Boxing matches that result in hotly disputed decisions always begin debates as to who really won and who really lost, despite the official outcome. Judges aren’t perfect when it comes to scoring fights, which leads to many strong opinions among the boxing community. Many of these opinions last briefly, but there are some that last for many, many years. The perfect case is regarding the decision that took place 38 years ago between Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard. It’s a fight that is still talked about today for many reasons, including starting debates as to who really won the fight.

Billed as “The Superfight,” one could say this fight had a lengthy build-up since both shared a doubleheader on ABC’s Wide World of Sports in 1979 when Hagler was victimized by an egregious decision against Vito Antuofermo in a fight that was declared a draw (a fight Hagler clearly won), and Leonard burst onto the scene by winning his first World Championship when he stopped Wilfred Benitez. From that point forward, their paths to greatness and their fight in 1987 took very different roads.

After winning the gold medal in the 1976 Olympics, and winning the welterweight championship from Benitez, Leonard would quickly find himself in big fights. After starching Davey Boy Green in his first title defense, Leonard found himself in the ring with the legendary Roberto Duran on June 20, 1980, in Montreal in a fight that kicked off the “Four Kings Era” of the 1980s. The pre-hype featured various taunts by Duran aimed at Leonard and his wife to get him out of his game plan and get Leonard upset. It worked, as Leonard tried to beat Duran at his own game in that fight. It didn’t work, as Duran would leave Montreal with a majority decision win and the welterweight championship from Leonard, who wanted an immediate rematch and got it 5 1/2 months later in New Orleans, Louisiana. In the rematch, Leonard learned his lesson, as he didn’t engage with Duran and use the ring to taunt, humiliate, and frustrate Duran in the middle rounds to where Duran said “No Mas” in the 8th round, rewarding Leonard the TKO win as he regained the championship he lost to Duran.

After winning the junior middleweight championship from Ayub Kalule, Leonard would find himself in another superfight on September 16, 1981, against fellow welterweight champion Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns to determine who would leave Caesars Palace the undisputed welterweight champion of the world. In a fight that featured high skill and sheer will from both fighters at an extremely high level, it was Leonard, with a swollen eye (later revealed as a detached retina), trailing on the judges’ scorecards as he entered the 13th round, needing a knockout. Leonard went to the well and turned it up to where he had Hearns hurt in the round and sent Hearns down along the ropes, and the finish came in the 14th round where a three punch combination prompted the referee to stop the fight, awarding Leonard the undisputed welterweight championship by TKO win. He would fight only twice over the next two years—against Bruce Finch and Kevin Howard—before supposedly “retiring” after the win over Howard in 1984.

Hagler was forced to take the long hard road, having a blue-collar-like approach when he rose to the top of the middleweight division, fighting for respect from the boxing community. After being victimized by the intentional ignorance of the boxing community in the draw against Antuoferno, Hagler went back and basically said it would be his fists that would be the judges from that point forward. After winning his next 3 fights—2 by KO—Hagler would travel to Wembley Stadium in London, England, to face Alan Minter for the world middleweight championship. After many disrespectful things were said by Minter, Hagler came out and delivered a beating to win the championship. The win, however, prompted the pro-Minter crowd to throw debris at Hagler and it caused him and his team to leave the ring immediately after the fight was stopped.

After the win over Minter, Hagler would begin his reign as middleweight champion by successfully defending his title 12 straight times, closing in on the record of 14 by Carlos Monzon. Among the victories were KO wins over Mustafa Hamsho (twice), Juan Roldan, and a closer-than-expected win over Roberto Duran in a fight where he won the last 3 rounds of that fight to keep his championship.

But it was his 11th championship defense that caught the attention of the boxing community when he faced Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns on April 15, 1985, in what would be remembered as the greatest 8-minute fight in boxing history and featured the greatest round in boxing history (round 1). It was the moment that Hagler waited his entire life and boxing career for, and he capitalized on the opportunity by scoring a 3rd round KO in an explosive give-and-take fight that will forever be a part of boxing history.

A year later, in another give-and-take fight, he would face the hard-punching John “The Beast” Mugabi in a fight similar to Hagler-Hearns—a give-and-take fight that saw both fighters deliver hard punches. In the end, it was Hagler’s will and experience that started to take over and wear down the very game Mugabi and got Hagler a KO win in the 11th round. The wins over Hearns and Mugabi earned him the distinction of the best fighter pound-for-pound.

After the Leonard win over Hearns in 1981, the buildup started for the potential Leonard-Hagler fight. At a fundraiser in front of 10,000 people in Baltimore and with Hagler in attendance, Leonard would openly say a fight with Hagler wasn’t going to happen, aimed directly at Hagler. The moment, at the time, was an embarassment to Leonard given the way he did it, and a disappointment to Hagler, who was waiting for the defining moment of his career, but he kept fighting on. After Hagler got the wins over Hearns and Mugabi, Leonard announced that he will be back to face Hagler. The fight was agreed to, but not before manipulation by Leonard due to the disrespect he had for Hagler, and he also lacked the desire to fight this super fight on fair and even terms. Leonard demanded a bigger ring (22X22 feet), larger gloves (10 oz as opposed to 8 oz), and the fight to be scheduled for 12 rounds instead of the traditional 15 rounds. Feeling confident that he would win with all these disrespectful stipulations, Hagler and his camp agreed to the terms in exchange for receiving the higher purse of the fight. Everything was done, and the stage was set for April 6, 1987, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the early rounds, weirdly, the southpaw Hagler tried to get cute with Leonard fighting out of the conventional stance. As a result, he allowed Leonard to dictate the pace of the fight by winning the first four rounds. After finding out that the strategy wasn’t working, Hagler went back to his comfortable style of fighting out of the southpaw stance and started to get going. Hagler started to get to Leonard as Leonard was still trying to move away and box. As Hagler was starting to gain momentum, the fight was beginning to get closer and Leonard started to show signs of fatigue. The pressure and strength of Hagler started showing.

Despite the turn in momentum, Leonard would find ways to fight out of tough spots as he showed the same resilience he showed when he beat Hearns in 1981. Especially in round nine, where, after being pinned on the ropes, Leonard fired a machine gun-like combination, putting Hagler on the defensive and answering every punch of Hagler’s in a furious round that saw both fighters have their moments.

However, in rounds 10 and 11 it appeared Leonard found a second wind as he started to use the ring and make Hagler miss and make him pay with counterpunches every time Hagler missed. After losing the momentum in the previous rounds, Leonard controlled rounds 10 and 11 and seemed to have gained control of the fight once again.

After winning the previous two rounds, Leonard essentially coasted through the 12th round to simply avoid getting hit by any kind of punch by an oncoming Hagler, feeling that he had the fight won. Hagler kept coming and coming and won the 12th round, but was unable to land the punch that would have put Leonard on the canvas. As a result, the scheduled 12-round fight was complete, and the anticipation and suspense began as to who would the judges’ scored the fight for.

Various “unofficial” judges had the fight scored in many different ways. However, it was the official judges results that counted, despite the hot debate through Las Vegas and the world as to who won this fight. Those official scorecards were: Lou Filippo 115-113 Hagler, JoJo Guerra 118-110 Leonard, and Dave Moretti 115-113 for Leonard.

As a result, it was Leonard, after being out of the ring for 3 years, shocking the world by winning the split decision to become the world middleweight champion, a world champion in his third weight class. The decision immediately became the most debated shortly after the decision was announced as to who really won the fight, despite the official result.

Shortly after the fight, 42 recorded scorecards from the broadcasters and media were presented for the world to see. 19 scored the fight for Hagler, 17 scored it for Leonard, and 6 others called the fight a draw, with all 6 scoring the fight 114-114. Obviously, a disappointed Hagler felt he was victimized by the boxing public who never liked him, and that was why the judges gave the fight to Leonard.

Hagler felt he did enough to win the fight by being the aggressor. Even the ones who scored the fight for Hagler thought he did as well. The ones who thought he didn’t win felt Hagler wasn’t the effective aggressor, which was one of the criteria scoring fights for judges. There were phases, especially in the early rounds, where Hagler would come forward and not throw punches, allowing Leonard to control the ring and dictate the pace. That would validate the claim of those who scored the fight for Leonard, especially the two judges whose scorecards were the ones that mattered in the end. The boxing and sports communities will always wonder if the official judges got the scores right. Regardless, the boxing world witnessed a magnificent event that not only lived up to the billing, but surpassed it.

The April 6, 1987, classic always lives on for those in the boxing and sports communities for many reasons—the fight itself, the magnificent careers of both Hagler and Leonard, the close outcome of the fight, and who they thought won the fight. You can ask anyone who saw this fight, and you will get many different opinions from many different people who always keep everyone guessing. As referee Richard Steele said on the HBO series “Legendary Nights”: “It gets closer and closer and closer.”

Four decades later, the fight is in boxing history forever, but the judges’ scorecards of the fight will always be up for conversation and debate.

A debate that still continues and will never end.

Photo Credit; The Fight City, JO Sports Inc.

***Are you interested in sports betting? If so, make sure to use our promo code below where you can get your deposit matched (up to $1000). Use promo code Sportz***

***Have you tried Dubby?? Are you looking for a Pre-Workout??
Our promo code : WeLikeSportz for 10% off!***