After his mediocre performance against Kevin Howard on May 11, 1984, Sugar Ray Leonard announced his retirement from boxing. On March 10, 1986, while in attendance at the Marvin Hagler vs. John ‘The Beast’ Mugabi bout at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, as spark was lit in Ray’s heart that he might want to fight again. In his eyes, after seeing Marvin Hagler have a difficult time with Mugabi, Leonard figured that Hagler was ripe for the taking, and a few months later he made it known he wanted a fight with Marvin.
After several months of negotiating, a date of April 6, 1987 was agreed upon for the Super-Fight to take place. I had just moved back home to New Jersey after having lived in Las Vegas for a time, and the news of the fight got me more than a little excited. I wanted nothing more than to see Ray defeat Hagler, and I would be in his corner the entire time.
In March of 1987, I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Hilton Head, South Carolina to see Ray in training for a few days at the Hotel Intercontinental. Though I had been to his training camps in both 1982 and 1984, this was something different altogether. The excitement in the air was palpable, with very few giving Ray a chance of defeating the great Marvin Hagler, especially since Leonard had only fought once in five years.
The trip to Hilton Head had only made me believe more, since Ray had looked so good in person. I read every magazine and newspaper I could, as well as watched every preview of the fight on TV. By fight night on Monday, April 6, 1987, I was almost ‘overtrained’.
When I arrived to the Spectrum in south Philadelphia, and took my $25 seat, it was almost hard to believe that I was there. When the opening bell rang, it was amazing to see Sugar Ray dancing around the ring at Caesar’s Palace, and was as if it was 1982, not 1987.
As the rounds progressed and reached the halfway point of the bout, there was no doubt in my mind that Ray was controlling the tempo and winning the fight. Hagler was too tentative, was missing punches by large margins, and being outboxed by Ray. My mind was having a hard time conceiving of what I was watching, even though it was something I truly believed would occur.
When the twelfth and final bell rang, I was confident that Leonard had won a close decision. Hagler fought well enough to win rounds, but was never dominant at all. When Ray was announced the split-decision winner, I was as thrilled as I could be, and I was happy I saw it live.
Many still argue that Hagler won the fight, but a majority of those never even saw it live!. On April 6, 1987 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sugar Ray Leonard won a split-decision victory over Marvin Hagler. Those are facts, and watching the bout again nearly 40 years later, does nothing to change my mind.
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