BoxRec - User contributions [en]

Dariusz Michalczewski vs. Graciano Rocchigiani (1st meeting)

2023-04-06T23:06:22Z

Incitatus:

<fight>10836</fight>
*'''[[World Boxing Organization]] Light Heavyweight Title''' (7th. defending of Michalczewski) 
*'''Time:''' 2:35 
*'''Weights:''' Michalczewski 174 lbs, Rocchigiani 173.5 lbs
 
== Comment(s): ==
* Rocchigiani lost via disqualification to WBO light-heavyweight title holder Dariusz Michalczewski after hitting Michalczewski on the break during round seven. Michalczewski's prolonged, theatrical reaction to the punch was seen by many as way of getting out of a fight he was losing. Initially the result was a technical draw, later changed to a disqualification.
* A rematch took place on [[Dariusz Michalczewski vs. Graciano Rocchigiani (2nd meeting)|April 15, 2000]]; Michalczewski won via a 9th round TKO.

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2023-04-06T18:32:00Z

Incitatus: /* Unofficial Scorecards */

{{punchstats
|BoxerA=Hagler
|BoxerB=Leonard
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|JabsLandedBoxerB=48
|JabsThrownBoxerA=211
|JabsThrownBoxerB=139
|JabsPercentBoxerA=37
|JabsPercentBoxerB=35
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|PowerLandedBoxerB=258
|PowerThrownBoxerA=581
|PowerThrownBoxerB=490
|PowerPercentBoxerA=37
|PowerPercentBoxerB=53
|TotalLandedBoxerA=291
|TotalLandedBoxerB=306
|TotalThrownBoxerA=792
|TotalThrownBoxerB=629
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}}
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Championship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*'''Promoter:''' [[Bob Arum]] [[Top Rank Boxing Promotions|(Top Rank)]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 1]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:Hagler vs. Leonard On-Site Poster.jpg|On-Site Poster]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Budweiser Fight Poster]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]

==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|350px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|350px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|350px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|350px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Unofficial Scorecards==
*Mitch Albom of the ''Detroit Free Press'': Leonard ("Hagler was outfoxed")
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*Tom Archdeacon of the ''Miami News'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Bob Arum]]: 7-5 Hagler
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the ''Boston Globe'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*[[Gil Clancy]]: 115-113 Leonard
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*Bernard Fernandez of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-4-1 Leonard
*[[Eddie Futch]]: Hagler ("probably by two or three rounds")
*[[Bill Gallo]] of the ''New York Daily News'': Hagler ("slightly ahead")
*Joe Gergen of ''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*Stan Hochman of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
*Jerry Izenberg of the ''Newark Star-Ledger'': Hagler
*[[Jim Jacobs]]: Leonard ("I thought Ray won clearly")
* Jim Jenkins of the ''Sacramento Bee'': 116-114 Hagler
*[[Michael Katz]] of the ''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*Steve Kelley of the ''Seattle Times'': 115-113 Hagler
*George Kimball of ''[[Boxing Illustrated]]''/''Boston Herald'': 116-114 Leonard
*James Lawton of the ''Daily Express'' (UK): 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Bernie Lincicome of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 8-4 Hagler
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Greg Logan of ''Newsday'': 114-114
*Bill Lyon of the ''Philadelphia Inquirer'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Ray Mancini]]: Hagler ("Hagler definitely won the fight")
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*[[Hugh McIlvanney]] of ''The Observer'' (UK)/''Sports Illustrated'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*Norm Miller of the ''New York Post'': 114-114
*[[Harry Mullan]] of ''British Boxing News'': 116-113 Hagler
*Jim Murray of the ''Los Angeles Times'': 117-111 Leonard
*[[William Nack]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-114 Leonard
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*Dave Newhouse of the ''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*[[Floyd Patterson]]: Leonard ("a slight edge")
*Edwin Pope of the ''Miami Herald'': 116-112 Hagler
*Mark Purdy of the ''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*George Puscas of the ''Detroit Free Press'': 115-113 Hagler
*[[Pat Putnam]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of [[CBS]]: 115-114 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*Steve Sneddon of the ''Reno Gazette-Journal'': 117-113 Leonard
*Elmer Smith of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-5 Hagler
*[[Emanuel Steward]]: Hagler ("by a point")
*Ira Kaufman of United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*Bob Verdi of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Washington Post'': 114-114
*Dick Young of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Leonard
*''Newsday'' polled 25 ringside journalists and asked them who they thought won the fight; 12 said Hagler, 10 said Leonard, and 3 called it a draw.

==Articles==
*[https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/03/sports/sports-of-the-times-hagler-s-surprise-punch.html "HAGLER'S SURPRISE PUNCH" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[https://vault.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/comeback-for-the-ages "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]
*[https://boxingjunkie.usatoday.com/2021/03/marvin-hagler-would-settle-for-nothing-less-than-greatness "Marvin Hagler would settle for nothing less than greatness" By Michael Rosenthal, ''Boxing Junkie'', March 15, 2021]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2023-04-06T18:05:53Z

Incitatus: /* Unofficial Scorecards */

{{punchstats
|BoxerA=Hagler
|BoxerB=Leonard
|JabsLandedBoxerA=78
|JabsLandedBoxerB=48
|JabsThrownBoxerA=211
|JabsThrownBoxerB=139
|JabsPercentBoxerA=37
|JabsPercentBoxerB=35
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|PowerLandedBoxerB=258
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<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Championship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*'''Promoter:''' [[Bob Arum]] [[Top Rank Boxing Promotions|(Top Rank)]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 1]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:Hagler vs. Leonard On-Site Poster.jpg|On-Site Poster]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Budweiser Fight Poster]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]

==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|350px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|350px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|350px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|350px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Unofficial Scorecards==
*Mitch Albom of the ''Detroit Free Press'': Leonard ("Hagler was outfoxed")
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*Tom Archdeacon of the ''Miami News'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Bob Arum]]: 7-5 Hagler
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the ''Boston Globe'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*[[Gil Clancy]]: 115-113 Leonard
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*Bernard Fernandez of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-4-1 Leonard
*[[Eddie Futch]]: Hagler ("probably by two or three rounds")
*[[Bill Gallo]] of the ''New York Daily News'': Hagler ("slightly ahead")
*Joe Gergen of ''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*Stan Hochman of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
*Jerry Izenberg of the ''Newark Star-Ledger'': Hagler
*[[Jim Jacobs]]: Leonard ("I thought Ray won clearly")
* Jim Jenkins of the ''Sacramento Bee'': 116-114 Hagler
*[[Michael Katz]] of the ''New York Daily News'': 117-112 Leonard
*Steve Kelley of the ''Seattle Times'': 115-113 Hagler
*George Kimball of ''[[Boxing Illustrated]]''/''Boston Herald'': 116-114 Leonard
*James Lawton of the ''Daily Express'' (UK): 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Bernie Lincicome of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 8-4 Hagler
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Greg Logan of ''Newsday'': 114-114
*Bill Lyon of the ''Philadelphia Inquirer'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Ray Mancini]]: Hagler ("Hagler definitely won the fight")
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*[[Hugh McIlvanney]] of ''The Observer'' (UK)/''Sports Illustrated'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*Norm Miller of the ''New York Post'': 114-114
*[[Harry Mullan]] of ''British Boxing News'': 116-113 Hagler
*Jim Murray of the ''Los Angeles Times'': 117-111 Leonard
*[[William Nack]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-114 Leonard
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*Dave Newhouse of the ''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*[[Floyd Patterson]]: Leonard ("a slight edge")
*Edwin Pope of the ''Miami Herald'': 116-112 Hagler
*Mark Purdy of the ''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*George Puscas of the ''Detroit Free Press'': 115-113 Hagler
*[[Pat Putnam]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of [[CBS]]: 115-114 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*Steve Sneddon of the ''Reno Gazette-Journal'': 117-113 Leonard
*Elmer Smith of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-5 Hagler
*[[Emanuel Steward]]: Hagler ("by a point")
*Ira Kaufman of United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*Bob Verdi of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Washington Post'': 114-114
*Dick Young of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Leonard
*''Newsday'' polled 25 ringside journalists and asked them who they thought won the fight; 12 said Hagler, 10 said Leonard, and 3 called it a draw.

==Articles==
*[https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/03/sports/sports-of-the-times-hagler-s-surprise-punch.html "HAGLER'S SURPRISE PUNCH" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[https://vault.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/comeback-for-the-ages "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]
*[https://boxingjunkie.usatoday.com/2021/03/marvin-hagler-would-settle-for-nothing-less-than-greatness "Marvin Hagler would settle for nothing less than greatness" By Michael Rosenthal, ''Boxing Junkie'', March 15, 2021]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-07-13T20:05:40Z

Incitatus: /* Media Scorecards */

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Championship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*Mitch Albom of the ''Detroit Free Press'': Leonard ("Hagler was outfoxed")
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*Tom Archdeacon of the ''Miami News'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Bob Arum]]: 7-5 Hagler
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the ''Boston Globe'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*[[Gil Clancy]]: 115-113 Leonard
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*Bernard Fernandez of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-4-1 Leonard
*[[Eddie Futch]]: Hagler ("probably by two or three rounds")
*[[Bill Gallo]] of the ''New York Daily News'': Hagler ("slightly ahead")
*Joe Gergen of ''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*Stan Hochman of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
*Jerry Izenberg of the ''Newark Star-Ledger'': Hagler
*[[Jim Jacobs]]: Leonard ("I thought Ray won clearly")
* Jim Jenkins of the ''Sacramento Bee'': 116-114 Hagler
*[[Michael Katz]] of the ''New York Daily News'': 117-112 Leonard
*Steve Kelley of the ''Seattle Times'': 115-113 Hagler
*James Lawton of the ''Daily Express'' (UK): 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Bernie Lincicome of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 8-4 Hagler
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Greg Logan of ''Newsday'': 114-114
*Bill Lyon of the ''Philadelphia Inquirer'': 115-113 Leonard
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*[[Hugh McIlvanney]] of ''The Observer'' (UK)/''Sports Illustrated'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*Norm Miller of the ''New York Post'': 114-114
*[[Harry Mullan]] of ''British Boxing News'': 116-113 Hagler
*Jim Murray of the ''Los Angeles Times'': 117-111 Leonard
*[[William Nack]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-114 Leonard
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*Dave Newhouse of the ''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*Edwin Pope of the ''Miami Herald'': 116-112 Hagler
*Mark Purdy of the ''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*George Puscas of the ''Detroit Free Press'': 115-113 Hagler
*Pat Putnam of ''Sports Illustrated'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of CBS: 115-114 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*Steve Sneddon of the ''Reno Gazette-Journal'': 117-113 Leonard
*Elmer Smith of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-5 Hagler
*[[Emanuel Steward]]: Hagler ("by a point")
*Ira Kaufman of United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*Bob Verdi of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Washington Post'': 114-114
* Dick Young of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Leonard

*A ''Newsday'' poll of 25 ringside observers turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

James (Bonecrusher) Smith

2020-07-08T20:26:41Z

Incitatus:

[[File:Bonecrusher-Smith-WBA.jpg|left|thumb|275px|James "Bonecrusher" Smith]]
<boxer>000563</boxer>
'''Trainer:''' [[Emile Griffith]]

'''[[:Category:James (Bonecrusher) Smith Gallery|James (Bonecrusher) Smith Gallery]]''' 
*'''James (Bonecrusher) Smith''' graduated from Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration. Eleven years later, he became the first college graduate to win a world heavyweight title.
*Joined the U.S. Army after graduating from college.
*Started boxing in the Army and compiled an amateur record of 35-4. He got the moniker "Bonecrusher" while he was in the Army. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z6oyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hOgFAAAAIBAJ&dq=frank%20bruno%20james%20smith&pg=3345%2C960298]
*Turned professional in 1981 at the age of 28 and lost to [[James Broad]] by a fourth-round knockout.
*Went to England in May 1984 and knocked out undefeated Brit [[Frank Bruno]] in ten rounds.
*Fought [[Larry Holmes]] for the [[IBF]] Heavyweight Championship in November 1984 and was stopped on a cut in the twelfth round.
*When [[Tony Tubbs]] pulled out of his rematch with [[WBA]] Heavyweight Champion [[Tim Witherspoon]] in December 1986, Smith took the fight on a one week notice. Smith, who had been outpointed by Witherspoon the previous year, stopped Witherspoon in the first round to win the [[WBA]] Heavyweight Championship.
*Fought [[WBC]] Heavyweight Champion [[Mike Tyson]] in a unification bout in March 1986. Smith fought a very defensive fight and had two points deducted for excessive holding. The fans booed the lack of action throughout the bout. The best action of the fight occurred in the final seconds of the last round when Smith buckled Tyson's knees with a right. Tyson won by a lopsided decision.
*Smith's last fight was a rematch with Larry Holmes in 1999. The 49-year-old Holmes stopped the 46-year-old Smith in eight rounds.
*Faced eight past, present or future world champions ([[Frank Bruno]], [[Larry Holmes]], [[Tim Witherspoon]], [[Tony Tubbs]], [[Mike Weaver]], [[Mike Tyson]], [[Greg Page]], [[Michael Moorer]]), and had a record of 4-7 against them.

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Tim Witherspoon]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Mike Tyson]]|
years=1986 Dec 12 – 1987 Mar 7
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James (Bonecrusher)}}
[[Category:African American Boxers]]
[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:American World Champions]]

Larry Holmes vs. Michael Spinks (2nd meeting)

2020-07-08T19:46:18Z

Incitatus: /* Notes */

[[File:Holmes-Spinks II 84389863.jpg|right|370px]]
[[File:Holmes-Spinks II BE056564.jpg|right|370px]]
[[File:Holmes-Spinks II BE056566.jpg|right|370px]]
[[File:Holmes-Spinks II U86155124.jpg|right|370px]]
[[File:Holmes-Spinks II U86129042-7.jpg|right|370px]]
<fight>1946</fight>
*'''Unofficial AP scorecard:''' 143-142 Holmes
*'''Unofficial UPI scorecard:''' 143-142 Spinks
*'''Unofficial HBO Judge [[Harold Lederman]]:''' 144-141 Holmes
*'''[[International Boxing Federation]] Heavyweight Title''' (1st defense by Spinks)
*[[:File:1986-04-19 - Michael Spinks vs. Larry Holmes (Poster).jpg|Fight Poster]], [[:Image:F1946b.jpeg|Photo 6]], [[:Image:F1946c.jpeg|Photo 7]], [[:Image:F1946d.jpeg|Photo 8]], [[:Image:F1946e.jpeg|Photo 9]], [[:Image:F1946f.jpeg|Photo 10]], [[:Image:F1946g.jpeg|Photo 11]], [[:Image:F1946h.jpeg|Photo 12]], [[:Image:F1946i.jpeg|Photo 13]], [[:Image:F1946.jpeg|Photo 14]]
*'''See Also:''' [[Larry Holmes vs. Michael Spinks (1st meeting)]]

==Notes==
*The fight was billed as "Vindication in Vegas."
*Holmes was a 7½ to 5 betting favorite.
*Spinks' purse was $2 million and Holmes' was $1.125 million.
*Tickets were priced at $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50.
*There was a crowd of 8,328.
*The fight was televised live on [[HBO]].
*"The last time, I worked on becoming a heavyweight," Spinks before the fight. "For this fight, I started as a heavyweight and just worked on improving what beat Larry the last time."
*Shortly before the fight, Holmes said the judges "must have been drunk" when they scored his first fight with Spinks.
*As ring announcer [[Chuck Hull]] read off the scorecards after the fight, Holmes turned to his trainer, [[Richie Giachetti]], and moaned, "Oh, no, I've got a big mouth."
*After the fight, Holmes said: "The judges, referees and promoters can kiss me where the sun don't shine—and because we're on HBO, that's my big black behind."
*Spinks landed 296 of 680 punches (43%) while Holmes connected on 293 of 724 (40%).
*42 of 46 sportswriters polled after the fight scored it for Holmes.

'''Spinks Earns Split-Decision By Wearing Down Holmes'''

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — Michael Spinks figured Larry Holmes would come out desperate for an early knockout, so he was ready. To run, that is.

Spinks threw only seven punches in the first round and ran from Holmes the first four rounds before coming on strong Saturday night to take a split-decision win and keep his portion of the heavyweight crown.

It was a fight Spinks won as much with his head as with his fists.

"I had to stay cool and calm, then break his morale," said Spinks. "Larry proved to be one hell of a champion. He was a die-hard out there tonight."

The fight was the second loss to Spinks in a row for Holmes, who had won 48 straight fights while dominating the heavyweight ranks for 7½ years. It also marked the end of an era, as a tearful Holmes said he would fight no more.

"It's over, this is it," the former champion said. "I don't need it, I don't need the aggravation."

The sold-out crowd of nearly 9,000 at the Las Vegas Hilton watched as Holmes built up a big early lead, but seemingly wore down as Spinks mounted his own attack from the fifth round on.

Holmes still had enough left to stagger Spinks in the 14th round with a right hand that caused the champion's knees to buckle. But it was a mark of his loss of skills that Holmes was unable to finish Spinks off.

It was that vaunted right hand that Spinks worked so hard to stay away from in the early rounds, and it almost cost him the fight. Spinks lost the first four rounds on all ringside scorecards to dig a hole he almost couldn't crawl out from.

But beginning with round five, it was a different story. The gangly Spinks started getting his unorthodox jab in and began connecting with his left hook. Holmes, who had seemed to be able to do what he wanted early, suddenly had trouble pulling the trigger.

Spinks dominated the middle rounds, changing the flow of the fight by backing Holmes up with left hooks that landed often. By the end of the 11th round, Spinks had pulled ahead on one scorecard and even on another. The fight was essentially a draw with four rounds to go.

"I looked up and saw the ring card for the 12th round and I said to myself, 'If you're going to win it, you've got to win it now,'" said Spinks.

That meant going in and trading punches with Holmes, still dangerous and throwing right hands despite a right thumb he said he fractured in the third round. Spinks said he knew the risks of the strategy.

He came out throwing punches in the 15th round and seemed in control of the possibly deciding round until a Holmes right with only a minute left stunned him again. But it was too late as Spinks not only lasted the round, but won it on two of the three scorecards. The fighters embraced with Spinks telling Holmes, "In my mind, you'll always be a champion."

One judge favored Holmes by three points, but the two other judges liked Spinks, by two and three points, respectively. It was a decision Holmes found tough to swallow, just like the first fight between the two.

"I think I won the fight more convincingly this time," Holmes told reporters gathered in his suite several hours after the fight. "How many times do I continue to have to prove myself?"

==Articles==
*[http://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/04/19/Michael-Spinks-fighting-the-way-Larry-Holmes-did-when/3251514270800/ "Spinks Decisions Holmes" By Dave Raffo, United Press International, April 19, 1985]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19860419&id=gj1WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4-kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1848,1388091&hl=en "Spinks beats Holmes again with a split decision" By Ed Schuyler Jr., Associated Press, April 20, 1986]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1986/04/28/629153/battle-of-the-ballot "Battle Of The Ballot" By Pat Putnam, Sports Illustrated, April 28, 1986]

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-07-08T18:57:33Z

Incitatus: /* Media Scorecards */

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Championship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*Mitch Albom of the ''Detroit Free Press'': Leonard ("Hagler was outfoxed")
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*[[Bob Arum]]: 7-5 Hagler
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the ''Boston Globe'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*[[Gil Clancy]]: 115-113 Leonard
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*Bernard Fernandez of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-4-1 Leonard
*[[Eddie Futch]]: Hagler ("probably by two or three rounds")
*[[Bill Gallo]] of the ''New York Daily News'': Hagler ("slightly ahead")
*Joe Gergen of ''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*Stan Hochman of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
*[[Jim Jacobs]]: Leonard ("I thought Ray won clearly")
* Jim Jenkins of the ''Sacramento Bee'': 116-114 Hagler
*[[Michael Katz]] of the ''New York Daily News'': 117-112 Leonard
*Steve Kelley of the ''Seattle Times'': 115-113 Hagler
*James Lawton of the ''Daily Express'' (UK): 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Bernie Lincicome of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Greg Logan of ''Newsday'': 114-114
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*[[Hugh McIlvanney]] of ''The Observer'' (UK)/''Sports Illustrated'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*Norm Miller of the ''New York Post'': 114-114
*[[Harry Mullan]] of ''British Boxing News'': 116-113 Hagler
*Jim Murray of the ''Los Angeles Times'': 117-111 Leonard
*[[William Nack]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-114 Leonard
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*Dave Newhouse of the ''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*Edwin Pope of the ''Miami Herald'': 116-112 Hagler
*Mark Purdy of the ''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*George Puscas of the ''Detroit Free Press'': 115-113 Hagler
*Pat Putnam of ''Sports Illustrated'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of CBS: 115-114 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*Steve Sneddon of the ''Reno Gazette-Journal'': 117-113 Leonard
*Elmer Smith of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-5 Hagler
*[[Emanuel Steward]]: Hagler ("by a point")
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*Bob Verdi of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Washington Post'': 114-114
* Dick Young of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Leonard

*A ''Newsday'' poll of 25 ringside observers turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Dariusz Michalczewski

2020-07-07T15:07:21Z

Incitatus:

[[File:Dariusz Michalczewski.JPG|left|275px]]
<boxer>004141</boxer>
'''Manager:''' [[Klaus-Peter Kohl]] 
'''Trainer:''' [[Fritz Sdunek]] 
 

==Professional career==
*Michalczewski won the [[WBO]] light heavyweight title with a 12 round decision over [[Leeonzer Barber]] in 1994.
*Defeated reigning IBF, WBA and lineal light heavyweight champion [[Virgil Hill]] on [[Dariusz Michalczewski vs. Virgil Hill|June 13, 1997]]
*Won the WBO cruiserweight title in December 1994, beating [[Nestor Hipolito Giovannini]], before returning to light heavyweight.
*Made 23 successful defenses of his light heavyweight title from 1994-2003.
*He came within one fight of tying [[Rocky Marciano]]'s career record of 49-0, but lost his 49th fight to [[Julio Cesar Gonzalez]] on a [[Dariusz Michalczewski vs. Julio Cesar Gonzalez|split decision]] in October 2003.
*Michalczewski also defeated [[Montell Griffin]], [[Richard Hall]], [[Graciano Rocchigiani]], and [[Drake Thadzi]].
*In February 2005, after 14 months of inactivity, he returned to challenge [[Fabrice Tiozzo]] for the WBA light heavyweight title and lost on a sixth round TKO.
*For years a bout with [[Roy Jones Jr.]], was discussed, but never happened due to various reasons. Both parties pointed the fingers towards each other for this.

==Amateur Achievements==
Amateur Record: 133-15-2 (83 KO's)

*1986 - European Junior Semi-Finalist in the middleweight division, defeating Fabrice Tiozzo but losing to [[Ray Close]]
*1990 - German National Champion in the light heavyweight division
*1991 - European Champion in the light heavyweight division

== Career Factoids ==
*Has a record of 25-2 (20 KOs) in World Title fights.
*Has a record of 6-2 (3 KO) against former or current world titlists.
**Won against [[Leeonzer Barber]], [[Nestor Hipolito Giovannini]], [[Graciano Rocchigiani]] (twice), [[Virgil Hill]], [[Montell Griffin]]
**Lost against [[Julio Cesar Gonzalez]], [[Fabrice Tiozzo]]

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Leeonzer Barber]]|
title=[[WBO Light Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Julio Cesar Gonzalez]]|
years=1994 Sep 10 – 2003 Oct 18
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Nestor Hipolito Giovannini]]|
title=[[WBO Cruiserweight Champion]]|
after=[[Ralf Rocchigiani]]|
years=1994 Dec 17 – 1995 Jan '''Vacated'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Virgil Hill]]|
title=[[WBA Light Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Lou Del Valle]]|
years=1997 Jun 13 – 1997 Jul 1 '''Vacated'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Virgil Hill]]|
title=[[IBF Light Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[William Guthrie]]|
years=1997 Jun 13 – 1997 Jun 16 '''Vacated'''
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michalczewski, Dariusz}}
[[Category:World Light Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:World Cruiserweight Champions]]
[[Category:Two Division World Champions]]
[[Category:Polish World Champions]]

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-07-07T14:17:56Z

Incitatus:

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Championship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the ''Boston Globe'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*Bernard Fernandez of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-4-1 Leonard
*[[Bill Gallo]] of the ''New York Daily News'': Hagler ("slightly ahead")
*Joe Gergen of ''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*Stan Hochman of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
* Jim Jenkins of the ''Sacramento Bee'': 116-114 Hagler
*[[Michael Katz]] of the ''New York Daily News'': 117-112 Leonard
*Steve Kelley of the ''Seattle Times'': 115-113 Hagler
*James Lawton of the ''Daily Express'' (UK): 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Bernie Lincicome of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*[[Hugh McIlvanney]] of ''The Observer'' (UK)/''Sports Illustrated'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*Norm Miller of the ''New York Post'': 114-114
*[[Harry Mullan]] of ''British Boxing News'': 116-113 Hagler
*Jim Murray of the ''Los Angeles Times'': 117-111 Leonard
*[[William Nack]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-114 Leonard
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*Dave Newhouse of the ''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*Edwin Pope of the ''Miami Herald'': 116-112 Hagler
*Mark Purdy of the ''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*Pat Putnam of ''Sports Illustrated'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of CBS: 115-114 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*Elmer Smith of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-5 Hagler
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*Bob Verdi of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Washington Post'': 114-114
* Dick Young of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Leonard

A ''Newsday'' poll of 25 ringside observers turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-07-07T14:17:13Z

Incitatus:

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Championship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the ''Boston Globe'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*Bernard Fernandez of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-4-1 Leonard
*[[Bill Gallo]] of the ''New York Daily News'': Hagler ("slightly ahead")
*Joe Gergen of ''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*Stan Hochman of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
* Jim Jenkins of the ''Sacramento Bee'': 116-114 Hagler
*[[Michael Katz]] of the ''New York Daily News'': 117-112 Leonard
*Steve Kelley of the ''Seattle Times'': 115-113 Hagler
*James Lawton of the ''Daily Express'' (UK): 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Bernie Lincicome of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*[[Hugh McIlvanney]] of ''The Observer'' (UK)/''Sports Illustrated'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*Norm Miller of the ''New York Post'': 114-114
*[[Harry Mullan]] of ''British Boxing News'': 116-113 Hagler
*Jim Murray of the ''Los Angeles Times'': 117-111 Leonard
*[[William Nack]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-114 Leonard
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*Dave Newhouse of the ''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*Edwin Pope of the ''Miami Herald'': 116-112 Hagler
*Mark Purdy of the ''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*Pat Putnam of ''Sports Illustrated'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of CBS: 115-114 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*Elmer Smith of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-5 Hagler
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*Bob Verdi of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Washington Post'': 114-114
* Dick Young of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Leonard

A ''Newsday'' poll of 25 ringsider observers turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Nino Benvenuti vs. Tom Bethea (1st meeting)

2020-07-04T11:12:26Z

Incitatus:

<fight>22987</fight>

Melbourne, Australia (AP) – Tom “the Bomb” Bethea, a virtually unknown New Yorker who had lost his last four fights, scored one of the greatest ring upsets of the decade by stopping world middleweight champion Nino Benvenuti in the eighth round of a non-title ten rounder Friday night.

The 31-year-old Italian, who had absorbed a fierce beating and had been dropped in the seventh round, quit in the first few seconds of the eighth, complaining of a rib injury.

It was scored an eighth round knockout, marking the first time in his 85 fight, 10-year pro career that the handsome Italian had been stopped. His record is 80-4-1.

==Notes==
* See also: [[Nino Benvenuti vs. Tom Bethea (2nd meeting)]]

Tom Bethea

2020-07-03T22:30:15Z

Incitatus:

[[file:9812.jpg|250px|left]]
<boxer>009812</boxer>
'''Manager''': [[Gil Clancy]]

*Scored a big upset when he knocked out reigning middleweight champion [[Nino Benvenuti]] in a 1970 non-title fight.
*Fought five world champions: Benvenuti, [[Carlos Monzon]], [[Luis Manuel Rodriguez|Luis Rodriguez]], [[Marvin Johnson]] and [[Michael Spinks]].
*Challenged Benvenuti for the world middleweight title in 1970, losing by an eighth round KO.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bethea, Tom}}
[[Category:African American Boxers]]

Nino Benvenuti vs. Tom Bethea (2nd meeting)

2020-07-03T21:15:15Z

Incitatus:

<fight>22988</fight>
*'''[[World Boxing Association]] Middleweight Title''' (4th defending of Benvenuti) 
*'''[[World Boxing Council]] Middleweight Title''' (4th defending of Benvenuti) 
*'''Time:''' 2:43 
*'''Weights:''' 160 lbs (each)

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Nino Benvenuti vs. Luis Manuel Rodriguez|Benvenuti vs. Rodriguez]]|
title=[[WBA Middleweight Title Fights|WBA Middleweight Title Fight]] # 16 [[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 14|
after=[[Nino Benvenuti vs. Carlos Monzon (1st meeting)|Benvenuti vs. Monzon I]]|
}}
{{end box}}

==See also==
*[[Nino Benvenuti vs. Tom Bethea (1st meeting)]]

Fight:22987

2020-07-03T21:13:33Z

Incitatus: Redirected page to Nino Benvenuti vs. Tom Bethea (1st meeting)

#REDIRECT [[Nino Benvenuti vs. Tom Bethea (1st meeting)]]

Nino Benvenuti vs. Tom Bethea (1st meeting)

2020-07-03T21:13:23Z

Incitatus: Created page with "<fight>22987</fight> Melbourne, Australia (AP) – Tom “the Bomb” Bethea, a virtually unknown New Yorker who had lost his last four fights, scored one of the greatest rin..."

<fight>22987</fight>

Melbourne, Australia (AP) – Tom “the Bomb” Bethea, a virtually unknown New Yorker who had lost his last four fights, scored one of the greatest ring upsets of the decade by stopping world middleweight champion Nino Benvenuti in the eighth round of a non-title ten rounder Friday night.

The 31-year-old Italian, who had absorbed a fierce beating and had been dropped in the seventh round, quit in the first few seconds of the eighth, complaining of a rib injury.

It was scored an eighth round knockout, marking the first time in his 85 fight, 10-year pro career that the handsome Italian had been stopped. His record his 80-4-1.

==Notes==
* See also: [[Nino Benvenuti vs. Tom Bethea (2nd meeting)]]

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-07-02T18:23:08Z

Incitatus: /* Media Scorecards */

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Championship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the ''Boston Globe'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*Bernard Fernandez of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-4-1 Leonard
*[[Bill Gallo]] of the ''New York Daily News'': Hagler ("slightly ahead")
*Joe Gergen of ''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*Stan Hochman of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
* Jim Jenkins of the ''Sacramento Bee'': 116-114 Hagler
*[[Michael Katz]] of the ''New York Daily News'': 117-112 Leonard
*Steve Kelley of the ''Seattle Times'': 115-113 Hagler
*James Lawton of the ''Daily Express'' (UK): 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Bernie Lincicome of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*[[Hugh McIlvanney]] of ''The Observer'' (UK)/''Sports Illustrated'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*Norm Miller of the ''New York Post'': 114-114
*Jim Murray of the ''Los Angeles Times'': 117-111 Leonard
*[[William Nack]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-114 Leonard
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*Dave Newhouse of the ''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*Edwin Pope of the ''Miami Herald'': 116-112 Hagler
*Mark Purdy of the ''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*Pat Putnam of ''Sports Illustrated'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of CBS: 115-114 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*Elmer Smith of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'': 7-5 Hagler
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*Bob Verdi of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Washington Post'': 114-114
* Dick Young of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Leonard

A poll of 25 ringsiders turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Graciano Rocchigiani

2020-07-02T12:32:03Z

Incitatus:

[[file:Rocchigiani.Graciano.jpg|210px|left|thumb]]
<boxer>000621</boxer>
'''Trainer:''' [[Emanuel Steward]]
 

*1982 German light middleweight National Amateur Champion
*Brother of [[Ralf Rocchigiani]]
*Won the vacant IBF world super middleweight championship on March 11, 1988 with an 8th round TKO of [[Vincent Boulware]].
*Won the WBC light heavyweight championship on March 21, 1998, after beating [[Michael Nunn]] via a split decision.
*Had other notable fights with [[Dariusz Michalczewski]], [[Chris Eubank]], [[Thulani Malinga]] and [[Henry Maske]].
*He is also known for the [[Graciano Rocchigiani vs. Michael Nunn|controversy surrounding his WBC light heavyweight title]], when the WBC subsequently downgraded Rocchigiani's status to "interim champion" and restored the world title to [[Roy Jones Jr.]], who had vacated the belt to pursue fights at heavyweight, then changed his mind and returned to the division.
*Rocchigiani successfully sued the WBC and forced it to file bankruptcy. He came to an undisclosed agreement with the organization and his status as WBC light heavyweight champion was restored from March 28, 1998 (when he defeated Nunn) to April 15, 2000 (when he lost to [[Dariusz Michalczewski]]).
*Rocchigiani died in Italy when he was run over by a car while taking a walk.

{{start box}}
{{succession box|
before=[[Chong-Pal Park]] Vacated|
title=[[IBF Super Middleweight Champion]]|
after=[[Lindell Holmes]]|
years=1988 Mar 11 – 1989 Jan 27 '''Vacated'''
}}
{{succession box|
before=—|
title=[[WBC Light Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=—|
years=1998 Mar 21 – 2000 Apr 15 '''Restored Champion'''
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocchigiani, Graciano}}
[[Category:2018 Deaths]]
[[Category:World Super Middleweight Champions]]
[[Category:World Light Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:Two Division World Champions]]
[[Category:German World Champions]]
[[Category:Southpaw World Champions]]

Dariusz Michalczewski vs. Graciano Rocchigiani (1st meeting)

2020-07-02T12:11:33Z

Incitatus: /* Comment(s): */

Dariusz Michalczewski vs. Graciano Rocchigiani (1st meeting)

2020-07-02T12:11:10Z

Incitatus:

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-07-02T09:42:00Z

Incitatus:

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Championship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the ''Boston Globe'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*Joe Gergen of ''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
* Jim Jenkins of the ''Sacramento Bee'': 116-114 Hagler
*[[Michael Katz]] of the ''New York Daily News'': 117-112 Leonard
*Steve Kelley of the ''Seattle Times'': 115-113 Hagler
*James Lawton of the ''Daily Express'' (UK): 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Bernie Lincicome of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*[[Hugh McIlvanney]] of ''The Observer'' (UK)/''Sports Illustrated'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*Norm Miller of the ''New York Post'': 114-114
*Jim Murray of the ''Los Angeles Times'': 117-111 Leonard
*[[William Nack]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-114 Leonard
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*Dave Newhouse of the ''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*Edwin Pope of the ''Miami Herald'': 116-112 Hagler
*Mark Purdy of the ''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*Pat Putnam of ''Sports Illustrated'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of CBS: 115-114 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*Bob Verdi of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Washington Post'': 114-114
* Dick Young of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Leonard

A poll of 25 ringsiders turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-07-01T21:18:54Z

Incitatus: /* Media Scorecards */

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Champinship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the ''Boston Globe'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*Joe Gergen of ''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
* Jim Jenkins of the ''Sacramento Bee'': 116-114 Hagler
*[[Michael Katz]] of the ''New York Daily News'': 117-112 Leonard
*Steve Kelley of the ''Seattle Times'': 115-113 Hagler
*James Lawton of the ''Daily Express'' (UK): 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Bernie Lincicome of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*Hugh McIlvanny of ''The Observer'' (UK)/''Sports Illustrated'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*Norm Miller of the ''New York Post'': 114-114
*Jim Murray of the ''Los Angeles Times'': 117-111 Leonard
*[[William Nack]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-114 Leonard
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*Dave Newhouse of the ''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*Edwin Pope of the ''Miami Herald'': 116-112 Hagler
*Mark Purdy of the ''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*Pat Putnam of ''Sports Illustrated'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of CBS: 115-114 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*Bob Verdi of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Washington Post'': 114-114
* Dick Young of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Leonard

A poll of 25 ringsiders turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Sonny Liston

2020-06-30T17:27:12Z

Incitatus: /* Historical Rankings */

[[File:Liston BE055243.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Charles "Sonny" Liston]]
{{ibhof |url=http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/liston.html}}
<boxer>009031</boxer>
*'''Managers:''' [[Jack Nilon]], [[Joe (Pep) Barone]], [[Eddie Polino]], [[George Katz]], [[Frank Mitchell]], [[Dick Sadler]]
*'''Trainers:''' [[Willie Reddish]], [[Dick Sadler]], [[Johnny Tocco]]
*'''Cut Men:''' [[Joe Polino]], [[Milt Bailey]]
*'''[[:Category:Sonny Liston Gallery|Sonny Liston Gallery]]
== Mysteries Surrounding Birth ==
There is no official record of Sonny Liston's birth. He was born on a farm in Arkansas, a state which did not require mandatory birth certificates until 1965. Liston told sportswriter Jerry Izenberg that his date of birth was carved on a tree, but it was chopped down.

When Liston was arrested for robbery in 1950, he gave his age as 22. When he filed for a birth certificate for legal reasons in 1953, he said his date of birth as May 8, 1932. And when he testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee in 1960, he said he was born in 1933.

Liston's mother said he was born on January 8, 1932. She said the date was recorded in a family Bible, but the Bible was lost somewhere along the way. Sometimes she said the date was January 18. "I know he was born in January," she recalled. "It was cold in January." Liston biographer Nick Tosches found that a sibling’s birth was registered as January 8th and supposed that she mixed them up. Other times she said Sonny was born between 1929 and 1930. She also said she thought he was born in 1927. Boxing writer Springs Toledo believes she confused the year of his birth with the birth year of another sibling, which was 1927. Another time, she said she believed his birthday was July 22.

When the records from the 1930 United States Census were released in 2002—access to personally identifiable information from census records is restricted for 72 years—Liston's name was absent. Ten years later, when the 1940 Census records became available, Charles L. Liston was listed on the Liston family card. His age was listed as 10.

Based on the census information and statements from Liston's mother, Springs Toledo believes Liston may have been born on July 22, 1930.

== Early Life and Amateur Career ==
Liston's childhood was one of poverty, pain and illiteracy. Brutal and frequent beatings from his father caused Liston to pursue his mother to St. Louis in the mid-1940s.

In St. Louis, Liston was in frequent trouble with the law. After many minor arrests, Liston was arrested for armed robbery and sentenced to prison. During his stay, his talent for boxing was discovered by a Catholic priest. Through the actions of the priest, Liston was paroled early and began a career in boxing.

Liston's amateur career spanned less than a year. He captured the [[Chicago Golden Gloves]] Tournament of Champions on March 6, 1953, with a victory over 1952 [[Olympics|Olympic]] gold medalist [[Ed Sanders]], and then won the [[Intercity Golden Gloves]] Championship on March 26, 1953, with a win against [[Julius Griffin]].

===1953 Amateur Highlights===
*'''St. Louis Golden Gloves'''
**Feb 13 Luther Corder KO 2
**Feb 13 [[Lloyd Willis]] W 3 - Finals
*'''Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions'''
**Feb 24 [[Donnie Fleeman]] KO 3
**Feb 24 Carl McClure W 3
**Feb 25 [[Tullos Lee Mead]] KO 2 - Quarterfinals
**Mar 6 [[Ben Bankhead]] W 3 - Semifinals
**Mar 6 Ed Sanders W 3 - Finals
*'''Intercity Golden Gloves Championship''' (Chicago, IL)
**Mar 26 [[Julius Griffin]] W 3
*'''National AAU Tournament''' (Boston, MA)
**Apr 14 Lou Graff KO 1
**Apr 15 [[Jimmy McCarter]] L 3 - Quarterfinals

'''International Golden Gloves''' (St. Louis, MO) 
Jun 23 Herman Schreibauer TKO 1 

{{start box}}
{{succession box | title=[[Chicago Golden Gloves|Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions]] Heavyweight Champion | before= [[Ed Sanders]]| after= [[Garvin Sawyer]]| years= 1953}}

{{succession box |
before= [[Norvel Lee]]|
title= [[Intercity Golden Gloves|Intercity Golden Gloves]] Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1953 |
after= [[Len Kanthal]]}}
{{end box}}

== Early Professional Career ==
Liston began his professional career with a first-round knockout of Don Smith and built up a nine fight winning streak against mainly unremarkable opposition. He made his debut on national television against [[Johnny Summerlin]], winning a decision after eight rounds. He was handed his first defeat by awkward journeyman [[Marty Marshall]] on September 7, 1954. While laughing at his opponent's unorthodox ring tactics, Liston was caught by a Marshall right hand and suffered a broken jaw, but still lasted the distance, losing on an eighth-round split decision. He met Marshall again seven months later, on April 21, 1955, and won by a sixth-round TKO after flooring Marshall four times. Liston won their rubber match on March 6, 1956 by a lopsided ten-round unanimous decision to extend his record to 14-1. However, on May 6, 1956 Liston and a friend, William Patterson, were arrested for beating patrolman Thomas Mellow, who was attempting to issue a ticket on Patterson's illegally parked taxi-cab. Mellow suffered head injuries, a broken leg and had his service revolver stolen by the two (it was later recovered). On January 29, 1957 Liston pled guilty to assault, robbery and interfering with an officer and was sentenced to nine months in the City Workhouse.

== Heavyweight Contender ==
Liston returned to the ring in 1958, embarking on an rigorous campaign which would see him level the entire heavyweight division and become the only logical contender to champion [[Floyd Patterson]]'s crown. But it would be four years before Liston finally earned a shot at the title, with Patterson's handlers citing Liston's links to organized crime as a reason to avoid the match-up. Liston knocked out some of the best heavyweights of the late 1950s and early 1960s: [[Nino Valdes]] (KO 3), [[Wayne Bethea]] (TKO 1), [[Zora Folley]] (KO 3), [[Mike DeJohn]] (TKO 6), [[Roy Harris]] (TKO 1), [[Albert Westphal]] (KO 1), and the hard-punching [[Cleveland Williams]] twice in classic slugfests (TKO 3 and TKO 2). Only two opponents were able to last the distance: [[Bert Whitehurst]] twice in 1958 (he barely survived the second fight, getting knocked through the ropes in the final seconds of the bout) and [[Eddie Machen]] in 1960. Both adopted ultra-cautious tactics, and Liston won comfortably on points. By 1960, Liston was rated the [[National Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1960|number one contender]] by the NBA.

== World Heavyweight Champion ==
After years of pressure, Patterson finally defied his manager, [[Cus D'Amato]], and signed to fight Liston. The fight took place on [[Floyd Patterson vs. Sonny Liston (1st meeting)|September 25, 1962]], in Chicago, Illinois. Once the bell rang, it soon became clear that Patterson lacked the strength and power to keep Liston away. Liston pinned Patterson on the ropes in the first round and felled the champion with a series of blows to the head. Patterson was unable to beat the count, and the bout was over at 2:05 of the opening stanza. Liston was the new [[World Heavyweight Champion]]. They had a rematch on [[Sonny Liston vs. Floyd Patterson (2nd meeting)|July 22, 1963]], and Patterson was able to last just four seconds longer. Liston won by a knockout at 2:09 of the first round.

In the early 1960s, a brash and talented young heavyweight named [[Muhammad Ali|Cassius Clay]] emerged onto the boxing scene. In his bid to earn a title shot, Clay christened Liston a "big, ugly bear" and consistently taunted him, even leaving bear traps outside of Liston's house. They fought on [[Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay (1st meeting)|February 15, 1964]]. Despite Liston entering the ring as an 8-1 favorite, the quick and agile Clay proved an elusive target. Liston struggled to land clean blows, while Clay scored with quick combinations. After six rounds, it was all over. Liston, claiming an injured shoulder, failed to answer the bell for the seventh round, handing Clay the championship.

The rematch between Liston and Clay (by then known as Muhammad Ali) took place on [[Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston (2nd meeting)|May 25, 1965]]. It is among the most controversial bouts in boxing history. Midway through the first round, Liston threw a left jab and Ali went over it with a fast right, knocking the former champion down. Many in attendance felt the punch was innocuous. The fight quickly descended into chaos. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former World Heavyweight Champion himself, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner—Ali initially stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!"—and Walcott never picked up the count from the knockdown timekeeper.

After Liston arose, Walcott wiped off his gloves and then left the fighters to go over to [[Nat Fleischer]], founder and editor of [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']], who was shouting at Walcott from ringside, telling him that Liston had been down for more than ten seconds. Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fight, awarding Ali a first-round knockout victory.

The so-called "phantom punch" (named the "anchor punch" by Ali) remains controversial to this day, with rumors persisting that Liston took a dive, under pressure from either the mob or the Black Muslims.

== Post Championship ==
Following the bout with Ali, Liston remained inactive for over a year. He made a comeback in 1966, winning four consecutive bouts in Sweden, which were promoted by former World Heavyweight Champion [[Ingemar Johansson]]. He won fourteen consecutive bouts against relatively obscure opposition before suffering a knockout loss against [[Leotis Martin]] on [[Sonny Liston vs. Leotis Martin|December 6, 1969]]. Liston dropped Martin in the fourth round and was leading on all three scorecards when he was put down for the count by a vicious right hand from. It would prove to be the penultimate fight of Liston's career. His final bout came against future heavyweight title challenger [[Chuck Wepner]] on [[Sonny Liston vs. Chuck Wepner|June 29, 1970]]: Liston won by a TKO after Wepner was unable to continue after round nine due to heavy cuts.

== Mysteries Surrounding Death ==
Following the win over Wepner, Liston was going to face Canadian champion [[George Chuvalo]], but the fight never happened. “When I signed to fight him (in December 1970) he’d been dead for a week," Chuvalo stated years later. "He passed away after I’d sent a telegram to the promoter, agreeing terms to the fight at the Montreal Forum. A day or so later a news report flashes up saying former heavyweight champion of the world Sonny Liston found dead at his Las Vegas home. I’d actually signed a contract to face a dead man.”

Liston was found dead by his wife, Geraldine, in their Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971. On returning home from a two-week trip, Geraldine had smelled a foul odor emanating from the main bedroom and on entering saw Sonny slumped up against the bed, a broken foot bench on the floor. Authorities theorized that he was undressing for bed when he fell over backward with such force that he broke the rail of the bench. Geraldine called Sonny's attorney and his doctor but didn't notify the police until two to three hours later.

Sergeant Dennis Caputo of the Clark County Sheriff’s Department was one of the first officers on the scene. Caputo found a quarter-ounce of heroin in a balloon in the kitchen and a half-ounce of marijuana in Liston's pants pocket, but no syringes or needles. Some found it suspicious that authorities could not locate any drug paraphernalia that Liston presumably would have needed to inject the fatal dose, such as a spoon to cook the heroin or a tourniquet to wrap around his arm. However, former Las Vegas police sergeant Gary Beckwith said, "It wasn't uncommon for family members in these cases to go through and tidy up...to save family embarrassment."

Following an investigation, Las Vegas police concluded that there were no signs of foul play and declared Liston's death a heroin overdose. “It was common knowledge that Sonny was a heroin addict,” said Caputo. “The whole department knew about it.” The date of death listed on his death certificate is December 30, 1970, which police estimated by judging the number of milk bottles and newspapers at the front door.

Coroner Mark Herman said traces of heroin byproducts were found in Liston’s system, but not in amounts large enough to have caused his death. Also, scar tissue, possibly from needle marks, was found in the left bend of Liston's elbow. The toxicology report said his body was too decomposed for the tests to be conclusive. Officially, Liston died of lung congestion and heart failure. Lisnon had been hospitalized in early December, complaining of chest pains.

His funeral was attended by many of boxing's dignitaries, including former World Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis, who was a pall-bearer.

Sonny Liston is interred in Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada. His headstone bears the simple epitaph: "A Man."

==Historical Rankings==
*Historian [[Herbert Goldman]] ranked Liston as the third greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1997.
*The [[Ring Magazine: Holiday 1998|1998 Holiday issue]] of [[Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']] ranked Liston as the seventh [[Division-By-Division - The Greatest Fighters of All-Time|greatest heavyweight of all-time]].
*The Associated Press ranked Liston as the seventh best heavyweight of the twentieth century in 1999.
*The [[Ring Yearbook: 2003 Edition|2003 edition]] of ''The Ring Yearbook'' ranked Liston as the fifteenth [[The 100 Greatest Punchers of All-Time!|greatest puncher of all-time]].
*Liston was named the 8th greatest heavyweight of all time in a 2020 IBRO vote. In the 2005 vote, he was 9th.

== Media ==
*Liston appeared on the [[Wikipedia:The_Ed_Sullivan_Show|''The Ed Sullivan Show'']] and showcased his jump-roping skills. He also appeared on [[Wikipedia:The_Jack_Benny_Program|''The Jack Benny Program'']] and [[Wikipedia:The_Joey_Bishop_Show_(talk show)|''The Joey Bishop Show'']].
*Liston and [[Joe Louis]] were in the audience during The Beatles' second appearance on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'', which came from Miami Beach, Florida on February 16, 1964. Sullivan introduced Liston and Louis during the show.
*Liston started acting in the mid-1960s. He appeared in the movies [[Wikipedia:Harlow_(Paramount film)|''Harlow'']], [[Wikipedia:Head_(film)|''Head'']] and [[Wikipedia:Moonfire_(1973 film)|''Moonfire'']]. He also appeared on the TV series [[Wikipedia:Love,_American_Style|''Love, American Style'']].
*Liston appeared in a television commercial for [[Wikipedia:Braniff_International_Airways|Braniff International Airways]] with acclaimed [[Wikipedia:Pop_art|Pop artist]] [[Wikipedia:Andy_Warhol|Andy Warhol]].

== External Links ==
*Grave site: [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=632]
*Internet Movie Database: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0514288/]
*Cyber Boxing Zone article: "The Menacing Black Bear" [http://cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/box2-00.htm#liston]
*ESPN article: "Liston was trouble in and out of ring" [http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/Liston_Sonny.html]
*TheSweetScience.com article: "The Mysterious Birth of Sonny Liston" [http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/articles/1639-the-mysterious-birth-of-sonny-liston]
*FightKings.com article: "Exhuming the Bear" [http://www.fightkings.com/boxing/featured-article/exhuming-the-bear-a-book-about-sonny-bear/]
*TheSweetScience.com article: "A Birthday for Sonny Liston" [http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/articles-frontpage/15175-a-birthday-for-sonny-liston]
*Boxing.com article: "The Death of Sonny Liston" [http://www.boxing.com/the_death_of_sonny_liston.html]
*Nick Tosches biography: [[Devil and Sonny Liston|''The Devil and Sonny Liston'']] [http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/t/tosches-liston.html]
*[[Wikipedia: Sonny_Liston|Wikipedia biography]]

== Published References ==
*A.S. Young, ''Sonny Liston: The Champ Nobody Wanted'' (1963).
*Robert L. Burnes, "Heavyweight with a Past" ''Saturday Evening Post'', 13 August 1960, pp. 56-58.
*Joe Flaherty, "A Right to the Jaw-That's Black Power" ''Esquire'', March 1969, pp. 112-14.
*Bruce Jay Friedman, "Requiem for a Heavy" ''Esquire'', Aug. 1971, pp. 55-57.
*Luckett V. Davis, "Sonny Liston" in ''American National Biography'', pp. 733-34. (1999).

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Floyd Patterson]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]] [[NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Muhammad Ali|Cassius Clay]]|
years=1962 Sep 25 – 1964 Feb 25
}}
{{Succession box|
before=Inaugural Champion|
title=[[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Muhammad Ali|Cassius Clay]]|
years=1963 Feb 14 – 1964 Feb 25
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liston, Sonny}}
[[Category:Intercity Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:Chicago Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:American World Champions]]
[[Category:Referees]]
[[Category:IBHOF Members]]
[[Category:World Boxing Hall of Fame Members]]
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:The Ring Magazine Champions]]

Sonny Liston

2020-06-30T17:18:46Z

Incitatus: /* Heavyweight Contender */

[[File:Liston BE055243.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Charles "Sonny" Liston]]
{{ibhof |url=http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/liston.html}}
<boxer>009031</boxer>
*'''Managers:''' [[Jack Nilon]], [[Joe (Pep) Barone]], [[Eddie Polino]], [[George Katz]], [[Frank Mitchell]], [[Dick Sadler]]
*'''Trainers:''' [[Willie Reddish]], [[Dick Sadler]], [[Johnny Tocco]]
*'''Cut Men:''' [[Joe Polino]], [[Milt Bailey]]
*'''[[:Category:Sonny Liston Gallery|Sonny Liston Gallery]]
== Mysteries Surrounding Birth ==
There is no official record of Sonny Liston's birth. He was born on a farm in Arkansas, a state which did not require mandatory birth certificates until 1965. Liston told sportswriter Jerry Izenberg that his date of birth was carved on a tree, but it was chopped down.

When Liston was arrested for robbery in 1950, he gave his age as 22. When he filed for a birth certificate for legal reasons in 1953, he said his date of birth as May 8, 1932. And when he testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee in 1960, he said he was born in 1933.

Liston's mother said he was born on January 8, 1932. She said the date was recorded in a family Bible, but the Bible was lost somewhere along the way. Sometimes she said the date was January 18. "I know he was born in January," she recalled. "It was cold in January." Liston biographer Nick Tosches found that a sibling’s birth was registered as January 8th and supposed that she mixed them up. Other times she said Sonny was born between 1929 and 1930. She also said she thought he was born in 1927. Boxing writer Springs Toledo believes she confused the year of his birth with the birth year of another sibling, which was 1927. Another time, she said she believed his birthday was July 22.

When the records from the 1930 United States Census were released in 2002—access to personally identifiable information from census records is restricted for 72 years—Liston's name was absent. Ten years later, when the 1940 Census records became available, Charles L. Liston was listed on the Liston family card. His age was listed as 10.

Based on the census information and statements from Liston's mother, Springs Toledo believes Liston may have been born on July 22, 1930.

== Early Life and Amateur Career ==
Liston's childhood was one of poverty, pain and illiteracy. Brutal and frequent beatings from his father caused Liston to pursue his mother to St. Louis in the mid-1940s.

In St. Louis, Liston was in frequent trouble with the law. After many minor arrests, Liston was arrested for armed robbery and sentenced to prison. During his stay, his talent for boxing was discovered by a Catholic priest. Through the actions of the priest, Liston was paroled early and began a career in boxing.

Liston's amateur career spanned less than a year. He captured the [[Chicago Golden Gloves]] Tournament of Champions on March 6, 1953, with a victory over 1952 [[Olympics|Olympic]] gold medalist [[Ed Sanders]], and then won the [[Intercity Golden Gloves]] Championship on March 26, 1953, with a win against [[Julius Griffin]].

===1953 Amateur Highlights===
*'''St. Louis Golden Gloves'''
**Feb 13 Luther Corder KO 2
**Feb 13 [[Lloyd Willis]] W 3 - Finals
*'''Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions'''
**Feb 24 [[Donnie Fleeman]] KO 3
**Feb 24 Carl McClure W 3
**Feb 25 [[Tullos Lee Mead]] KO 2 - Quarterfinals
**Mar 6 [[Ben Bankhead]] W 3 - Semifinals
**Mar 6 Ed Sanders W 3 - Finals
*'''Intercity Golden Gloves Championship''' (Chicago, IL)
**Mar 26 [[Julius Griffin]] W 3
*'''National AAU Tournament''' (Boston, MA)
**Apr 14 Lou Graff KO 1
**Apr 15 [[Jimmy McCarter]] L 3 - Quarterfinals

'''International Golden Gloves''' (St. Louis, MO) 
Jun 23 Herman Schreibauer TKO 1 

{{start box}}
{{succession box | title=[[Chicago Golden Gloves|Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions]] Heavyweight Champion | before= [[Ed Sanders]]| after= [[Garvin Sawyer]]| years= 1953}}

{{succession box |
before= [[Norvel Lee]]|
title= [[Intercity Golden Gloves|Intercity Golden Gloves]] Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1953 |
after= [[Len Kanthal]]}}
{{end box}}

== Early Professional Career ==
Liston began his professional career with a first-round knockout of Don Smith and built up a nine fight winning streak against mainly unremarkable opposition. He made his debut on national television against [[Johnny Summerlin]], winning a decision after eight rounds. He was handed his first defeat by awkward journeyman [[Marty Marshall]] on September 7, 1954. While laughing at his opponent's unorthodox ring tactics, Liston was caught by a Marshall right hand and suffered a broken jaw, but still lasted the distance, losing on an eighth-round split decision. He met Marshall again seven months later, on April 21, 1955, and won by a sixth-round TKO after flooring Marshall four times. Liston won their rubber match on March 6, 1956 by a lopsided ten-round unanimous decision to extend his record to 14-1. However, on May 6, 1956 Liston and a friend, William Patterson, were arrested for beating patrolman Thomas Mellow, who was attempting to issue a ticket on Patterson's illegally parked taxi-cab. Mellow suffered head injuries, a broken leg and had his service revolver stolen by the two (it was later recovered). On January 29, 1957 Liston pled guilty to assault, robbery and interfering with an officer and was sentenced to nine months in the City Workhouse.

== Heavyweight Contender ==
Liston returned to the ring in 1958, embarking on an rigorous campaign which would see him level the entire heavyweight division and become the only logical contender to champion [[Floyd Patterson]]'s crown. But it would be four years before Liston finally earned a shot at the title, with Patterson's handlers citing Liston's links to organized crime as a reason to avoid the match-up. Liston knocked out some of the best heavyweights of the late 1950s and early 1960s: [[Nino Valdes]] (KO 3), [[Wayne Bethea]] (TKO 1), [[Zora Folley]] (KO 3), [[Mike DeJohn]] (TKO 6), [[Roy Harris]] (TKO 1), [[Albert Westphal]] (KO 1), and the hard-punching [[Cleveland Williams]] twice in classic slugfests (TKO 3 and TKO 2). Only two opponents were able to last the distance: [[Bert Whitehurst]] twice in 1958 (he barely survived the second fight, getting knocked through the ropes in the final seconds of the bout) and [[Eddie Machen]] in 1960. Both adopted ultra-cautious tactics, and Liston won comfortably on points. By 1960, Liston was rated the [[National Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1960|number one contender]] by the NBA.

== World Heavyweight Champion ==
After years of pressure, Patterson finally defied his manager, [[Cus D'Amato]], and signed to fight Liston. The fight took place on [[Floyd Patterson vs. Sonny Liston (1st meeting)|September 25, 1962]], in Chicago, Illinois. Once the bell rang, it soon became clear that Patterson lacked the strength and power to keep Liston away. Liston pinned Patterson on the ropes in the first round and felled the champion with a series of blows to the head. Patterson was unable to beat the count, and the bout was over at 2:05 of the opening stanza. Liston was the new [[World Heavyweight Champion]]. They had a rematch on [[Sonny Liston vs. Floyd Patterson (2nd meeting)|July 22, 1963]], and Patterson was able to last just four seconds longer. Liston won by a knockout at 2:09 of the first round.

In the early 1960s, a brash and talented young heavyweight named [[Muhammad Ali|Cassius Clay]] emerged onto the boxing scene. In his bid to earn a title shot, Clay christened Liston a "big, ugly bear" and consistently taunted him, even leaving bear traps outside of Liston's house. They fought on [[Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay (1st meeting)|February 15, 1964]]. Despite Liston entering the ring as an 8-1 favorite, the quick and agile Clay proved an elusive target. Liston struggled to land clean blows, while Clay scored with quick combinations. After six rounds, it was all over. Liston, claiming an injured shoulder, failed to answer the bell for the seventh round, handing Clay the championship.

The rematch between Liston and Clay (by then known as Muhammad Ali) took place on [[Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston (2nd meeting)|May 25, 1965]]. It is among the most controversial bouts in boxing history. Midway through the first round, Liston threw a left jab and Ali went over it with a fast right, knocking the former champion down. Many in attendance felt the punch was innocuous. The fight quickly descended into chaos. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former World Heavyweight Champion himself, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner—Ali initially stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!"—and Walcott never picked up the count from the knockdown timekeeper.

After Liston arose, Walcott wiped off his gloves and then left the fighters to go over to [[Nat Fleischer]], founder and editor of [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']], who was shouting at Walcott from ringside, telling him that Liston had been down for more than ten seconds. Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fight, awarding Ali a first-round knockout victory.

The so-called "phantom punch" (named the "anchor punch" by Ali) remains controversial to this day, with rumors persisting that Liston took a dive, under pressure from either the mob or the Black Muslims.

== Post Championship ==
Following the bout with Ali, Liston remained inactive for over a year. He made a comeback in 1966, winning four consecutive bouts in Sweden, which were promoted by former World Heavyweight Champion [[Ingemar Johansson]]. He won fourteen consecutive bouts against relatively obscure opposition before suffering a knockout loss against [[Leotis Martin]] on [[Sonny Liston vs. Leotis Martin|December 6, 1969]]. Liston dropped Martin in the fourth round and was leading on all three scorecards when he was put down for the count by a vicious right hand from. It would prove to be the penultimate fight of Liston's career. His final bout came against future heavyweight title challenger [[Chuck Wepner]] on [[Sonny Liston vs. Chuck Wepner|June 29, 1970]]: Liston won by a TKO after Wepner was unable to continue after round nine due to heavy cuts.

== Mysteries Surrounding Death ==
Following the win over Wepner, Liston was going to face Canadian champion [[George Chuvalo]], but the fight never happened. “When I signed to fight him (in December 1970) he’d been dead for a week," Chuvalo stated years later. "He passed away after I’d sent a telegram to the promoter, agreeing terms to the fight at the Montreal Forum. A day or so later a news report flashes up saying former heavyweight champion of the world Sonny Liston found dead at his Las Vegas home. I’d actually signed a contract to face a dead man.”

Liston was found dead by his wife, Geraldine, in their Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971. On returning home from a two-week trip, Geraldine had smelled a foul odor emanating from the main bedroom and on entering saw Sonny slumped up against the bed, a broken foot bench on the floor. Authorities theorized that he was undressing for bed when he fell over backward with such force that he broke the rail of the bench. Geraldine called Sonny's attorney and his doctor but didn't notify the police until two to three hours later.

Sergeant Dennis Caputo of the Clark County Sheriff’s Department was one of the first officers on the scene. Caputo found a quarter-ounce of heroin in a balloon in the kitchen and a half-ounce of marijuana in Liston's pants pocket, but no syringes or needles. Some found it suspicious that authorities could not locate any drug paraphernalia that Liston presumably would have needed to inject the fatal dose, such as a spoon to cook the heroin or a tourniquet to wrap around his arm. However, former Las Vegas police sergeant Gary Beckwith said, "It wasn't uncommon for family members in these cases to go through and tidy up...to save family embarrassment."

Following an investigation, Las Vegas police concluded that there were no signs of foul play and declared Liston's death a heroin overdose. “It was common knowledge that Sonny was a heroin addict,” said Caputo. “The whole department knew about it.” The date of death listed on his death certificate is December 30, 1970, which police estimated by judging the number of milk bottles and newspapers at the front door.

Coroner Mark Herman said traces of heroin byproducts were found in Liston’s system, but not in amounts large enough to have caused his death. Also, scar tissue, possibly from needle marks, was found in the left bend of Liston's elbow. The toxicology report said his body was too decomposed for the tests to be conclusive. Officially, Liston died of lung congestion and heart failure. Lisnon had been hospitalized in early December, complaining of chest pains.

His funeral was attended by many of boxing's dignitaries, including former World Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis, who was a pall-bearer.

Sonny Liston is interred in Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada. His headstone bears the simple epitaph: "A Man."

==Historical Rankings==
*Historian [[Herbert Goldman]] ranked Liston as the third greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1997.
*The [[Ring Magazine: Holiday 1998|1998 Holiday issue]] of [[Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']] ranked Liston as the seventh [[Division-By-Division - The Greatest Fighters of All-Time|greatest heavyweight of all-time]].
*The Associated Press ranked Liston as the seventh best heavyweight of the twentieth century in 1999.
*The [[Ring Yearbook: 2003 Edition|2003 edition]] of ''The Ring Yearbook'' ranked Liston as the fifteenth [[The 100 Greatest Punchers of All-Time!|greatest puncher of all-time]].

== Media ==
*Liston appeared on the [[Wikipedia:The_Ed_Sullivan_Show|''The Ed Sullivan Show'']] and showcased his jump-roping skills. He also appeared on [[Wikipedia:The_Jack_Benny_Program|''The Jack Benny Program'']] and [[Wikipedia:The_Joey_Bishop_Show_(talk show)|''The Joey Bishop Show'']].
*Liston and [[Joe Louis]] were in the audience during The Beatles' second appearance on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'', which came from Miami Beach, Florida on February 16, 1964. Sullivan introduced Liston and Louis during the show.
*Liston started acting in the mid-1960s. He appeared in the movies [[Wikipedia:Harlow_(Paramount film)|''Harlow'']], [[Wikipedia:Head_(film)|''Head'']] and [[Wikipedia:Moonfire_(1973 film)|''Moonfire'']]. He also appeared on the TV series [[Wikipedia:Love,_American_Style|''Love, American Style'']].
*Liston appeared in a television commercial for [[Wikipedia:Braniff_International_Airways|Braniff International Airways]] with acclaimed [[Wikipedia:Pop_art|Pop artist]] [[Wikipedia:Andy_Warhol|Andy Warhol]].

== External Links ==
*Grave site: [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=632]
*Internet Movie Database: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0514288/]
*Cyber Boxing Zone article: "The Menacing Black Bear" [http://cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/box2-00.htm#liston]
*ESPN article: "Liston was trouble in and out of ring" [http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/Liston_Sonny.html]
*TheSweetScience.com article: "The Mysterious Birth of Sonny Liston" [http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/articles/1639-the-mysterious-birth-of-sonny-liston]
*FightKings.com article: "Exhuming the Bear" [http://www.fightkings.com/boxing/featured-article/exhuming-the-bear-a-book-about-sonny-bear/]
*TheSweetScience.com article: "A Birthday for Sonny Liston" [http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/articles-frontpage/15175-a-birthday-for-sonny-liston]
*Boxing.com article: "The Death of Sonny Liston" [http://www.boxing.com/the_death_of_sonny_liston.html]
*Nick Tosches biography: [[Devil and Sonny Liston|''The Devil and Sonny Liston'']] [http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/t/tosches-liston.html]
*[[Wikipedia: Sonny_Liston|Wikipedia biography]]

== Published References ==
*A.S. Young, ''Sonny Liston: The Champ Nobody Wanted'' (1963).
*Robert L. Burnes, "Heavyweight with a Past" ''Saturday Evening Post'', 13 August 1960, pp. 56-58.
*Joe Flaherty, "A Right to the Jaw-That's Black Power" ''Esquire'', March 1969, pp. 112-14.
*Bruce Jay Friedman, "Requiem for a Heavy" ''Esquire'', Aug. 1971, pp. 55-57.
*Luckett V. Davis, "Sonny Liston" in ''American National Biography'', pp. 733-34. (1999).

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Floyd Patterson]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]] [[NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Muhammad Ali|Cassius Clay]]|
years=1962 Sep 25 – 1964 Feb 25
}}
{{Succession box|
before=Inaugural Champion|
title=[[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Muhammad Ali|Cassius Clay]]|
years=1963 Feb 14 – 1964 Feb 25
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liston, Sonny}}
[[Category:Intercity Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:Chicago Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:American World Champions]]
[[Category:Referees]]
[[Category:IBHOF Members]]
[[Category:World Boxing Hall of Fame Members]]
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:The Ring Magazine Champions]]

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-06-30T01:05:41Z

Incitatus: /* Media Scorecards */

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Champinship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the ''Boston Globe'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*Joe Gergen of ''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
* Jim Jenkins of the ''Sacramento Bee'': 116-114 Hagler
*[[Michael Katz]] of the ''New York Daily News'': 117-112 Leonard
*Steve Kelley of the ''Seattle Times'': 115-113 Hagler
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Bernie Lincicome of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*Hugh McIlvanny of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*Norm Miller of the ''New York Post'': 114-114
*[[William Nack]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-114 Leonard
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*Dave Newhouse of the ''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*Edwin Pope of the ''Miami Herald'': 116-112 Hagler
*Mark Purdy of the ''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of CBS: 115-114 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*Bob Verdi of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Washington Post'': 114-114

A poll of 25 ringsiders turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-06-29T23:54:28Z

Incitatus: /* Media Scorecards */

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Champinship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the ''Boston Globe'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*Joe Gergen of ''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
* Jim Jenkins of the ''Sacramento Bee'': 116-114 Hagler
*[[Michael Katz]] of the ''New York Daily News'': 117-112 Leonard
*Steve Kelley of the ''Seattle Times'': 115-113 Hagler
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Bernie Lincicome of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*Hugh McIlvanny of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*Norm Miller of the ''New York Post'': 114-114
*[[William Nack]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-114 Leonard
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*Dave Newhouse of the ''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*Mark Purdy of the ''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of CBS: 115-114 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*Bob Verdi of the ''Chicago Tribune'': 115-113 Hagler
*''Washington Post'': 114-114

A poll of 25 ringsiders turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-06-29T09:35:56Z

Incitatus: /* Media Scorecards */

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Champinship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the Boston Globe: 115-113 Hagler
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Chicago Tribune'': 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
*[[Michael Katz]] of the ''New York Daily News'': 117-112 Leonard
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*Hugh McIlvanny of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*[[William Nack]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-114 Leonard
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of CBS: 115-114 Hagler
*''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*''Washington Post'': 114-114

A poll of 25 ringsiders turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-06-29T09:23:41Z

Incitatus: /* Media Scorecards */

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Champinship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the Boston Globe: 115-113 Hagler
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Chicago Tribune'': 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
*[[Michael Katz]]: 117-112 Leonard
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*Hugh McIlvanny of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-112 Hagler
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*[[William Nack]] of ''Sports Illustrated'': 116-114 Leonard
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of CBS: 115-114 Hagler
*''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*''Washington Post'': 114-114

A poll of 25 ringsiders turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-06-29T09:19:54Z

Incitatus: /* Media Scorecards */

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Champinship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the Boston Globe: 115-113 Hagler
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Chicago Tribune'': 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
*[[Michael Katz]]: 117-112 Leonard
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*[[Tim Ryan]] of CBS: 115-114 Hagler
*''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*''Washington Post'': 114-114

A poll of 25 ringsiders turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-06-29T09:18:24Z

Incitatus: /* Media Scorecards */

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Champinship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*Ron Borges of the Boston Globe: 115-113 Hagler
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Chicago Tribune'': 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
*[[Michael Katz]]: 117-112 Leonard
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Steve Marantz of the Boston Globe: 117-111 Leonard
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*Tim Ryan of CBS: 115-114 Hagler
*''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*''Washington Post'': 114-114

A poll of 25 ringsiders turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-06-28T22:53:36Z

Incitatus: /* Media Scorecards */

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Champinship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*''Boston Globe'': 117-111 Leonard
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Chicago Tribune'': 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
*[[Michael Katz]]: 117-112 Leonard
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*[[Ed Schuyler]] of the Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*''Washington Post'': 114-114

A poll of 25 ringsiders turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

2020-06-28T22:17:59Z

Incitatus: /* Media Scorecards */

[[File:Leonard-Hagler 4755400.jpg|right|475px]]
<fight>15237</fight>
*'''[[WBC]] Middleweight Champinship''' (12th defense by Hagler)
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler box d 01.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 56401700.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 53112038.jpg|Photo 4]], [[:File:Leonardhagler5.jpg|Photo 5]], [[:File:Leonardhagler3.jpg|Photo 6]], [[:File:Leonard-Hagler 81862950.jpg|Photo 7]]
*[[:File:F15237P.jpg|Program Cover]]
*[[:File:Leonard-Hagler Poster 68747b.jpeg|Fight Poster]]

 
==Notes==
[[File:SI6511.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI6613.jpg|right|305px]] [[file:SI6615.jpg|right|305px]] [[File:SI7301.jpg|right|305px]]
*Leonard decided to challenge Hagler after watching his fight with [[John Mugabi]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|March 10, 1986]]. "I was at ringside, sitting with Michael J. Fox," Leonard said, "We were sitting there having a few beers, and I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Now, I had had a few beers, and I said, 'Michael, Michael, I can beat Hagler.' And he said, 'Ray, do you want another beer?' I said, 'Yes I do, but I can beat Hagler.' "
*On May 1, 1986, Leonard was interviewed on WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and made his desire to come back and fight Hagler public. "I know exactly what it takes to beat the man," Leonard said. At the time, Hagler was vacationing on a private yacht in the Caribbean. Hagler did not comment on Leonard's challenge until July 2, when he held a press conference and said he was considering retirement and didn't know if he would fight Leonard or anyone else.
*On August 18, Hagler announced that he would fight Leonard, and the fight was officially announced at a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on November 3, 1986.
*Hagler was guaranteed $12 million plus a percentage of the revenue. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million plus 50 percent of the closed circuit television rights in the Baltimore-Washington area. Hagler ended up with about $20 million and Leonard $12 million. After Leonard agreed to let Hagler have the larger purse, Hagler agreed to let Leonard choose the gloves (10-ounce Reyes), the number of rounds (12) and the size of the ring (20-foot).
*The fight was available on pay-per-view to about three million homes in the United States, and there were between 1,500 and 1,600 closed circuit locations, with about three million seats, in the United States and Canada. The fight was also televised in about 75 foreign countries.
*The fight took place in a 15,336-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace. Tickets prices were $700, $600, $500, $400, $200 and $100. The fight sold out in 16 days. "We've had to turn away some of our better customers because the demand was so great," a Caesars Palace spokesman said." A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million.
*[[HBO]] paid $3.1 million for the delayed rights and showed the fight five times between April 11 and April 18.
*According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million.
*Hagler had made 12 successful defenses of the World Middleweight Championship, which he won with a third-round TKO of [[Alan Minter]] in London, England, on [[Alan Minter vs. Marvin Hagler|September 27, 1980]].
*Hagler and Leonard fought for the [[WBC]] title only. The [[WBA]] stripped Hagler for not fighting [[Herol Graham]], its top-ranked contender. The [[IBF]] did not strip Hagler, but it refused to sanction the fight and said the title would be declared vacant if Hagler should lose to Leonard.
*Hagler had not lost a fight since dropping a ten-round unanimous to [[Willie (the Worm) Monroe]] on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)|March 9, 1976]]. Hagler would defeat Monroe twice in 1977, winning by a 12th-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)|February 15]] and by a second-round TKO on [[Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)|August 23]].
*Leonard, who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1981 to 1982 and the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship in 1981, had never fought as a middleweight.
*Leonard had not fought in three years and had fought just once in the previous five years. He had retired on November 9, 1982, six months after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Leonard returned to the ring on [[Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Kevin Howard|May 11, 1984]], and defeated [[Kevin Howard]] by a ninth-round TKO. But Leonard, who suffered the first knockdown of his professional career in the fourth round against Howard, was so disappointed in his performance that he announced at the post-fight press conference that he was going back into retirement.
*Although Leonard had been medically cleared to fight Hagler, many feared for his safety and did not believe that he should have been allowed to fight. [[Ferdie Pacheco|Dr. Ferdie Pacheco]] stated, "This match endangers the eyesight of Leonard, as well as his life, and makes a mockery of the credibility of any boxing commission that sanctions it."
*More than 1,100 reporters and photographers from 32 countries received press credentials.
*In a UPI poll of 21 writers covering the fight, 18 picked Hagler to win and three picked Leonard.
*Hagler opened as a 4-1 betting favorite when the match was announced in November 1986. By the day of the fight, the odds had fallen to 3-1.
*Hagler entered the fight ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ''[[KO Magazine]]''.
*[[William Nack]] of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported:
:Leonard came out dancing and moving and making Hagler lunge and miss. In the early rounds he was the consummate boxer, firing combinations as he kept from harm's way. Leonard put on a show, twisting and turning and popping Hagler -- here an uppercut, there a jab, at one point grabbing the rope in his right hand and mugging at the champion, at another point delivering a low-blow bolo punch sure to further inflame an already frustrated opponent. Hagler was having a devil of a time connecting with anything close to a serious blow. Leonard was getting off more quickly, consistently stealing a march on Hagler. Looking off-balance and disoriented, Hagler missed frequently and often wildly.

:Leonard won the first four rounds outright, but by the fifth and sixth, Hagler was beginning to find the range and Leonard was no longer moving with his early verve. In the seventh, a Hagler hook rocked Leonard and the challenger briefly sagged. Now, Hagler battled Leonard to the ropes, firing shots up and down. He had Leonard in trouble as the bell sounded.

:But the champion was still behind in the scoring, and it was patently clear that, if his legs held up, Leonard would win. In the eighth round, an impatient Hagler snarled to Leonard, "Come on, slug!"

:"No chance," said Leonard.

:But Hagler was beginning to catch Leonard on the ropes, and the challenger was growing weary. In the ninth, surely the best round of the fight, Hagler pinned Leonard in the latter's corner and was whaling at him ferociously with both hands, rocking the challenger and looking to finish him.

:But no, double no! In an instant, Leonard retaliated with a flurry that had Hagler's head snapping left and right. Leonard then spun away and escaped. Hagler pursued, thinking he still had Leonard in trouble. But when Hagler caught up, Leonard flurried again, drawing upon reserves he had no right to have. Throughout the fight, even with Leonard right in front of him, Hagler had problems solving his foe's rich boxing style. He couldn't seem to put combinations together, and whenever he seemed to have Leonard in trouble, he couldn't muster the savvy to put him away.

:The 12th round underscored that failing as well as any other, and Leonard's spent condition at the end was testimony to the strength of character it had taken to score this upset of upsets. In the face of his long layoff and the odds against him -- five to two in Vegas betting parlors -- Leonard had fought magnificently and displayed great courage and resolve.
*Leonard landed 306 of 629 punches (49 percent), and Hagler connected on 291 of 792 (37 percent).
*The split decision in favor of Leonard was very controversial. Judge Jose Guerra's score of 118-110 in favor of Leonard was heavily criticized. "JoJo Guerra should be put in jail," [[Pat Petronelli]], Hagler's co-trainer, said. [[Harry Gibbs]] of England was originally scheduled to be a judge, but the Hagler camp objected. They said they believed English judges favor boxers and requested a Mexican judge, so the commission replaced Gibbs with Guerra. Watching the fight at home two weeks later, Gibbs scored the fight for Hagler.
*After the decision was announced, Leonard told the crowd that he would see them "six months and fifteen pounds later," implying that he would next fight WBC Light Heavyweight Champion [[Thomas Hearns]]. Leonard later said he "was only joking."
*Bob Arum and rival promoter [[Don King]], who was just a spectator at the bout, got into a shoving match when Arum prevented King from entering the ring after the fight. They were separated by security. "That man had nothing to do with this fight," Arum said. "There was no way he belonged in the ring."
*On May 27, 1987, Leonard announced that he was going back into retirement, but he left open the possibility of another comeback. "You guys know me," he said. Leonard would return to the ring the following year to fight [[Donny Lalonde]] for two titles. "I told you guys some time ago I was going to try to retire," he said to the press. "I tried. It didn't work."
*On July 2, 1987, sports anchor John Dennis of WNEV-TV in Boston reported that Hagler was involved in "widespread abuse of both alcohol and cocaine." Dennis went on to say: "Those closest to Marvin Hagler say it was that decision on April 6 that started him on the downward spiral. Almost immediately after his return home to Boston, they say Marvin's despair over the loss steered him toward alcohol and cocaine." The following day, during an interview with Dennis, Hagler denied the allegations. "I want to reassure the public I have no problem with drugs or alcohol," Hagler said. He suggested that jealousy within his family was responsible for the report.
*Hagler announced his retirement after watching his half-brother, [[Robbie Sims]], lose to WBA Middleweight Champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] by a 12-round unanimous decision on [[Sumbu Kalambay vs. Robbie Sims|June 13, 1988]]. Unlike Leonard, Hagler stayed retired. He moved to Italy and acted in several action movies.
*There was talk of a rematch, but it never happened. Seth Abraham, who was president of HBO Sports, said, "Marvin made it very clear — he thought he was jobbed and he was never going to fight again. And he never did. There were conversations, but they were never at the level of negotiations. If people say Marvin wanted the fight and Ray didn’t, that’s revisionist history."
*Hagler vs. Leonard was named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] and [[Ring Magazine Upset of the Year|Upset of the Year]] by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]. The fight was later named [[:File:90Mar.jpg|Upset of the Decade]].

==Media Scorecards==
*[[Dave Anderson]] of the ''New York Times'': 114-114
*Associated Press: 117-112 Hagler
*''Baltimore Sun'': 7-5 in rounds Leonard
*[[Al Bernstein]] of [[ESPN]]: 115-113 Hagler
*[[Dave Bontempo]] of ESPN: 114-114
*''Boston Globe'': 117-111 Leonard
*''Boston Herald'' 116-113 Leonard
*''Chicago Sun-Times'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Chicago Tribune'': 7-5 in rounds Hagler
*[[Nigel Collins]] of ''[[Ring Magazine|The Ring]]'': 115-113 Leonard
*[[Howard Cosell]]: 117-112 Leonard
*''Houston Chronicle'': 115-114 Leonard
*[[Michael Katz]]: 117-112 Leonard
*[[Harold Lederman]] of HBO: 115-113 Leonard
*Jerry Lisker of the ''New York Post'': 115-113 Hagler
*Phill Marder of ''The Ring'': 114-114
*[[Larry Merchant]] of HBO: 114-114
*[[Barney Nagler]] of Daily Racing Form: 116-114 Hagler
*''New York Daily News'': 117-111 Leonard
*''Newsday'': 115-114 Hagler
*''Philadelphia Daily News'': 116-112 Leonard
*''Oakland Tribune'': 117-112 Leonard
*Jeff Ryan of ''[[KO Magazine]]'': 118-111 Leonard
*''San Jose Mercury-News'': 116-115 Hagler
*United Press International: 116-112 Leonard
*''Washington Post'': 114-114

A poll of 25 ringsiders turned up 12 votes for Hagler, 10 votes for Leonard and 3 for a draw.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/438224618/]

==Articles==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19860703&id=J7VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,1456273 "Hagler leaning 'seriously' toward retiring from ring" By William Gildea, ''L.A. Times-Washington Post Service'', July 3, 1986]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19861104&id=fUYRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6570,1068753&hl=en "Hagler, Leonard sign for richest fight in history" By Hal Bock, Associated Press, November 4, 1986]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870405&id=mNkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4xMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6958,1764727 "Leonard returns to ring to challenge Hagler for title" Associated Press, April 5, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/06/sports/sports-of-the-times-fact-fantasy-and-fear.html "FACT, FANTASY AND FEAR" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 6, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/sports/sports-of-the-times-sugar-doesn-t-rust.html "SUGAR DOESN'T RUST" By Dave Anderson, ''New York Times'', April 7, 1987]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html "JUDGMENT DAY FOR RING JUDGE" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', April 8, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/04/13/115204/comeback-for-the-ages-idle-for-almost-three-years-sugar-ray-leonard-made-a-spectacular-return-to-the-ring-by-beating-marvin-hagler-to-win-the-middleweight-title "COMEBACK FOR THE AGES" By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', April 13, 1987]
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1987/09/28/116258/let-the-world-know-im-ok-despite-reports-to-the-contrary-marvin-hagler-says-he-hasnt-let-his-life-go-to-pieces-since-losing-to-sugar-ray-leonard " 'LET THE WORLD KNOW I'M O.K.' " By William Nack, ''Sports Illustrated'', September 28, 1987]
*[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6983512/hagler-vs-leonard "Disputed: Hagler vs. Leonard" By Eric Raskin, ''Grantland'', September 22, 2011]
*[http://espn.go.com/blog/boxing/post/_/id/1110/leonard-hagler-resonates-25-years-later "Leonard-Hagler resonates 25 years later" By Richard Fletcher, ''ESPN.com'', April 6, 1987]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi|Hagler vs. Mugabi]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Title Fights|WBC Middleweight Title Fight]] # 53|
after=[[Thomas Hearns vs. Juan Domingo Roldan|Hearns vs. Roldan]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Jim Jacobs

2018-11-30T19:45:26Z

Incitatus: /* Biography */

[[File:Jim Jacobs 452978432.jpg|315px|thumb|left|Jim Jacobs]]
[[file:Ibhof-logo.jpg|thumb|right|Class of 1993 Non-Participant Category Hall of Fame bio:[http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/nonparticipant/jacobsjimmy.html click]]]
[[File:WBHF Logo.jpg|right|thumb|200px|World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee]]
 
==Biography==
[[File:Jim Jacobs handball.jpg|right|thumb|185px|Jim Jacobs playing Handball]]
'''James Leslie "Jim" Jacobs''' was a handball player, boxing manager, comic book and boxing film collector, and an Oscar-nominated documentarian. He is an inductee of the [[International Boxing Hall of Fame]] (Non-Participant Category), [[World Boxing Hall of Fame]], (Expanded Category), United States Handball Association Hall of Fame, and International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Jacobs was born on February 18, 1930, in St. Louis, Missouri. He moved to Los Angeles, California, with his parents when he was five years old. Shortly afterward, his parents were divorced, and he was raised by his mother.

As a teenager, Jacobs excelled at athletics. He was a good enough basketball player to be invited to an Olympic tryout, he ran the 100-yard dash in 9.8 and he was a skeet shot of championship caliber.

Jacobs was rarely eligible for sports in high school because of poor grades. He later looked back on his academic career with regret, but at the time he simply was not interested. "He wasn't happy in anything except sports," said his mother. Instead of competing at school, he played halfback in football, shortstop in baseball and forward in basketball for the George Gershwin Chapter of the AZA, a branch of the B'nai B'rith, a national Jewish organization. He also played handball at the Hollywood YMCA.

Jacobs was drafted during the Korean War and served two years in the infantry with the First Cavalry Division. He received a Purple Heart, but he would later say, "I wasn't the best soldier." After being discharged, he returned to Los Angeles, where he worked for his father's business machine and supplies company and pursued his two passions: handball and boxing films.

'''Handball''' 
Jacobs was a renowned handball player.

Handball demands extreme athleticism — speed, power, agility, balance, hand-eye coordination. Jacobs loved both the athletic nature of the sport and the gladiatorial persona that surrounded it — two opponents in a 20x40 foot court, four walls and a ceiling, battling shot to shot until the 21st point.

Jacobs dominated the sport of Four-Wall Handball from 1955 to 1969, winning every match he played during that 15-year span. He won six United States Handball Association National Singles Championships, four YMCA National Championships, three [[AAU]] National Championships, countless regional championships, as well as the World Singles Championship.

He won the United States Handball Association National Doubles Championship once with Dick Weisman, and he won it five times with Marty Decatur. Jacobs and Decatur were partners for twelve years and never lost a match.

Jacobs also won three United States Handball Association National Three-Wall Singles Championships.

In a 1966 ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' article titled "Really The Greatest," Robert H. Boyle wrote: "Jacobs is generally hailed as the finest player of all time. Indeed, there are those who say Jacobs is the best athlete, regardless of sport, in the country."

The United States Handball Association recognized Jacobs as the "Greatest Handball Player of the Generation" in 1970.

'''Collector''' 
[[File:Cus D'Amato & Jim Jacobs.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Cus D'Amato and Jim Jacobs]]
Beginning in the 1940s and accelerating in the late 50s and early 60s, during his international handball travels, Jacobs began to indulge his passion for boxing and collecting rare fight films. "I adored boxing, and that led me to become a serious film collector," he said. "By 17, 18 years old, I was trading fight films and learning who the collectors were. If a person is a real collector, of anything, there is a compulsion which is irresistible toward acquisition. . . . But films were difficult to come by. Remember, Congress had passed a law prohibiting interstate commerce of fight films after [[Jack Johnson|Johnson]] beat [[Jim Jeffries|Jeffries]] in 1910. That fight film had been shown all over the United States and there were race riots. So Congress banned transportation of fight films from one state to another from 1910 to 1940. For example, when [[Jack Dempsey|Dempsey]] fought [[Jess Willard|Willard]], it was a violation to show the film in New York. So fight films were sent all over the world because they couldn’t be exploited in this country. [[Joe Louis]] fought [[Jim Braddock]] in Chicago; the film couldn’t be shown outside Illinois. Most people can’t believe this. The law was repealed in 1940. In my travels, I visited all the museums to make deals, to get these fight films back to the U.S."

Jacobs was also an avid collector of comic books. He started collecting them when he worked as a volunteer on paper-collection drives during World War II. He would take home discarded comics he found as he sorted through the old newspapers and magazines donated to aid the war effort. [[Mike Tyson]] biographer Peter Heller wrote of Jacobs collection: "At the time of his death in 1988, it was probably the largest and most valuable collection of its kind anywhere, containing some 800,000 comic books with a value of perhaps $2 million."

In 1959, Jacobs contacted [[Bill Cayton]], another collector of fight films and founder of Big Fights Inc., to find out if he was interested in trading fight films. The two men hit it off when they met, and Cayton offered to do more than swap films: He offered Jacobs a job with his company. In time, the two merged their collections and became business partners.

Jacobs and Cayton produced two films that were nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards: ''Legendary Champions'' in 1968 and ''Jack Johnson'' in 1970. Among the other films they produced were ''A.K.A. Cassius Clay'' and ''Sugar Ray Robinson: Pound for Pound''.

In 1998, ten years after Jacobs died, Cayton sold the company's 16,000-film boxing library to [[ESPN]] for a reported $100 million.

'''Boxing''' 
Jacobs was invited to New York in 1959 to show some of the fight films he owned. It was then that he met [[Cus D'Amato]], the manager and trainer of [[World Heavyweight Champion]] [[Floyd Patterson]] and future World Light Heavyweight Champion [[Jose Torres]].

Jacobs was Patterson's public relations assistant when he fought [[Sonny Liston]] in 1962. Norman Mailer wrote an account of the fight titled "Ten Thousand Words" that appeared in the February 1963 issue of ''Esquire''. The piece was later included in the book ''The Presidential Papers'', a collections of Mailer's essays, interviews and articles. A picture of Jacobs appears in the book.

When D'Amato moved to Catskill, New York, in the late 1960s and opened a gym, Jacobs and Cayton financed his amateur boxing program. The program would eventually include a young Mike Tyson.

Jacobs and Cayton started managing professional boxers in the 1970s. Among the fighters they managed were [[Cyclone Hart]], [[Wilfred Benitez]] and [[Edwin Rosario]] and Mike Tyson.

They are best known for guiding Mike Tyson to the World Heavyweight Championship at the age of 20. They also managed [[Cyclone Hart]], [[Wilfred Benitez]], [[Edwin Rosario]] and Mike Tyson.

The [[Boxing Writers Association of America]] named Jacobs [[Boxing Writers Association of America Manager of the Year|Manager of the Year]] for 1986, the year Tyson became the youngest boxer to win a world title at heavyweight. Cayton received the award in 1987, the year Tyson unified all three major heavyweight titles.

'''Death''' 
[[File:Cayton-Tyson-Jacobs.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Bill Cayton, Mike Tyson and Jim Jacobs]]
On March 23, 1988, Jacobs died from lymphocytic leukemia at age 58. He had suffered from the disease for nine years. He was survived by his wife, Loraine, and a sister, Dorothy.

Jacobs received many tributes after his death that showed how highly regarded he was in the world of boxing.

[[Muhammad Ali]] said, "Jimmy Jacobs has always been a good friend of mine. I will truly miss him. I not only respect him, I had admiration, compassion, and love for this man."

[[Howard Cosell]] wrote in the ''New York Daily News'', "In the dirty world of boxing, Jacobs was a clean man. He was proof that boxing and character need not be mutually exclusive. . . . And boxing is that much less a sport without his presence."

Sportswriter Doug Krikorian stated, "The beleaguered sport suffered another damaging blow the other day when it lost its most eloquent spokesman, Jimmy Jacobs. . . . He was respected and trusted by bitterly divisive factions and his sound reputation was never tainted by rumors of dishonesty-rumors that inevitably curse everyone in the sport who reaches Jacobs' lofty status."

Promoter [[Don Fraser (promoter)|Don Fraser]] claimed, "I never heard a bad word about him."

Gene Kiltoy, Muhammad Ali's former business manger, insisted, "If there's anyone in boxing who didn't like Jimmy Jacobs, then he didn't like him because Jimmy wouldn't sell out."

'''D'Amato's Secret Prospect''' 
Shortly after Jacobs died, sportswriter Jack McKinney said Jacobs was secretly trained by D'Amato to challenge [[Archie Moore]] for the World Light Heavyweight Championship in 1961. At that time, Moore had held the title for almost nine years and was in his mid-40s.

In an article that appeared in the ''Philadelphia Daily News'' on March 30, 1988, McKinney wrote:
:D'Amato used to engage me in deep discussions about the state of the art in boxing. It was during one such session that he first hooked me on his secret vision. "I'm going to take a mature, world-class athlete who's never boxed before and make him a champion," Cus confided. "He'll have no amateur bouts, no pro preliminaries, so no bad habits. I'll put him through a program of intensive instruction in gym, utilizing his already developed physical attributes. Then, when he's ready for his ring debut, it will be for the world championship. And he'll make history by winning it!" Cus said his prospect had already achieved "dominance in another sport." Among those "already developed physical attributes," he mentioned "strength, quickness, stamina, exceptional hand-eye coordination," and other impressive factors, along with "great intelligence and an enormous will to excel." At various times, I guessed Tom Gola, Jim Brown, John Havlicek and a virtual who's-who of other likely suspects. But Cus always smiled mysteriously and said he'd tell me when he was ready. Only after he died, with his project unfulfilled, did it dawn on me that Cus D'Amato had been thinking all along of the man ''Sports Illustrated'' once described as the most dominant athlete in the world — Jimmy Jacobs himself.

Writer Pete Dexter was asked by ''Playboy'' to do a piece on Tyson in 1987. McKinney wrote in the ''Daily News'' article, "Pete asked me for a door-opener, and I suggested Jacobs, who'd assumed the role of Tyson's adviser after the death of father-figure Cus D'Amato." McKinney said Jacobs admitted to Dexter that "he had been D'Amato's secret prospect, honed to readiness over six months of intense tutelage for a covertly arranged shot at Archie Moore's long-rusting light-heavyweight title."

The fight never took place because, so the story goes, Moore detected no potential upside. He is said to have told Jacobs "there are two possibilities: either you win or I kill you. Both are intolerable to me". "Or perhaps it never happened because it was a benign myth spun from irresistible strands of truth," wrote Mark Singer, a staff writer at ''The New Yorker''. Singer said two close friends of Jacobs insisted that, his reverence for D'Amato notwithstanding, there's no way he would have seriously considered the proposition.

==External Links==
*[http://www.si.com/vault/1966/03/07/607662/really-the-greatest "Really The Greatest" By Robert H. Boyle, ''Sports Illustrated'', March 7, 1966]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1908&dat=19810426&id=4oQgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=j9QEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1831,2220399&hl=en "Jim Jacobs is film king" By Murray Olderman, Newspaper Enterprise Association, April 26, 1981]
*[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-03-24/sports/sp-285_1_fight-management "Fight Manager, Collector Jimmy Jacobs Dies at 58" By Richard Hoffer, ''Los Angeles Times'', March 24, 1988]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/24/obituaries/jim-jacobs-tyson-s-co-manager-and-handball-titlist-dies-at-58.html "Jim Jacobs, Tyson's Co-Manager And Handball Titlist, Dies at 58" By Phil Berger, ''New York Times'', March 24, 1988]
*[http://articles.philly.com/1988-03-30/news/26276177_1_fight-films-jimmy-jacobs-cus-d-amato "A Plan For Jimmy Jacobs Mike Tyson Confidant Had A Date With A Title" By Jack McKinney, ''Philadelphia Daily News'', March 30, 1988]
*[http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3390712 "DVD pirates filling their shelves -- and customer orders" By Don Steinberg, ''ESPN.com'', May 13, 2008]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=4OP_5zzOBNMC&pg=PT107&dq=jacobs+d%27amato+moore+dexter+mckinney&hl=en&sa=X&ei=jiqgVeuIA4bW-QHM2qHQAQ&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=jacobs%20d%27amato%20moore%20dexter%20mckinney&f=false "Jimmy Jacobs: Mike Tyson's Four-Wall Rabbi" By Mark Singer, ''Jewish Jocks: An Unorthodox Hall of Fame'', Twelve Books, October 30, 2012]
*[http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/JamesJimmyJacobs.htm International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame: James "Jimmy" Jacobs]
*[http://www.ushandball.org/content/view/427/ United States Handball Association: Jim Jacobs]
*[http://jimjacobs.org/index.html JimJacobs.org]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Jim}}
[[Category:Managers]]
[[Category:IBHOF Members]]
[[Category:World Boxing Hall of Fame Members]]