Editing Marvelous Marvin Hagler (section)

===Hagler vs. Leonard===
{{main|Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard}}
Hagler's next challenger was Sugar Ray Leonard, who was returning to the ring after a three-year retirement (having fought just once in the previous five years). During the pre-fight negotiations, in return for granting Hagler a larger share of the purse, Leonard obtained several conditions which were crucial to his strategy: a {{convert|22|x|22|ft|m|adj=on}} ring instead of a smaller ring, {{convert|10|oz|g|abbr=off|adj=on}} gloves instead of {{convert|8|oz|g|abbr=off|adj=on}} gloves, and the fight was to be over twelve rounds instead of the 15 rounds favoured by Hagler.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19870407&id=GadAAAAAIBAJ&pg=6015,4144686&hl=en |title=Decision Shocks Hagler |date=April 7, 1987 |access-date=March 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-yXniUJ-cBwC&q=hagler+20+foot+ring&pg=PA238 |title=Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing |isbn=9781780572567 |access-date=March 22, 2015|last1=Kimball |first1=George |date=July 15, 2011 |publisher=Mainstream }}</ref> Leonard was two years younger, had half as many fights and unbeknownst to Hagler, had engaged in several 'real' (i.e. gloves, rounds, a referee, judges and no headgear) fights behind closed doors in order to shake off his ring rust. The fight took place at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on April 6, 1987. Hagler was the clear betting favorite after a dominant six and a half years as the reigning undisputed middleweight champion of the world, having knocked out all opponents as champion except in winning a very close unanimous decision over 15 rounds against Roberto Durán. It was Leonard's first fight at middleweight ({{convert|160|lb|kg|abbr=on|adj=on|disp=or}} weight limit). The fight was to be for Hagler's [[World Boxing Council|WBC]], [[Lineal championship|lineal]] and ''Ring'' middleweight titles only, as the WBA stripped Hagler of their belt for choosing to face Leonard instead of WBA [[mandatory challenger]] [[Herol Graham]]. The [[International Boxing Federation|IBF]], while keeping Hagler as their champion, refused to sanction his fight against Leonard and said that the [[list of IBF world champions#Middleweight|IBF middleweight title]] would be declared vacant if Hagler lost to Leonard.

Hagler, a natural southpaw, opened the fight boxing out of an orthodox stance. After the quick and slick Leonard won the first two rounds on all three scorecards, Hagler started the third round as a southpaw. Hagler then did much better, though Leonard's superior speed and quick flurries kept him in the fight. But by the fifth, Leonard, who was moving a lot, began to tire and Hagler started to get closer. As Leonard tired he began to clinch with more frequency (in total referee Richard Steele gave him over 30 warnings for holding, although never deducted a point). Hagler buckled Leonard's knees with a right uppercut near the end of the round, which finished with Leonard on the ropes. Hagler continued to score effectively in round six. Leonard, having slowed down, was obliged to fight more and run less.<ref name=collins>"Sugar Ray...Still In Style", Nigel Collins, ''The Ring'' August 1987</ref>

In rounds seven and eight, Hagler's southpaw jab was landing solidly and Leonard's counter flurries were less frequent. Round nine was the most exciting round of the fight. Hagler hurt Leonard with a left cross and pinned him in a corner. Leonard was in trouble, then furiously tried to fight his way out of the corner. The action see-sawed for the rest of the round, with each man having his moments. Round ten was calmer even as Hagler continued to press forward and Leonard slowly got a second wind, as the pace slowed after the furious action of the previous round. Clearly tiring, Leonard boxed well in the eleventh. Every time Hagler scored, Leonard came back with something flashier, if not as effective. In the final round, Hagler continued to chase Leonard. He hit Leonard with a big left hand and backed him into a corner. Leonard responded with a flurry and danced away with Hagler in pursuit. The fight ended with Hagler and Leonard exchanging along the ropes. Hagler began dancing in celebration of his performance while Leonard collapsed to the canvas and raised both his arms in triumph.<ref name=collins/> Leonard threw 629 punches and landed 306, while Hagler threw 792 and landed 291.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEEDC1430F93AA35757C0A961948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print ''The New York Times''], April 9, 1987</ref>

Hagler later said that, as the fighters embraced in the ring after the fight, Leonard said to him, "You beat me, man." Hagler said after the fight, "He said I beat him and I was so happy." Leonard denied making the statement and said he only told Hagler, "You're a great champion." HBO cameras and microphones supported Hagler's version of events.

Leonard was announced as the winner and new middleweight champion of the world by split decision (118–110, 115–113, 113–115), a result which remains hotly disputed to this day. The Hagler vs. Leonard fight divides fans, pundits, press and ringside observers arguably more than any other fight in boxing history, with scorecards varying as widely as 117–111 Hagler to 118–110 Leonard and everything in between. The only near universally agreed views about the fight are that Hagler was foolish for starting the fight in an [[orthodox stance]], that Leonard won the first two rounds and that Hagler won the fifth round. Every other round in the fight divides people as to who actually won it, or if the rounds were even.

====Post-fight reaction====
Official ringside judge JoJo Guerra, whose scorecard of 118–110 in favour of Leonard was derided in many quarters, commented that:

{{blockquote|Leonard outpunched Hagler, outsmarted him, outboxed him. He looked just great. Sugar Ray Leonard was making him miss a lot, and then [[Counterpunch (boxing)|counterpunch]]ing him. Sugar Ray Leonard was beating him to the punch. They should call him Marvelous Sugar Ray Leonard. Boxing is the art of self-defense, and Sugar Ray was in command at all times. He was very fast and he was very clever. He made Marvin Hagler come to him. He dictated the fight.<ref name = "shivambu">{{cite news |author=Ira Berkow |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/09/sports/sports-of-the-times-no-hoosegow-for-jojo-guerra.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm |title=Sports of the Times; No Hoosegow for JoJo Guerra |date=April 9, 1987 |newspaper=New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.philly.com/1987-04-08/sports/26192262_1_pat-petronelli-jojo-guerra-middleweight-championship-fight |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801123018/http://articles.philly.com/1987-04-08/sports/26192262_1_pat-petronelli-jojo-guerra-middleweight-championship-fight |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 1, 2013 |title=Self-defense Guerra Brushes Off Critics, Praises Leonard Performance |date=April 8, 1987| newspaper=The Inquirer |access-date=May 16, 2014}}</ref>}}

Upon a second viewing of the fight, while maintaining his belief that Leonard won the fight, Guerra acknowledged that he made a mistake and should have scored two more rounds for Hagler.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-04-12-sp-1061-story.html They Witnessed Same Fight, Saw Different Winner]</ref> Duane Ford, chairman of the [[Nevada State Athletic Commission]], commented that Guerra probably would not be invited back to Las Vegas to judge a fight in the near future.<ref>[https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/04/07/While-the-futures-of-Ray-Leonard-and-Marvin-Hagler/2616544766400/ While the futures of Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler...]</ref>

Judge Dave Moretti, who scored it 115–113 for Leonard, said:

{{blockquote|Obviously, Hagler was the aggressor, but he was not the effective aggressor. You can't chase and get hit and chase and get hit, and get credit for it. Besides, the hardest punching was by Leonard.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|last=Berger|first=Phil|title=Judgment Day For Ring Judge|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/08/sports/judgment-day-for-ring-judge.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|access-date=December 16, 2014|work=The New York Times|date=April 8, 1987}}</ref>}}

Judge [[Lou Filippo]], who scored it 115–113 for Hagler and felt that Hagler's bodyshots and aggression earned him the nod, said:

{{blockquote|Hagler was doing all the work. The referee, Richard Steele, warned Leonard at least once every round about holding. Leonard fought in spurts. Leonard would run in and grab and hold. He did what he had to do. But I can't see a guy holding that much and getting points for it.<ref name="nytimes.com"/>}}

[[Hugh McIlvanney]], commenting in the British ''[[Sunday Times]]'' and ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'':

{{blockquote|What Ray Leonard pulled off in his split decision over Hagler was an epic illusion. He had said beforehand that the way to beat Hagler was to give him a distorted picture. But this shrewdest of fighters knew it was even more important to distort the picture for the judges. His plan was to "steal" rounds with a few flashy and carefully timed flurries and to make the rest of each three-minute session as unproductive as possible for Hagler by circling briskly away from the latter's persistent pursuit. When he made his sporadic attacking flourishes, he was happy to exaggerate hand speed at the expense of power, and neither he nor two of the scorers seemed bothered by the fact that many of the punches landed on the champion's gloves and arms.<ref>The Hardest Game, Hugh McIlvanney, Contemporary Books, 2002</ref><ref name="Video">{{cite news| url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1065875/index.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511043509/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1065875/index.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=May 11, 2012 | work=CNN | title=Video | date=April 20, 1987}}</ref>}}

McIlvanney also referred to [[Budd Schulberg]]'s contention about a 'compound optical illusion', namely that by being the underdog and more competitive than expected against the dominant undisputed champion in Hagler meant that Leonard appeared more effective and to be doing more than he actually was. Leonard himself had said to journalists before the fight "the reason I will win is because you don't think I can".<ref name="Video"/> [[Harry Gibbs (referee)|Harry Gibbs]], the British judge who had been rejected by Pat Petronelli from Hagler's camp and replaced by JoJo Guerra, said he scored it 115–113 for Hagler when he watched the fight at home.

[[Jim Murray (sportswriter)|Jim Murray]], long-time sports columnist for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' felt that Leonard deservedly got the decision, arguing that Leonard showed better defense and ring generalship, landed more punches and writing:

{{blockquote|It wasn't even close...He didn't just outpoint Hagler, he exposed him. He made him look like a guy chasing a bus, in [[snowshoes]]. Leonard repeatedly beat Hagler to the punch. When he did, he hit harder. He hit more often. He made Hagler into what he perceived him to be throughout his career—a brawler, a swarmer, a man who could club you to death only if you stood there and let him. If you moved, he was lost.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3cUlAAAAIBAJ&pg=3643,2396700&dq=jim-murray+sugar+ray+leonard+hagler&hl=en |title=Sugar Ray Exposed Him, Jim Murray, 1987 |date=April 8, 1987 |access-date=May 16, 2014}}</ref>}}

The scorecards from the ringside press and broadcast media attest to the polarizing views and opinions of the fight (17 for Leonard, 18 for Hagler, 6 calling it a draw):

{|
|-
|width=25% valign=top|
*
*ABC ([[Howard Cosell]]): 117–112 Leonard
*Associated Press: 117–112 Hagler
*Baltimore Sun: 7–5 Leonard (115–113 Leonard)
*Boston Globe (Ron Borges): 115–113 Hagler
*Boston Globe (Steve Marantz): 117–111 Leonard
*Boston Herald: 116–113 Leonard
*CBS ([[Gil Clancy]]): 115–113 Leonard
*CBS ([[Tim Ryan (sportscaster)|Tim Ryan]]): 115–114 Hagler
*Chicago Sun-Times: 115–114 Hagler
*Chicago Tribune (1 – Bob Verdi): 115–113 Hagler
*Chicago Tribune (2 – Bernie Lincicome): 115–113 Hagler
*Chicago Tribune (3 – Sam Smith): 115–113 Hagler
*ESPN (Al Bernstein): 115–113 Hagler 
*ESPN (Dave Bontempo): 114–114
*HBO ([[Harold Lederman]]): 115–113 Leonard
*HBO ([[Larry Merchant]]): 114–114
*Houston Chronicle: 115–114 Leonard
*KO Magazine: 118–111 Leonard
*Los Angeles Times: 117–111 Leonard
*Miami Herald: 116–112 Hagler
|width=25% valign=top|
*Miami News: 116–112 Hagler
*Newsday: 115–114 Hagler
*New York ''Daily News'' (1): 117–111 Leonard
*New York Daily News (2 – Michael Katz): 117–112 Leonard
*New York Post (1): 114–114
*New York Post (2 – Jerry Lisker): 115–113 Hagler
*New York Times ([[Dave Anderson (sportswriter)|Dave Anderson]]): 114–114
*Newark Star-Ledger ([[Jerry Izenberg]]): 115–113 Hagler 
*Oakland Tribune: 117–112 Leonard
*Philadelphia Daily News (1): 116–112 Leonard
*Philadelphia Daily News (2): 115–113 Hagler
*''The Ring'' (Nigel Collins): 115–113 Leonard
*''The Ring'' (Phill Marder): 114–114
*San Jose Mercury-News: 116–115 Hagler
*Seattle Times: 115–113 Hagler
*Sports Illustrated ([[Hugh McIlvanney]]): 116–112 Hagler
*Sports Illustrated (Pat Putnam): 115–113 Hagler
*Sports Illustrated (William Nack): 116–114 Leonard
*United Press International: 116–112 Leonard
*USA Today: 115–113 Leonard
*''The Washington Post'': 114–114
|}

====Rematch====
Hagler requested a rematch but Leonard chose to retire again (the third of five high-profile retirements announced by Leonard during his professional boxing career), having announced it beforehand.<ref>{{cite news|last=Winderman|first=Ira|title=After A Year's Prefight, Bell Tolls For These|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-04-05/sports/8701220087_1_hagler-and-leonard-marvelous-marvin-hagler-fight|access-date=December 16, 2014|work=Sun-Sentinel|location=Fort Lauderdale|date=April 5, 1987|archive-date=November 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112151458/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-04-05/sports/8701220087_1_hagler-and-leonard-marvelous-marvin-hagler-fight|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="champsuk.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.champsuk.com/i-543/sugar-ray-leonard-post-fight-press-conference-after-defeating-marvin-hagler-original-wire-photograph-.html |title=Sugar Ray Leonard Post Fight Press Conference After Defeating Marvin Hagler |publisher=Champsuk.com |date=April 6, 1987 |access-date=May 16, 2014}}</ref> Fourteen months following their fight, Hagler retired from boxing on June 13, 1988, after watching WBA middleweight champion [[Sumbu Kalambay]] prevail over his brother, Robbie Sims, via unanimous decision.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hagler Retires From Ring|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/13/sports/hagler-retires-from-ring.html|access-date=April 21, 2021|work=The New York Times|location=New York City|date=June 13, 1988}}</ref> Hagler declared that he was "tired of waiting" for Leonard to grant him a rematch. Just a month succeeding Hagler's retirement, Leonard announced another boxing comeback to fight against WBC [[light heavyweight]] champion [[Donny Lalonde]] at the {{convert|168|lb|kg|adj=on}} [[super middleweight]] limit. In 1990, Leonard finally offered Hagler a rematch which reportedly would have earned him $15 million, but he declined. By then, Hagler had settled down into a new life as an actor in Italy and was now uninterested in his past boxing life.<ref name="sportsillustrated.cnn.com">{{cite magazine|first=Rick|last=Telander|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1136738/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100708234500/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1136738/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 8, 2010 |title=With Friends Like These, Who Needs Sugar Ray? |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=July 2, 1990 |access-date=May 16, 2014}}</ref><ref name=carter>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/classic/news/story?page=add_hagler_marvin |title=You Look Marvelous |first=Bob |last=Carter |work=ESPN Sport|date=September 26, 2006 |access-date=May 16, 2014}}</ref> Hagler said "A while ago, yeah, I wanted him so bad, but I'm over that."<ref name="sportsillustrated.cnn.com"/> At the 1994 [[Consumer Electronics Show]], Hagler and Leonard had a mock rematch by playing against each other in the video game ''[[Boxing Legends of the Ring]]'' and claimed that an actual rematch was being planned, though it never happened.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Famous Boxers Duke it Out|magazine=[[GamePro]]|issue=57|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|date=April 1994|pages=176}}</ref>