Editing Marvelous Marvin Hagler (section)

====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
|}