Leonard vs. Hagler ("The SuperFight) (1987)

This was one of the most disgraceful decisions in boxing history. Marvin Hagler was the middleweight champion; he hadn't lost a fight in 11 years but he was robbed that night in Las Vegas. I watched the fight live on PPV. Leonard had ducked Hagler for years because he knew Hagler was a much better fighter. Figuring his only chance to win would be against an aging Hagler, Leonard finally issued a challenge. That Hagler's camp would accept Leonard's demands for a larger ring (20ft), shorter fight (12 rounds instead of 15) and larger, thumbless gloves (Reyes) still confounds me to this day. Marvelous Marvin was champion. He could have refused all of Ray's demands and still insisted on the lion's share of the purse. That said, even an older Hagler in a 20 foot ring had little difficulty beating Leonard. I've watched the fight many times since 1987 and I still give the win to Marvin Hagler 7 rounds to 4 rounds, with 1 even. Hagler outworked Leonard from start to finish. Leonard did not ... Read more

Ray won the fight. Won the first four rounds clearly!, and more than held his own in the other eight. A Master class of boxing, and probably the Greatest comeback in sporting history. It`s just a shame he didn't retire after the fight, because he was carrying to much weight and lost his speed slightly, he even went up to fight light heavyweight and won, but Welterweight and light middleweight where his best divisions. Shame he lost his best years through the retina injury because he was a true master of the ring, but like all great athletes, Father Time gets them in the end!.

One of my all-time favorites (maybe because I won a few hundred bucks from friends who swore Hagler would knock Leonard out in the first- third round). Still one of the most contoversial decisions in any championship fight...exactly why, I cannot comprehend. I say now as I did 20 years ago, Leonard clearly won the fight.

I seen this fight a years ago and again quite recently. I can't believe there is still Debates going on about it. Leonard jabbed and danced away from Hagler the whole fight making him like very old indeed and was a clear winner for me. I think the reason the Fight was so controversial was down to the Judge who scored it 118 - 110 for Leonard which was a disgrace.I had Leonard winning a close Fight by 2 Rounds but it could have been so different if Hagler had won any of the first 4 rounds.

This fight is a black mark on the sport of boxing. Hagler was the defending champion. When you face the champ, you must TAKE his title from him, clearly and undeniably. Ray failed to do that in any way. No matter how many times I watch this fight, I see the same thing - Marvin, for the majority of the fight, out-punches, out-boxes, and out-hustles Ray. Marvin lands more punches, cleaner punches, and more powerful punches. Rays punches were pitty-pat powerless nothings. This was not an amateur fight where the glove simply must make contact to score, which seemed to be what Ray thought. Bottom line of this fight for me? Ray was the media darling,and America's darling. Most everyone WANTED Ray to win this fight. And he did, despite a clearly superior performance by Hagler. Marvin was robbed of his title, and there should have been indictments, sanctions, or SOME punitive action taken against the judges.

Several key factors had significant influence on the outcome of this fight, which I still can't watch without wanting to dismantle the TV. 1. Although the had ALL the leverage in negotiations, the Petronelli(sp) brothers - Haglers handlers conceded a larger ring(20 ft vs 18 I think) and large gloves. Both played into Leonard being able to dance vs box for 12 rounds and lessened the impact of the heavier puncher, in this case Hagler 2. Hagler's prior fight against the previously undeafeated John "The Beast" Muganbi was an all out war that neither fighter fully recovered from. Thing Ali v Frazier III a level or two down. Leonard was at that fight. It convinced him he might be able to stand with Hagler, who looked nowherer near the killing maching he was against Hearns 2 years earlier. 3. Leonard was one smart SOB. Look at the fignt. 15 - 20 seconds before the end of every round you can hear Dundee screaming to pick it up. That late round flourishes ( more like b*tch slaps imo) had a m... Read more

1987 Fight of the Year, "The Superfight" was a clash of Titans. Hagler and Leonard were not titanic in size, but their popularity and abilities were. This bought featured the stalking power of Marvellous Marvin Hagler and the cat like speed and reflexes of Leonard, who was able to circle around the formidable Hagler. I believe Leonard won this fight not just with the flash and pizazz that he displayed, but with the way he was able to land his jab, and the quick combos that he landed while fighting off the ropes. The amount of skill, taunting, and action make this a must see.

This was a solid and well fought fight from both fighters. I've watched this fight from stem to stern probably no less than a dozen times, and at the risk of offending some of the old time purists here, I always come to the same conclusion: Leonard won the fight. -- I'm not sure what the final punch tally was, but the criteria that judges use to determine the winner is not always soley dependent on punch count. Leonard did what he did best as a fighter and Hagler seemed to not be at the top of his game that evening, though he still fought well enough to win had he fought a lesser fighter. Hagler could have gotten the decision and I would not have been upset, because this was just too close a fight, and perhaps it did come down to who we (and perhaps the judges)liked better as fight fans. There is no question that Ray was given some gifts in his career, and no fight better exemplified that better than Leonard-Hearns 2. But I don't think this fight was a gift for anyone, and I didn't env... Read more

All these years later and I still haven't changed my mind. Hagler won that fight, and Leonard was given a gift. He did just enough to look good, but not enough to win. Hagler could have and should have done more, but he did more than enough to win. Three times in his career Leonard won fights he shouldn't have. This is one of them.

I felt all the throughthe fight that Leonard was running scared of Hagler. As Hagler stated , Leonard fought like a cissy.

WHEN I FIRST SAW THE FIGHT ... I WAS EXCITED TO SEE SUGAR RAY COME BACK AND TAKE THE CHALLENGE ... LIKE MOST FIGHT FANS EITHER RINGSIDE OR AT HOME I WAS AMAZED AT HOW GOOD SUGAR RAY LOOKED IN THE RING VS WHAT WAS VIEWED AS A LOSE- LOSE SITUATION FOR LEONARD ...... I CHEERED AT EVERY ALI SHUFFLE ... AT EVERY COMBINATION AND FLURRY .. AND WHEN THE DUST CLEARED I FELT SUGAR RAY HAD WON THE FIGHT ... BUT AFTER WATCHING THE FIGHT YEARS AFTER, AND SCORING ROUND PER ROUND AND BLOW FOR BLOW .... SUGAR RAY MAY HAVE WON THE HEARTS OF ALL WHO WATCHED THE FIGHT ... BUT IN ACTUALITY ... HE DID NOT WIN THE FIGHT IN MY HUMBLE OPINION ... I AM A SUGAR RAY LEONARD FAN ... AND I AM NOW ALSO A MARVIN HAGLER FAN ... IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO SEE MARVELOUS COME BACK FOR A MANDATORY REMATCH ... BUT SUGAR RAY PUT TOO MUCH SUGAR IN MARVINS TANK THAT NIGHT ... HIS ENGINE WAS STALLED NEVER TO FIGHT AGAIN !!! MARVING DIDNT LOSE THE FIGHT .. BUT HE DID GET BEAT IN THE WORST WAY !! EDWARD SIMPO SIGNING OUT FROM S... Read more

plain and simple hagler was outsmarted,he lost the first 4 rounds,after that sugar ray just had to win 3 out of 8 rounds to win the fight.remember that although duran lost to hagler,duran outsmarted him.

Great fight.....Hagler should have cut the ring off on a dancing Sugar Ray....hindsight is 20-20 eh Lance?

This could have been a great fight with great results, but it wasn't!!! Sugar Ray Leonard got just about everything he needed to win before the fight started!!! He got the bigger ring size he wanted so he could run, run, and run some more. He got the size and weight of the boxing gloves as well as the thumbless gloves which he insisted on using. He got the rounds reduced to 12 rounds. He definitely did not want to go 15 rounds with Marvin Hagler. He probably knew that Hagler would get him in the later rounds and Leonard was right. Sugar Ray Leonard also wanted Hagler to come down in weight. Now remember they're fighting for Hagler's Middleweight Belt. So of course Hagler did not come down in weight. With all the things Leonard got in his favor it's a surprise that this fight took place at all!!!! In fact, Leonard decided to fight Marvin Hagler only after watching how well Roberto Duran had done against the Middleweight Champ. Leonard felt that if Duran had done so well against Hagle... Read more

The fight was kind a let down. Leonard would stay away from Hagler then flurry to steal rounds in the later seconds. Hagler was frustrated by the ring size and Leonard's speed but Leonards pitter patter balogna was more reminicent of an amateur fight than anything. Nothing super here. I'd would have rather seen Hagler pound the life out of Leonard in a ring half the size.

A classic fight. No- I don't think it was a robbery because it was somewhat close- but Hagler won that bout. The forces that control boxing wanted Leonard to win.

I was only 21 at the time. To this day I still feel that Hagler was robbed of this title. It was clear that Sugar Ray was not as great of fighter as Hagler was. The judges were definitely wrong about their decision. Hagler was the ultimate fighter of all times.

Controversial to this day, the reason this has to rate as one of the greatest fights ever is because it pitted the two greatest fighters of the 1980s in Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Marvin Hagler brought the fight to the then-recently unretired Sugar Ray who won with his smarts. From the opening bell, Sugar Ray showed his panache by standing at the center of the ring and marking the territory Hagler had thought was exclusively his own. Hagler was the busier fighter, but Leonard would outsmart him with his ring-savvy. At the end, Sugar Ray won, but it does not diminish either's career as both were the epitomy of boxing in the 1980s.

Classic example of the magnitude of the bout (and not the actual fight itself) is what makes this fight a great one. Whether you thought Hagler deserved a close decision or Leonard deserved a close decision or that the fight was a draw, it was a close fight and nobody (especially Marvin Hagler) should quibble with the outcome. And if Hagler is upset about the outcome, don't blame the judges or Las Vegas, blame yourself for giving away the first 3 or 4 rounds.

Great fight! I always believed that a great skilled boxer could beat a slugger or power puncher anyday. And that is what happened in this fight. Did Hagler win? Resoundingly NO! No one gives Leonard that credit that he's due. He fought Hagler like no one else. He out thought and out boxed him. The name of game is Boxing not who can throw the hardest punch or who can knock someone out. Ray displayed a art that has been long missed in a sport that was once great. Ray got into Marvin's head throughout. Nuff said.

good fight... i guess. the only reason i dont give it a higher rating is becuz it wusnt a slugfest, leonard kept running, and hagler lost. i think hagler wus cheated. those judges should be arrested or put under indictment for not giving hagler the win he deserved.

I was sixteen at the time and could not understand why Hagler lost. Since, I have become a student of the sport. Leonard's performance combined with his boxing skills, time off and punches to the head count for more body punches from a slugger that don't knock anyone down on most judges scorecards. Hagler needed to knock Ray out, which he could not do. I still think Hagler won, but now understanding the POLITRICKS of the matter I fully inderstand why he didn't. A great fight, Hagler's still underated, and is truly one of the best ever. Could he beat Hopkins? I think Hagler could, we'll never know, but we can speculate, and that's fun too.

Sugar Ray took three years off, then returned as if he hadn't missed a day in the gym with a stunning boxing performance to take Marvin Hagler's middleweight title.