If not for Leonard, Hagler Could've Remained Champ Another Three Years

Published

8 years ago

April 6, 2016

By Frank Lotierzo

It's hard to believe that it's been 29 years (April 6th 1987) since the showdown between undisputed middleweight champion Marvin Hagler 62-2-2 (52) and former undisputed welterweight champion Sugar Ray Leonard 33-1 (24). As most boxing aficionados know, Hagler and Leonard had been on a collision course since November 30th 1979. That was the night Hagler fought middleweight champ Vito Antuofermo to a draw in the semi windup to the WBC welterweight title clash between title holder Wilfred Benitez and challenger Sugar Ray Leonard.

The Antuofermo-Hagler bout served as the warmup to the main event between Benitez and Leonard. Hagler fought Antuofermo to a disputed draw, a fight most observers thought he won, but he left the ring as the number one contender instead of the champ. An hour later in the same ring Leonard stopped Benitez with 6 seconds left in the 15th round to capture his first world title. To add insult to injury, Leonard was paid a million dollars for his 26th bout opposed to a paltry 40 thousand for Hagler in what was his 50th bout. Since that night Hagler longed to get Leonard in the ring since he felt he was always one-upped and overshadowed by him going back to their amateur days.

Finally, after nearly eight years of speculation and two retirements and comebacks by Leonard, they finally met at the Caesars Palace outdoor arena in Las Vegas for Hagler's WBC title. Prior to the bout Leonard agreed to letting Hagler make the larger purse as long as Hagler consented to fighting Leonard in a bigger than normal ring, 20 by 20, 10 ounce gloves instead of eight, and 12 rounds instead of 15. And even after granting those concessions, Hagler opened a 4-1 betting favorite. Leonard, who had only fought once in five years prior to facing Hagler, went on to win one of the signature bouts of his stellar career via a 12-round split decision.

In a bout which basically amounted to Hagler fighting as the aggressor and Leonard the boxer/counter-puncher, it turned out Leonard was just a little too quick of hand and foot and had his biggest moments at the close of most of the rounds that he won. For some unknown reason, Hagler tried to out-box Leonard, a tactic that resulted in him clearly losing the first three rounds. Being down 0-3 in rounds, Hagler reverted to fighting more and boxing less and probably won five of the remaining nine rounds – resulting in Leonard winning the bout by a consensus 7-5 in rounds or 115-113 on points. Officially, Judge Lou Filippo scored it 115-113 Hagler, Judge Dave Moretti saw it the other way, 115-113 Leonard, with the deciding vote being cast by Judge Jose Juan Guerra 118-110 in favor of Leonard.

Since the fight many fans have argued over the decision. The decisions rendered in close bouts are always subjective and if the bout isn't conclusive, the fans of both fighters think their guy won and that holds true regarding Hagler vs. Leonard. Some also believe Ray waited for Hagler to show signs of him being on the decline, due to the tough bout he had with John “The Beast” Mugabi in his previous fight 13 months earlier. However, the bigger issue that was missed by many and still is, was that Leonard always had the fighting style to give Hagler an ulcer. Hagler was at his best when his opponents carried the action to him, thus setting him up to fight as the great counter-puncher he was. The problem for Marvin on this night was, Leonard, like Roberto Duran, the only other fighter to go the distance with Hagler in a title bout, dictated that Hagler assume the role of “Smokin” Joe Frazier and fight as the predator. And that wasn't Marvin's forte, whereas fighting on the move and using his feet to get in and out was Leonard's.

It is my belief that had Hagler not lost to or never fought Sugar Ray Leonard in April of 1987, he would've remained middleweight champion until 1990. Instead of retiring with a final career record of 62-3-2 (52) going 12-1 (11) in title defenses, he most likely would've made one title defense a year for the next three years and retired as champ with a final record of 65-2-2 (55) and 15-0 (14) in title defenses. What gets lost in the aftermath of the bout is, stylistically, Leonard was all wrong for Hagler. Ray had the height and reach, the chin and just enough punch and strength to live with Marvin every day of the week. It was also Hagler's misfortune that Leonard had been observing him as a ringside commentator on HBO during his retirement in addition to Marvin conceding to Leonard's demands during the negotiations for the bout which began in late August of 1986.

After reviewing the following, I'm convinced Hagler could've held the title into 1990…..Think about this, in 1988 Ring Magazine's top five middleweight contenders/title holders excluding Sugar Ray Leonard were Sumbu Kalambay, Michael Nunn, Roberto Duran, Iran Barkley and Thomas Hearns. In 1989 the list reads Michael Nunn, Sumbu Kalambay, Mike McCallum, Roberto Duran and Iran Barkley. As for 1990, the order is Michael Nunn, Julian Jackson, Sumbu Kalambay, Mike McCallum and Steve Collins.

Let’s assume instead of fighting Leonard, Hagler fights three times circa 1987-1990 and meets Kalambay, Nunn and either Hearns or Barkley in title defenses. Does anyone believe the Hagler who was edged out by Leonard would've lost to any of them during this time frame? Hagler was the toughest and had the best chin among the group. He was a very underrated boxer/counter-puncher and unless you are an all-time great the likes of Roberto Duran or Sugar Ray Leonard, not one of the fighters listed above could've defeated him fighting in retreat. And we certainly know that none of them were in better condition, nor could they better him by going toe-to-toe and fighting it out.

Hagler of the late eighties, although not in his vintage form, would've been too physically hard and strong for either Kalambay or Nunn. There's no chance they could've held him off and out-boxed him. Sure, they may have survived into the last third of the bout but they'd both be looking more to survive than fighting to win. Neither could've hurt Hagler and it's doubtful they would've made it to the final bell. In a rematch with Hearns, Thomas would have tried to box Hagler instead of rumbling with him like he did in April of 1985. His problem would've been, as in their first fight, he couldn't hold Marvin off when he had his feet planted and tried to put him in one of the ringside seats. How long could Hearns realistically have held him off in a rematch fighting on his toes like Leonard did while looking to pick his spots? In a rematch with Duran, I doubt Roberto could've fought to the level he did the first time they met. And Hagler would've entered that bout with a severe grudge and something to prove. If we insert Barkley instead of Duran, Hagler could've out-boxed Iran with his eyes closed and probably stopped him due to cuts over his eyes somewhere during the second half of the bout.

The biggest conjecture regarding Hagler post-1987 is, how hungry would he have remained? Based on what we know of him and his history, he probably would've continued to chase and eventually break former middleweight champion Carlos Monzon's record of 14 consecutive title defenses. And Hagler surely would have been an overwhelming favorite to defeat every potential challenger mentioned. Monzon retired in 1977 at age 35. Had Sugar Ray Leonard remained retired, Hagler more than likely would have retired in 1990 at age 36 after breaking Monzon’s record with his 15th consecutive middleweight title defense.

In the nearly 30 years that have passed since Hagler and Leonard touched gloves, no one has highlighted who the top middleweights of that era were chasing Marvin for his title. The consensus after losing to Leonard was Hagler in 1987 was basically a shell of the fighter he was two years earlier. Something that wouldn't have even been an afterthought had he been awarded the decision over Leonard that many observers believe he deserved.

In closing, let’s set the record straight….Sugar Ray Leonard legitimately out-boxed a live body in Marvin Hagler who very well may have underestimated him going into the fight. Leonard owned the style matchup and the concessions that Hagler made all but sealed his fate. More importantly, had Leonard not been around, Hagler would've remained the undisputed middleweight champ for another three years simply because there wasn't another middleweight walking the planet who could've beat an even less than vintage version of him.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

Comment on this article

Post Views: 1,278

Frank Lotierzo

Avila Perspective, Chap. 282: Ryan’s Song, Golden Boy in Fresno and More

Published

3 hours ago

April 26, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-282-Ryan's-Song-Golden-Boy-in-Fresno-and-More

Don’t call it an upset.

Days after Ryan Garcia proved the experts wrong, those same experts are re-tooling their evaluation processes.

It’s mind-boggling to me that 95 percent thought Garcia had no chance. Hear me out.

First, Garcia and Haney fought six times as amateurs with each winning three. But this time with no head gear and smaller gloves, Garcia had to have at least a 50/50 chance of winning. He is faster and a more powerful puncher.

Facts.

Haney is a wonderful boxer with smooth, almost artistic movements. But history has taught us power and speed like Garcia’s can’t be discounted. Think way back to legendary fighters like Willie Pep and Sandy Sadler. All that excellent defensive skill could not prevent Sadler from beating Pep in three of their four meetings.

Power has always been an equalizer against boxing skill.

Ben Lira, one of the wisest and most experienced trainers in Southern California, always professed knockout power was the greatest equalizer in a fight. “You can be behind for nine rounds and one punch can change the outcome,” he said.

Another weird theory spreading before the fight was that Garcia would quit in the fight. That was a puzzling one. Getting stopped by a perfect body shot is not quitting. And that punch came from Gervonta “Tank” Davis who can really crack.

So how did Garcia do it?

In the opening round Ryan Garcia timed Devin Haney’s jab and countered with a snapping left hook that rattled and wobbled the super lightweight champion. After that, Garcia forced Haney to find another game plan.

Garcia and trainer Derrick James must have worked hours on that move.

I must confess that I first saw Garcia’s ability many years ago when he was around 11 or 12. So I do have an advantage regarding his talent. A few things I noticed even back then were his speed and power. Also, that others resented his talent but respected him. He was the guy with everything: talent and looks.

And that brings resentment.

Recently I saw him and his crew rapping a song on social media. Now he’s got a song. Next thing you know Hollywood will be calling and he’ll be in the movies. It’s happened before with fighters such as Art Aragon, the first Golden Boy in the 50s. He was dating movie stars and getting involved with starlets all over Hollywood.

Is history repeating itself or is Garcia creating a new era for boxing?

Since 2016 people claimed he was just a social media creation. Now, after his win over Devin Haney a former undisputed lightweight champion and the WBC super lightweight titleholder, the boxer from the high desert area of Victorville has become one of the highest paid fighters in the world.

Ryan Garcia has entered a new dimension.

Golden Boy Season

After several down years the Los Angeles-based company Golden Boy Promotions suddenly is cracking the whip in 2024.

Avila

Vergil Ortiz Jr. (20-0, 20 KOs) returns to the ring and faces Puerto Rico’s Thomas Dulorme (26-6-1, 17 KOs) a welterweight gatekeeper who lost to Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis. They meet as super welterweights in the co-main event at Save Mart Arena in Fresno, Calif. on Saturday, April 27. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card live.

It’s a quick return to action for Ortiz who is still adjusting to the new weight division. His last fight three months ago ended in less than one round in Las Vegas. It was cut short by an antsy referee and left Ortiz wanting more after more than a year of inactivity in the prize ring.

Ortiz has all the weapons.

Also, Northern California’s Jose Carlos Ramirez (28-1, 18 KOs) meets Cuba’s Rances Barthelemy (30-2-1, 15 KOs) in a welterweight affair set for 12 rounds.

It’s difficult to believe that former super lightweight titlist Ramirez has been written off by fans after only one loss. That was several years ago against Scotland’s Josh Taylor. One loss does not mean the end of a career.

“My goal is to get back on top and to get all those belts back. I still feel like I am one of the best 140-pounders in the division,” said Ramirez who lives in nearby Avenal, Calif.

An added major attraction features Marlen Esparza in a unification rematch against Gabriela “La Chucky” Alaniz for the WBA, WBC, WBO flyweight titles. Their first fight was

a controversial win by Esparza that saw one judge give her nine of 10 rounds in a very close fight. Those Texas judges.

In a match that could steal the show, Oscar Duarte (26-2-1, 21 KOs) faces former world champion Jojo Diaz (33-5-1, 15 KOs) in a lightweight match.

Munguia and Canelo

Don’t sleep on this match.

Its current Golden Boy fighter Jaime Munguia facing former Golden Boy fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in a battle between Mexico’s greatest sluggers next week at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 4.

“I think Jaime Munguia is going to do something special in the ring,” said Oscar De La Hoya, the CEO for Golden Boy.

Tijuana’s Munguia showed up at the Wild Card Boxing gym in Hollywood where a throng of media from Mexico and the US met him.

Munguia looked confident and happy about his opportunity to fight great Canelo.

“It’s a hard fight,” said Munguia. “Truth is, its big for Mexico and not only for Mexicans but for boxing.”

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 6 p.m. Yoeniz Tellez (7-0) vs Joseph Jackson (19-0).

Sat. DAZN 9:30 a.m. Peter McGrail (8-1) vs Marc Leach (18-3-1); Beatriz Ferreira (4-0) vs Yanina Del Carmen 14-3).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Vergil Ortiz (20-0) vs Thomas Dulorme (26-6-1); Jose Carlos Ramirez (28-1) vs Rances Barthelemy (30-2-1); Marlen Esparza (14-1) vs Gabriela Alaniz (14-1).

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy Promotions

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 91

Ramon Cardenas Channels Micky Ward and KOs Eduardo Ramirez on ProBox

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Ramon-Cardenas-Channels-Micky-Ward-and-KOs-Eduardo-Ramirez-on-ProBox

The Wednesday night bi-monthly series of fights on the ProBox TV platform is the best deal in boxing; the livestream is free with no strings attached! Tonight’s episode was headlined by a super bantamweight match between San Antonio’s Ramon Cardenas and Eduardo Ramirez who brought a caravan of rooters from his hometown in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.

Cardenas, coached by Joel Diaz, entered the contest ranked #4 by the WBA. He was expected to handle Ramirez with little difficulty, but this was a close, tactical fight through eight frames when lightning struck in the form of a left hook to the liver from Cardenas. Ramirez went down on one knee and wasn’t able to beat the count. It was as if Cardenas summoned the ghost of Micky Ward who had a penchant for terminating fights with the same punch that arrived out of the blue.

The official time was 1:37 of round nine. Cardenas improved to 25-1 with his14th win inside the distance. Ramirez, who was stopped in the opening round by Nick “Wrecking” Ball in London in his lone previous fight outside Mexico, falls to 23-3-3.

Co-Feature

In an upset, Tijuana super welterweight Damian Sosa won a split decision over previously undefeated Marques Valle, a local area fighter who was stepping up in class in his first 10-round go. Sosa was the aggressor, repeatedly backing his taller opponent into the ropes where Valle was unable to get good leverage behind his punches.

The 25-year-old Valle, managed by the influential David McWater, was the house fighter. This was his 10^th appearance in this building. He brought a 10-0 (7) record and was hoping to emulate the success of his younger brother Dominic Valle who scored a second-round stoppage of his opponent in this ring two weeks ago, improving to 9-0. But Sosa, who brought a 24-2 record, proved to be a bridge too high.

The judges had it 97-93 and 96-94 for the Tijuana invader and a disgraceful 98-92 for the house fighter.

Also

In a fight whose abrupt ending would be echoed by the main event, 34-year-old SoCal featherweight Ronny Rios, now training in Las Vegas, returned to the ring after a 22-month hiatus and scored a fifth-round stoppage over Nicolas Polanco of the Dominican Republic.

A three-punch combo climaxed by a left hook to the liver took the breath out of Polanco who slumped to his knees and was counted out. A two-time world title challenger, Rios advanced to 34-4 (17 KOs). Polanco, 34, declined to 21-6-1. The official time was 0:54 of round five.

—

The next ProBox show (Wednesday, May 8) will have an international cast with fighters from Kazakhstan, Japan, Mongolia, and the United Kingdom. In the main event, Liverpool’s Robbie Davies Jr will make his U.S. debut against the California-based Kazakh Sergey Lipinets.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 580

Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Haney-Garcia-Redux-with-the-Focus-on-Harvey-Dock

Saturday’s skirmish between Ryan Garcia and WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney was a messy affair, and yet a hugely entertaining fight fused with great drama. In the aftermath, Garcia and Haney were celebrated – the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort – but there were only brickbats for the third man in the ring, referee Harvey Dock.

Devin Haney was plainly ahead heading into the seventh frame when there was a sudden turnabout when Garcia put him on the canvas with his vaunted left hook. Moments later, Dock deducted a point from Garcia for a late punch coming out of a break. The deduction forced a temporary cease-fire that gave Haney a few precious seconds to regain his faculties. Before the round was over, Haney was on the deck twice more but these were ruled slips.

The deduction, which effectively negated the knockdown, struck many as too heavy-handed as Dock hadn’t previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haney’s second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter – watching at home – as borderline, sufficient to give referee Dock the benefit of the doubt.

In a post-fight interview, Ryan Garcia faulted the referee for denying him the satisfaction of a TKO. “At the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,” said Garcia. “He could have stopped that fight.”

Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the “under,” undoubtedly felt the same way.

The internet lit up with comments assailing Dock’s competence and/or his character. Some of the ponderings were whimsical, but they were swamped by the scurrilous screeching of dolts who find a conspiracy under every rock.

Stephen A. Smith, reputedly America’s highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: “This referee is absolutely terrible….Unreal! Horrible officiating,” tweeted Stephen A whose primary area of expertise is basketball.

Harvey Dock

Dock fought as an amateur and had one professional fight, winning a four-round decision over a fellow novice on a show at a non-gaming resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He says that as an amateur he was merely average, but he was better than that, a New Jersey and regional amateur champion in 1993 and 1994 while a student New Jersey’s Essex County Community College where he majored in journalism.

A passionate fan of Sugar Ray Leonard, he started officiating amateur fights in 1998 and six years later, at age 32, had his first documented action at the professional level, working low-level cards in New Jersey. The top boxing referees, to a far greater extent than the top judges, had long apprenticeships, having worked their way up from the boonies and Dock is no exception.

Per boxrec, Haney vs Garcia was Harvey Dock’s 364^th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they weren’t even main events, but, bit by bit, more lucrative offerings started coming his way.

On May 13, 2023, Dock worked his first fights in Nevada, a 4-rounder and then a 12-rounder on a card at the Cosmopolitan topped by the 140-pound title fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. It was the first time that this reporter got to watch Dock in the flesh.

Ironically (in hindsight), the card would be remembered for the actions of a referee, in this case Tony Weeks who handled the main event. Barroso was winning the fight on all three cards when Weeks stepped in and waived it off in the ninth round after Romero cornered Barroso against the ropes and let loose a barrage of punches, none of which landed cleanly. Few “premature stoppages” were ever as garishly, nay ghoulishly, premature.

With all the brickbats raining down on Weeks, I felt a need to tamp down the noise by diverting attention away from Tony Weeks and toward Harvey Dock and took to the TSS Forum to share my thoughts. Referencing the 12-rounder, a robust junior welterweight affair between Batyr Akhmedov and Kenneth Sims Jr, I noted that Dock’s Las Vegas debut went smoothly. He glided effortlessly around the ring, making him inconspicuous, the mark of a good referee. (This post ran on May 15, two days after the fight.)

Folks at the Nevada State Athletic Commission were also paying attention. Dock was back in Las Vegas the following week to referee the lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko and before the year was out, he would be tabbed to referee the biggest non-heavyweight fight of the year, the July 29 match in Las Vegas between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.

The Haney-Garcia fight wasn’t Harvey Dock’s best hour, I’ll concede that, but a closer look at his full body of work informs us that he is an outstanding referee.

—

While the Haney-Garcia bout was in progress, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman threw everyone a curve ball, tweeting on “X” that Devin Haney would keep his title if he lost the fight. Everyone, including the TV commentators, was under the impression that the title would become vacant in the event that Haney lost.

Sulaiman cited the precedent of Corrales-Castillo II.

FYI: The Corrales-Castillo rematch, originally scheduled for June 3, 2005 and aborted on the day prior when Castillo failed to make weight, finally came off on Oct. 8 of that year, notwithstanding the fact that Castillo failed to make weight once again, scaling three-and-a-half pounds above the lightweight limit. He knocked out Corrales in the fourth round with a left hook that Las Vegas Review-Journal boxing writer Kevin Iole, alluding to the movie “Blazing Saddles,” described as Mongo-esque (translation: the punch would have knocked out a horse). After initially insisting on a rubber match, which had scant chance of happening, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Mauricio’s late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.

Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaiman’s rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.

Haney’s mandatory is Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), a cutie best known for his 2021 upset of Mikey Garcia. A bout between Haney and Martin has the earmarks of a dull fight.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum, CLICK HERE

Post Views: 943