One measure of the legacy of a champion is the quality of his opposition. Hagler's title reign is studded with middleweight contenders who would have threatened in any era. Fulgencio Obelmejias, his first defense after demolishing Alan Minter to win the title, is a case in point. Obelmejias hailed from Venezuela. He was 6'1" tall and broad shouldered. He looked like a light heavyweight and indeed moved to that weight class after his two unsuccessful bids to win Hagler's title. Obelmejias came into the first fight with an undefeated record, with 27 of his 30 wins coming inside the distance. After his eighth round stoppage loss to Hagler, Obelmejias ran off eight straight wins, all inside the distance, to earn a second show at Hagler's title. Hagler stopped Obelmejias in five rounds in the rematch. Obelmejias retired with a record of 52-5 (41).
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Reflections on a Not-so-Great Event
The welterweight title unification bout between Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns is heralded as an all-time great boxing match. The fact that it was a unification match is one of the reasons for its notoriety. There are substantive reasons, as well. It has been hyped as demonstrating Leonard's singular ambition and tenacity - the :heart of a lion." And the role reversal, where the puncher - Hearns - became the boxer and the boxer - Leonard - became the slugger is the stuff of lore.
All of these beliefs about the fight are wrong. First, the fight was really a defense of Leonard's world welterweight title. Unification bouts are important only when there is no linear champion. Second, the fight demonstrated nothing special about Leonard except the high opinion of the man in the eyes of the referee, who intervened to save Leonard from possibly losing a fight in which he was completely outclassed from the outset. Third, Hearns was always the better boxer (and of course puncher), and displayed his superior skill by nearly shutting out Leonard. Hearns would have won easily had he not overtrained for the fight - he weighed in well under the welterweight limit and given that the young man was 6'1" and outgrowing the division, he didn't have the fat stores to carry him solidly through 15 rounds - and had Leonard not enjoyed the favoritism of referee Davey Pearl.
The referee's behavior was, frankly, disgraceful. In the 14th round, exhausted, Hearns fell through the ropes during one of Leonard's amateurish bull rushes. The referee correctly saw this as a push. Hearns righted himself and Leonard rushed him again, again pushing him through the ropes. Inexplicably, the referee ruled the same event as a knockdown. Then, with Hearns against the ropes, easily avoiding Leonard's desperate flailing, the referee stepped between the fighters and raised Leonard's hand in victory.
Testifying to the desire of people to see Leonard as an all-time great (and somebody to fill the void left by a true all-time great, Muhammad Ali), the news media spin of the fight has become the common memory.
Leonard avoided Hearns for eight years. In the belated rematch, Hearns floored Leonard twice and outboxed him throughout. The judges gave Hearns a draw. Figures.
All of these beliefs about the fight are wrong. First, the fight was really a defense of Leonard's world welterweight title. Unification bouts are important only when there is no linear champion. Second, the fight demonstrated nothing special about Leonard except the high opinion of the man in the eyes of the referee, who intervened to save Leonard from possibly losing a fight in which he was completely outclassed from the outset. Third, Hearns was always the better boxer (and of course puncher), and displayed his superior skill by nearly shutting out Leonard. Hearns would have won easily had he not overtrained for the fight - he weighed in well under the welterweight limit and given that the young man was 6'1" and outgrowing the division, he didn't have the fat stores to carry him solidly through 15 rounds - and had Leonard not enjoyed the favoritism of referee Davey Pearl.
The referee's behavior was, frankly, disgraceful. In the 14th round, exhausted, Hearns fell through the ropes during one of Leonard's amateurish bull rushes. The referee correctly saw this as a push. Hearns righted himself and Leonard rushed him again, again pushing him through the ropes. Inexplicably, the referee ruled the same event as a knockdown. Then, with Hearns against the ropes, easily avoiding Leonard's desperate flailing, the referee stepped between the fighters and raised Leonard's hand in victory.
Testifying to the desire of people to see Leonard as an all-time great (and somebody to fill the void left by a true all-time great, Muhammad Ali), the news media spin of the fight has become the common memory.
Leonard avoided Hearns for eight years. In the belated rematch, Hearns floored Leonard twice and outboxed him throughout. The judges gave Hearns a draw. Figures.
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