It was always a relief to see Marvin Hagler beating an opponent into submission because you knew that, if the fight had gone the distance, Hagler was at the mercy of judges who often did not fully appreciate his work.
Hagler's fight in 1987 with Ray Leonard was the epitome of the way judges treated Hagler in the scoring. I was hoping he would knock out Leonard because I didn't feel good at all about how the judges would decide the fight, Leonard being the media darling and all. The judges were going to be focused on everything Leonard did and ignore Hagler's work, which was often subtle. Hagler didn't knock out Leonard and my worst fears were realized. Of major news organizations covering the fight, Hagler drew or won on eight of 14 cards. The Associated Press had Hagler winning 117-112, which is about what I had after 12 rounds. However, the official decision was split, with one judge awarding the fight to Hagler and the other two giving the fight to Leonard, one by a ridiculous 8 point margin. Hagler threw many more punches than Leonard according to punchstat numbers, 792 to 629. That Hagler was the busier fighter was obvious. What wasn't obvious were punchstat numbers showing that Leonard landed 15 more punches than Hagler (291-306). In any case, that is not a significant difference and Hagler's punches were the cleaner and harder of the two boxers, often staggering Leonard. Hagler controlled the pace throughout most of the fight and assumed control after the fourth round. For his part, Leonard ran and flurried, punched low, slapped, spun, clowned. It was a major league robbery.
Another notable case was Hagler and Antuofermo 1979 scrap. This was Hagler's first shot at the title and easily his toughest fight at the championship level. Hagler dominated the first half of the match. Antuofermo turned it on in the eighth and fought like a man possessed from that point onward. Hagler stepped up his game, too, and the fight descended into trench warfare. Hagler dominated more of the exchanges, but Antuofermo's intensity was impressive and he lept it close, even winning some rounds. More ringside observers believe Hagler won the fight rather handily. I agree. However, one judge saw it for Antuofermo (by a ridiculous margin) and another scored the fight even. Thus the fight was declared a draw and Hagler was viewed as the uncrowned champion. Ironically, Antuofermo put forth a much better fight against Hagler than did Leonard, yet most people believe Hagler was robbed in the Antuofermo fight.
Hagler-Duran 1984. Hagler won this fight by a wide margin in my view, however, two of the three judges at Duran ahead the end of the 12th round. Hagler turned it on in the last three rounds to pull out the victory. Both fights put on a grand display of boxing savvy. Duran was especially impressive given that he had moved up from welterweight (before that he was the long-standing lightweight champion). Why the judges had it so close is a bit of a mystery, though. Hagler's physical advantages made it very difficult for Duran to dominate exchanges. He kept it close by using his boxing skills. But Hagler clear one.
Hagler's fight in 1987 with Ray Leonard was the epitome of the way judges treated Hagler in the scoring. I was hoping he would knock out Leonard because I didn't feel good at all about how the judges would decide the fight, Leonard being the media darling and all. The judges were going to be focused on everything Leonard did and ignore Hagler's work, which was often subtle. Hagler didn't knock out Leonard and my worst fears were realized. Of major news organizations covering the fight, Hagler drew or won on eight of 14 cards. The Associated Press had Hagler winning 117-112, which is about what I had after 12 rounds. However, the official decision was split, with one judge awarding the fight to Hagler and the other two giving the fight to Leonard, one by a ridiculous 8 point margin. Hagler threw many more punches than Leonard according to punchstat numbers, 792 to 629. That Hagler was the busier fighter was obvious. What wasn't obvious were punchstat numbers showing that Leonard landed 15 more punches than Hagler (291-306). In any case, that is not a significant difference and Hagler's punches were the cleaner and harder of the two boxers, often staggering Leonard. Hagler controlled the pace throughout most of the fight and assumed control after the fourth round. For his part, Leonard ran and flurried, punched low, slapped, spun, clowned. It was a major league robbery.
Another notable case was Hagler and Antuofermo 1979 scrap. This was Hagler's first shot at the title and easily his toughest fight at the championship level. Hagler dominated the first half of the match. Antuofermo turned it on in the eighth and fought like a man possessed from that point onward. Hagler stepped up his game, too, and the fight descended into trench warfare. Hagler dominated more of the exchanges, but Antuofermo's intensity was impressive and he lept it close, even winning some rounds. More ringside observers believe Hagler won the fight rather handily. I agree. However, one judge saw it for Antuofermo (by a ridiculous margin) and another scored the fight even. Thus the fight was declared a draw and Hagler was viewed as the uncrowned champion. Ironically, Antuofermo put forth a much better fight against Hagler than did Leonard, yet most people believe Hagler was robbed in the Antuofermo fight.
Hagler-Duran 1984. Hagler won this fight by a wide margin in my view, however, two of the three judges at Duran ahead the end of the 12th round. Hagler turned it on in the last three rounds to pull out the victory. Both fights put on a grand display of boxing savvy. Duran was especially impressive given that he had moved up from welterweight (before that he was the long-standing lightweight champion). Why the judges had it so close is a bit of a mystery, though. Hagler's physical advantages made it very difficult for Duran to dominate exchanges. He kept it close by using his boxing skills. But Hagler clear one.
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