"Sugar" Ray Leonard is one of the greatest to have ever laced up boxing gloves. You can go right down the list and check off just about everything you'd want in a complete boxing career when looking at his impressive accolades in the sport. Olympic Gold Medalist - check; Win World Titles in 5 different weight classes - check; Compete in some of the biggest fights in the history of the sport - check (Leonard vs Duran I, Leonard vs Duran II, Leonard vs Hearns I, Leonard vs Hearns II, and of course perhaps the biggest fight of the 1980s - Leonard vs Hagler.) Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year - check (twice, 1979 and 1981); Boxers Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year - check (three times - 1976, 1979, and 1981). First fighter to earn more than $100 million in total purses - check; Boxing Hall of Fame - check. Leonard was as good as they come and took the torch from Muhammad Ali as the decades turned from the 70s to the 80s.
Leonard was the fighter of the 80s', his two fights with Roberto Duran in 1980 were two of the most highly anticipated, widely-covered sporting events of the time, and both didn't fail to provide drama. The first fight featured Leonard deciding to go toe-to-toe with Duran in a slugfest, which surprised many as Leonard's best chances at victory seemed to be to use his perceived superior speed and movement. Instead he doled out punishment in what was a classic, 15-round encounter from Montreal. Duran ultimately won a close, unanimous decision, winning early rounds and then hanging on as Leonard came storming back down the stretch. It was Leonard's first loss and he was extremely distraught. He got the Duran rematch for immediately later in the year - their first fight was in June and the rematch was booked for November. Duran had been partying like crazy after the win, and was badly out of shape heading back into training camp for the rematch. The rest is history as Duran uttered those infamous words, "no mas" and turned his back and walked toward his corner. Whatever the reasoning, that is for a different day, and ultimately Sugar Ray got the TKO victory either way.
His fight with unbeaten Welterweight Champion Thomas Hearns in September 1981 was perhaps even more anticipated than the rematch with Duran. Hearns was unbeaten at 32-0 with 30 KOs and held the WBA Welterweight belt, while Leonard held the WBC, The Ring, and Lineal Welterweight Titles. The fight was an absolute classic, and after Sugar Ray jumped up out to a solid start, Hearns came right back, by out-boxing Leonard of all things. Hearns did enough damage over the middle rounds to build a lead on the scorecards and just needed to hang on and he would have won a decision. He had created a significant shiner and swelling to Leonard's left eye in the process. With Leonard still behind late in the fight, he made a furious rally in the 14th Rd and got a visibly spent and thoroughly exhausted Hearns against the ropes and unleashed one final barrage that caused the fight to be waved off, as Hearns just didn't have enough left to respond. It was a dramatic TKO stoppage for Leonard and not just one of the greatest Welterweight fights, but one of the greatest of all-time regardless of weight class.
Flash-forward almost 8 eight years later and the two finally met in a rematch. Given how entertaining and how close the first fight was, many figured an immediate rematch would be a forgone conclusion but it didn't materialize. By the time the two finally met for a second time, Leonard was in the second fight of his second comeback after retiring in 1982 and again in 1987. Sugar was 35-1 heading into the second battle with Hearns, and "The Hitman" came in at 46-3 overall. Hearns was 30 and Leonard was 33 and had only fought twice in the past 5 years.
The two battled from Caesars Palace on the Vegas Strip on June 12th, 1989, and once again, put on an entertaining fight, albeit nearly a decade later than their first encouter. Hearns surprisingly dropped Leonard in the third round, but Leonard came back and battered Hearns around the ring in the fifth round, only to have Hearns come roaring back himself in the seventh round. He punched himself out though going for another knockdown, and Leonard came storming back by the end of the round and was pummeling Hearns. After Sugar Ray got solid rounds in the 9th and 10th, Hearns landed a series of thundering rights in the 11th, the third of which sent Leonard to the canvas for a second time in the fight.
Sugar Ray knew he needed a huge final round - especially after the knockdown and came out slugging in the 12th. He was able to close the fight with a big final round, but most figured it was not enough this time, as he failed to get a knockdown or stoppage. Most figured that Hearns had pulled it out, thanks to the two knockdowns, and while several experts were surprised at how close their final tallies actually ended up (including HBO's Larry Merchant who had it a 1-point win for Hearns), most still had Hearns a close winner. For Leonard, it appeared that he was about to suffer just the second loss of his career, after a stellar performance from Hearns.
To the Judges scorecards: Jerry Roth had it 113-112 for Hearns, Dalby Shirley had it 112-112 a draw (and later admitted that he was surprised that his final tally was a draw as he thought he had Hearns winning by a couple of points), and finally Tommy Kaczmarek, who didn't agree with his fellow judges on most of the rounds, scoring it 113-112 for Leonard. A Draw?... Really? The crowd broke out into loud boos as the decision was announced as most thought that Hearns had won - including most at ringside. The Odds were 3-1 in favor of Leonard heading into the fight and 15-1 for a draw.
It was a surprising result in a surprising fight that featured two rounds in favor of Hearns at 10-8 due to the knockdowns, and a possible 10-8 round in favor of Leonard, after he thoroughly dominated Hearns in the 5th. The biggest factor however, may have been the fact that Vegas loved Sugar Ray Leonard. And the casinos filled up all week long when Ray was fighting, and this was one of those occasions. Leonard was good business, and a draw was the best possible outcome for the Casinos at that point, and for Vegas going forward, as a third fight with Hearns would be even bigger (although it never materialized, but led to a lucrative third fight for Leonard with long-time rival Duran). Don't get me wrong, it was a close, competitive fight, and the AP was among those in the very small minority that had scored it for Leonard at ringside, but Ray didn't win this fight. He even admitted to it years later, saying as far as he was concerned he and Tommy were 1-1 in his book. A two point win for Hearns seems about right for the scoring in this one, at either rate, it was a night in mid-1989 that had a little bit of everything - a great back-and-forth fight, with knockdowns, and action, and drama at the end - including a controversial decision. Hats off to both fighters for providing boxing with two highly entertaining fights that meant a lot to the sport over the decade of the 1980s.