling a steer.. That's no more illegal than holding.

[APerno]

Nah.... The first 5 and the 12th go to Leonard, except possibly the 5th... but you gotta give Leonard the 6th and 11th.

The 11th was more decisive for Leonard than the 12th... The 10th was close. You can give it to Hagler... The 7th and 8th Hagler was coming on... Then the 9th I don't remember that well.. What I remember most about the fight is Hagler looked slow compared to Leonard.. He got rocked a few times.. He should have stayed in Leonard's body and ripped harder.

I thought Leonard should have been point deducted at least once for holding... Holding is illegal and he kept doing it.. Ray was warned about 60 or 70 times.. Hagler got so frustrated he finally grabbed Leonard and held him for a while.. The referee really got on Marv for that and said "NO HOLDING MARV YOU CAN'T DO THAT" I laughed so hard and was thinking "He's not holding to escape punishment you idiot... He's frustrated you're not taking points and issuing endless warnings."

I gave Hagler a couple super close rounds... I still had Leonard winning 116-112... The fight surprised me because Leonard was coming off a 3-year layoff and looked rusty and ragged.. He had a lot of tricks and finesse that Hagler wasn't used to seeing, like his holding techniques.. If the referee allows a guy to hold, you have to grab his arm and wrench it or break it or something.. Throw him down on the floor like you're wrestling a steer.. That's no more illegal than holding.

Kalan, Kalan, Kalan,

You are correct, Leonard won the boxing match. I paid for a prize fight, too bad they never got around to fighting one. I got to pay all that money to watch two men spar. -- Leonard never intended to let a fight break out, and Hagler was content to follow Leonard around the ring being 'outpointed.'

The fault, the failure, has to lay with Hagler; Leonard had no reason to change what he was doing (Why would he bother? you were giving him all the rounds anyway.)

But what I want to know is: Why does counting points mean so much to you, to everyone? I understand why the gamblers/bookmakers want it, but why you? You know full well that all we saw that night was a sparing session, with the trappings of a prize fight. -- But why bother counting points, are you paying off bets? Or is it so we all can PRETEND that something happened, (when nothing happened), that something was was decided (when nothing was decided), so we don't have to recognize that we got ripped off?

I have a better solution, call it the ND it actually was and then pay them only half their purse, it would happen less often.

Not that Leonard/Hagler couldn't fight, both certainly could. In fact Hearns-Leonard I & II are perfect examples of boxing being employed (by both men) to win a prize fight (that's the way boxing skills are suppose to be employed, not to take a 20 million dollar workout.)

Kalan, we got suckered and you give it cover by signing its hosannas with all your detailed and pointless counting. Both fighters, (excuse me, 'boxers') picked our pockets that night, and you still haven't figured out you got fleeced, you're still counting points.

Hey, just picking on you buddy, the post is meant for everyone who thinks someone 'won' this fight.

[oogiebe]

Kalan heeds the officials when it suits him and ignores them when they don't. (Liston's dive)