SUGAR RAY LENNARD'S BIG 5: THE CONTROVERSIAL DECISION AGAINST HAGLER

SUGAR RAY LENNARD'S BIG 5: THE CONTROVERSIAL DECISION AGAINST HAGLER

In the years leading up to 1987, Sugar Ray Leonard's career took a strange turn. At the beginning of the decade, the great boxer suffered his first defeat in the professional ring. Roberto Duran stops the American with a referee's decision after 27 consecutive successes. Less than 3 months later, Leonard got his revenge, and with that, he also regained the world welterweight title. Several defenses followed until 1984, among them the historic fight with Thomas Hearns. In May 84, Leonard defeated Kevin Howard, but after the match announced his retirement from boxing. Again!

Sugar Ray didn't last very long without the pro ring. In 1986, Marvin Hagler earned his 62nd win out of 66 fights. The American becomes the absolute middleweight champion. And that prompts Sugar Ray to come out of retirement to take the achievement away from Hagler. So on April 6, 1987, the two faced each other in Nevada.

The match is one of the most expensive to date in sports. The two share almost 25 million dollars. Sugar Ray has one date in the last 5 years. Everyone expects an easy victory for the champion against the former champion, who takes a heavy blow during a preparatory sparring match against Quincy Taylor. Surprisingly, Leonard won the first few rounds, then boxed extremely smartly and tried to maintain his points lead.

In the 9th round, Sugar Ray's plan falls apart. He is seriously injured by the opponent's left hand and is pinned in the corner. By the end of the round, both men were landing great shots, but after the bout, Roger Perron of Hagler's staff stated, "That round was probably the best of his career."

Either way, the two legends fill out the 12-round format. The statistics are surprising. Leonard is hitting 306 shots to 291 for the opposition. And with 629 attempts compared to 792 for Hagler. The judges are not of one mind. Still, Sugar Ray wins by a 2-1 vote. Many have identified Marvin as the real winner as the aggressor in the match. Most shots and good defense get Leonard the win. The loss literally retired the previous champion, and the new one returns with a bang to the sport, who donates 5 more fights in the professional ring before his final retirement.

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