Of the four notable fighters of the early 1980s - Wilfred Benetiz, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, and Ray Leonard - Hagler is the outstanding candidate for the top spot. He not only defeated Duran (over 15 rounds), Hearns (by knockout), and Leonard (but was robbed in Las Vegas), but defeated other outstanding fighters, including Mustapha Hamsho, who held a win over Benitez, and Juan Roldan, who thrilled fans with a shotout versus Hearns for the vacant WBC middleweight title. There is little doubt among boxing observers that Hagler would have overpowered Benitez.
Duran decisively defeated Leonard, put on a fabulous, albeit losing, performance against Hagler, and won the WBC middleweight title by defeating Iran Barkley, who had knocked out Hearns (and would go on to decision Hearns at light heavyweight). Duran overwhelmed Carlos Palomino, whom Benitez had, in a controversial split decision, defeated for the world welterweight title. Moreover, Duran was world lightweight champion for nearly the entire decade of the 1970s, posting 12 successful title defenses. Against Duran are these facts: Duran suffered a crushing defeat to Hearns (second round blowout) and was outboxed by Benitez (granted Duran was flat for the fight).
Hearns was cleanly outboxing Leonard in their first fight before the referee inexplicably stopped the action and awarded the fight to Leonard. In fact, over the first 12 rounds, except for two rounds, Leonard appeared to be completely baffled by Hearns' boxing ability. Hearns outboxed master boxer Benitez and blew away Duran and Roldan. He outpointed Leonard in the rematch, dropping him twice. Hearns moved up in weight to win the WBA and the WBC light heavyweight titles in separate fights. Hearns' boxing ability was phenomenal, losing only one decision during his entire career, a close loss to Iran Barkley in their rematch. However, Hagler blew Hearns away and he was wiped out by Iran Barkey to lose his middleweight title.
It is difficult to rank Benitez above Duran even though he defeated him because of Duran's accomplishments, particularly his victory over Leonard (and especially in light of Benitez's loss to Leonard), and his performances against Hagler and Barkley. We can't rank him over Hearns given that he dropped a decision to Hearns.
However, it's difficult to rank Leonard over Benitez. Benitez defeated Palomino, who lost to Duran, defeated Duran, to whom Leonard lost, and lost a close decision to Hearns, who had clearly demonstrated his superiority over Leonard. The Benitez who defeated Duran and fought a close contest with Hearns would have likely have outboxed Leonard. And Leonard's unjust 14th-round stoppage against Hearns should not benefit Leonard in these rankings.
Leonard has trouble against the others because of the reality of his record. He rose to challenge for the welterweight title without having to fight outstanding opposition. He won the title on a controversial 15th-round stoppage against Benitez. He was thoroughly dominated by Duran and regained the title when Duran couldn't continue in a fight where there was no clear leader (it is itself quite revealing that Leonard could not dominate an opponent who would only hours later be hospitalized for severe stomach cramps). Leonard lost almost every round against Hearns (he maybe won two of the 13 rounds) before the referee stopped the fight without cause and awarded the title to Leonard. Leonard lost to a shop-worn Hagler over twelve rounds. Leonard lost to Hearns in the rematch and was knocked down twice. And while Leonard outpointed Duran over 12 rounds in their rubbermatch, Duran was 38 years old and Leonard refused to engage Duran in battle (in my view it should have been ruled a "no contest," as Leonard effectively refused to fight).
So after a comparative analysis, the rankings of the fabulous five look like this:
1. Roberto Duran: world lightweight champion, 12 successful title defense; world welterweight champion; and WBC middleweight champion. Held wins over Palomino, Leonard, Cuevas, and Barkley. Capturing titles in two more weight classes after having dominated a division for nearly a decade is nothing short of phenomenal. Duran is a top five all-time great.
2. Marvin Hagler, world middleweight champion, 12 successful title defenses, including wins over Duran and Hearns, as well as wins over Antuofermo, Hamsho, and Roldan. If there was justice in scoring, Hagler would have 13 successful title defenses. Hagler is clearly the best middleweight of the five and the best middleweight in history. He is a top ten all-time great.
3. Thomas Hearns, WBC middleweight champion (clearest claim on the world title), WBA light heavyweight champion, and WBC light heavyweight (clearest claim on the world title) champion. Held wins over Cuevas, Duran, Benitez, and Roldan. He beat Leonard in their rematch, and he was the victim of a serious injustice in their first fight. He proved in both fights that he could outbox Leonard. While Hearns was among the ten best welterweights and middleweights, crushing defeats to Hagler and Barkley put him outside the top ten all-time pound-for-pound rankings.
4. Wilfred Benitez and Ray Leonard (tie). Benitez defeated Duran whereas Leonard lost to Duran. Benitez did far better against Hearns than did Leonard. A prime Benitez would have done as well as Leonard against an old and faded Hagler. At the same time Leonard was outboxing Benitez in their match before the referee stopped it. Neither fighter is a top 20 all-time great, though.
Duran decisively defeated Leonard, put on a fabulous, albeit losing, performance against Hagler, and won the WBC middleweight title by defeating Iran Barkley, who had knocked out Hearns (and would go on to decision Hearns at light heavyweight). Duran overwhelmed Carlos Palomino, whom Benitez had, in a controversial split decision, defeated for the world welterweight title. Moreover, Duran was world lightweight champion for nearly the entire decade of the 1970s, posting 12 successful title defenses. Against Duran are these facts: Duran suffered a crushing defeat to Hearns (second round blowout) and was outboxed by Benitez (granted Duran was flat for the fight).
Hearns was cleanly outboxing Leonard in their first fight before the referee inexplicably stopped the action and awarded the fight to Leonard. In fact, over the first 12 rounds, except for two rounds, Leonard appeared to be completely baffled by Hearns' boxing ability. Hearns outboxed master boxer Benitez and blew away Duran and Roldan. He outpointed Leonard in the rematch, dropping him twice. Hearns moved up in weight to win the WBA and the WBC light heavyweight titles in separate fights. Hearns' boxing ability was phenomenal, losing only one decision during his entire career, a close loss to Iran Barkley in their rematch. However, Hagler blew Hearns away and he was wiped out by Iran Barkey to lose his middleweight title.
It is difficult to rank Benitez above Duran even though he defeated him because of Duran's accomplishments, particularly his victory over Leonard (and especially in light of Benitez's loss to Leonard), and his performances against Hagler and Barkley. We can't rank him over Hearns given that he dropped a decision to Hearns.
However, it's difficult to rank Leonard over Benitez. Benitez defeated Palomino, who lost to Duran, defeated Duran, to whom Leonard lost, and lost a close decision to Hearns, who had clearly demonstrated his superiority over Leonard. The Benitez who defeated Duran and fought a close contest with Hearns would have likely have outboxed Leonard. And Leonard's unjust 14th-round stoppage against Hearns should not benefit Leonard in these rankings.
Leonard has trouble against the others because of the reality of his record. He rose to challenge for the welterweight title without having to fight outstanding opposition. He won the title on a controversial 15th-round stoppage against Benitez. He was thoroughly dominated by Duran and regained the title when Duran couldn't continue in a fight where there was no clear leader (it is itself quite revealing that Leonard could not dominate an opponent who would only hours later be hospitalized for severe stomach cramps). Leonard lost almost every round against Hearns (he maybe won two of the 13 rounds) before the referee stopped the fight without cause and awarded the title to Leonard. Leonard lost to a shop-worn Hagler over twelve rounds. Leonard lost to Hearns in the rematch and was knocked down twice. And while Leonard outpointed Duran over 12 rounds in their rubbermatch, Duran was 38 years old and Leonard refused to engage Duran in battle (in my view it should have been ruled a "no contest," as Leonard effectively refused to fight).
So after a comparative analysis, the rankings of the fabulous five look like this:
1. Roberto Duran: world lightweight champion, 12 successful title defense; world welterweight champion; and WBC middleweight champion. Held wins over Palomino, Leonard, Cuevas, and Barkley. Capturing titles in two more weight classes after having dominated a division for nearly a decade is nothing short of phenomenal. Duran is a top five all-time great.
2. Marvin Hagler, world middleweight champion, 12 successful title defenses, including wins over Duran and Hearns, as well as wins over Antuofermo, Hamsho, and Roldan. If there was justice in scoring, Hagler would have 13 successful title defenses. Hagler is clearly the best middleweight of the five and the best middleweight in history. He is a top ten all-time great.
3. Thomas Hearns, WBC middleweight champion (clearest claim on the world title), WBA light heavyweight champion, and WBC light heavyweight (clearest claim on the world title) champion. Held wins over Cuevas, Duran, Benitez, and Roldan. He beat Leonard in their rematch, and he was the victim of a serious injustice in their first fight. He proved in both fights that he could outbox Leonard. While Hearns was among the ten best welterweights and middleweights, crushing defeats to Hagler and Barkley put him outside the top ten all-time pound-for-pound rankings.
4. Wilfred Benitez and Ray Leonard (tie). Benitez defeated Duran whereas Leonard lost to Duran. Benitez did far better against Hearns than did Leonard. A prime Benitez would have done as well as Leonard against an old and faded Hagler. At the same time Leonard was outboxing Benitez in their match before the referee stopped it. Neither fighter is a top 20 all-time great, though.
No comments:
Post a Comment