Yes

...and NEVER be replaced.

the middleweight GOAT

SRL from Maryland loved him...... but he got beat by MMHagler IMO ! I met Sugar Ray after a round of golf such a gentleman and hands as soft as butter !!!!

​@@lukemurdock2236 More like he waited until Haggler was at the end to fight him. That is one knock I have on Ray, he avoided some boxers in their prime.

Yep there's been nothing like that era.

Likeable, you say? Couldn't disagree more. I'd say he got into just the right profession for such a smugly punchable guy. Plus, if that's not Botox I'll eat - *his* - hat.

Geez Sir . All I can say is you nailed it .

@@ronniewoodinsteadofmt2615 Thanks man.

he is still alive so don't say he was.

Glass jaw khan?

@@CG1224_ yeah

I gave Khan a chance as the one thing he had was heart, but couldn't even give him that after the Crawford match.

@@Madness1299 no, khan is all about that money now

@All Gucci Drip Absolutely agree. Better yet, if he protected it better, he would still be a fantastic fighter.

Yea, and its good he isnt damaged but his last fight with Hector Camacho showed it was all over. His is a total legend though.

Petyr Kowalski agreed, and since his name was mentioned (R.I.P.), how many fighters can you name that wasted their natural talent as badly as did Hector Camacho? Camacho should be mentioned in the same breath as names like Chavez, Trinidad, de la Hoya, Gomez, Sanchez, Zarate...instead he’s best known for wearing freaky trunks and having his entire career turn on one punch by Edwin Rosario (R.I.P. as well, el Chapo), who was In turn utterly taken apart by Julio Cesar Chavez (Chavez tuned up Camacho for good measure, too). Shame. Camacho could’ve been a flashier Sweet Pea Whitaker, if not as good defensively (better offensively, up to the Rosario fight anyway)...look at his early career when he stopped guys like Bazooka Limon, Rafael Solis, Cornelius Boza-Edwards...

In case anyone cares, I didn’t get to see the primes of Leonard-Hearns-Hagler-Duran - just missed but I was a tad young - except through videotapes, so I always like to say that the greatest fighter I’ve ever gotten to actually watch the prime of, as it was actually happening, is Julio Caesar Chavez. And I stand by that statement. The guy was a freaking SURGEON! Yes, he was a sore loser, especially the night of his first loss, when he was SOUNDLY beaten by Frankie Randall, and once he was no longer “invincible” he liked to make excuses. But that means nothing, he was competitive and I’ve no doubt that losing for the first time after nearly 100 fights has got to be disorienting, to say the least. But the way he dismantled Rosario, his TKO of Meldrick Taylor even if Taylor deserved to win, he fought until the last bell, quite literally. I still blame Lou Duva for that. After that fight Meldrick Taylor, an Olympic Gold Medalist and, IIRC, the youngest GM on the 1984 Olympic team, was RUINED. From the beating JCC gave him. Maybe he gets overshadowed by the big names that have come and gone since, like DelaHiya, Trinidad, et al, but he was just amazing in his prime. But I digress...

Gregg Helmbold i agree. I think it was Camachos lifestyle outside the ring and lack of training did for him

Gregg Helmbold chavez was exceptional and as hard as nails.

Petyr Kowalski I’m 64 saw a lot of great fighters SRL is way up there on skills , and heart, had a great chin too, That man to take a punch and didn’t care if he was getting beat up a little and come right back and never quit

tellthetruthg you are spot on. He right up there on all counts.

Well observed 👍

This is my favourite fight of all time also. Leonard showed the heart of a lion that night and although he narrowly lost , he was finishing the far stronger man..

If Duran were a natural welterweight, He would have knocked out Leonard in their first fight.

@@josevalverde2263if Duran was a welter sugar probably fights him differently as well

At that time in his life Duran was a full welter.. he couldn't make 135 again

Manny maybe, but I wouldn't bet it

He'd had little problems with Floyd

Leaonard took advantage of the duran weight gain and asked for an immediate rematch. That for me is a shameful thing to do. If he really wanted to convince himself that he was a better fighter he should have chosen to fight duran at his best condition. Sorry guys, just lost my respect for leonard after this fight. No doubt he was a great fighter, bit just not better than duran. What he did was a sneakybway to win, just so he could get it erased in his memory, to the extent of taking advantage. Not the type of fighter I would admire. Let’s face it, he just knew he couldn’t beat duran at duran’s best condition.

@@swow1234 How is that Leonard's fault though? Duran was unprofessional letting himself balloon like that. Also, maybe if Leonard had fought his own fight instead of Duran's then he would have beat duran

“While the champion ate and drank through the night, Leonard's team started putting the rematch together. Janks Morton, Leonard's bodyguard, had seen Duran in New York and told him that the champion was partying every night and approaching 200 pounds. Leonard, never one to let an advantage slide, pushed for an immediate rematch and hit the gym. "It was calculated on my part," Leonard told author George Kimball in Four Kings. "I knew Duran was overweight and partying big time. I've done some partying myself, but I know when to cut it out. I said to Mike 'Let's do it now, as soon as possible.' In retrospect, it was pretty clever of me." -associated press, jonathan snowden, nov. 2015

That’s my whole point dan. That reflects the kind of fighter that he is. He just wanted to win. Din’t matter to him if he truly fought the. He was there for the record and not the legacy. He could have chosen to fight the best version of duran, as any fighter who wanted to prove he was the better of the two would. What he did, for me, i’m sorry to say is a shame. Because he was a great fighter. But in fight, in order to win, he had to strategize in an unlikely manner. Is as if, he was doubting himself to win had it been in a different time where duran was in a great conditon.

@@swow1234 if you don't respect sugar ray, that's just disrespect to one of the best of all time. If you have no respect for Leonard taking a fight at the opportune moment, then how can you respect Duran for saying "No Mas?" I think both guys deserve so much respect and admiration for their performances in the ring. Aside from this arguement though, you should really read the Four Kings by George Kimball, I'm reading it again at the moment and it feels like you're watching the fights when you're reading them.

Amen!

It's soo emotional to see them together.

Thats coz yera simpleton. 😈

I don't remember ever seeing another boxer who could throw fast combinations like he did.

This video is from some years ago.

@@TheRhinopowerusa I wonder how he's doing now.....he is one of my all-time favorites.

@@tomnekuda3818 I think he is doing very well but he doesn't look as young as he did in this video; still looks great for his age.

@@robertthomas8653 People say Roy Jones Jr ........but I've seen both of them and I think Leonard was faster at figuring out the angles and taking advantage of them.

lovely

A genius? A genius for waiting for Hagler's legs were gone? For wanting to fight Duran when he was out of shape? For waiting until Hearns was "washed up" before giving him a rematch? I wouldn't call that genius.

@@blite13 listen bro, Im more of a Duran fan than a Leonard fan, however, its not his fault that Duran was unprofessional and didnt stay in shape between fights, he was happy enough to take the fight when he was offered massive money for the rematch, cant blame Ray for that... as for the others, the fights happened when they happened and he won, there is no such thing as a time machine so everyone could each other in peak condition

@@dominicgolding3529 nahhhh...can't blame Ray for cherry picking. Except Ray himself said he wanted to fight a less than 100% Duran, that it was his 'strategy'. Ray could have fought Hagler at anytime, Ray waited until Marvin was shot. Ray waited to fight Hearns again, when all the rumors were that Tommy was a shot fighter. See a pattern here? You think that is heroic? What kind of champ wants to fight his biggest rivals when they are not at their best? NO HONOR.

@@blite13 blite13...On the night Hagler and Leonard fought, Hagler would've beaten any other MW in the world.

@@kcash6359 lol, no....if that were true, Marvin would have kept fighting. Anyone with any sort of boxing knowledge would see that Marvin was done.....but you couldn't, that says a lot.

I’m 24 and I remember being 6 years old watching Pacquiao and Barrera fight for the first time. Looking back now i’m happy I watched that fight live - its the match that really catapulted Pacquiao to stardom and beyond - but no one knew it at the time. I guess what i’m saying is that this era has no shortage of legends as well. Fury, Usyk, Wilder, Canelo, Crawford, Inoue and GGG even. History is happening right now - we just don’t notice. Don’t miss it! :)

With all due respect...no srl today .

@Weghweh Hwewehwhe Thank you for that reply Weghweh...yes, in his weight class...he was the best. Ray took on all comers and beat them all..(Camacho aside nas Ray was 40 and didn't want to be in there). But he fought in an era of truly great fighters...you named them all. He had a massive impact on me as child...watching him float around that ring has stayed with me all my life. God bless, and peace to ya.

Agreed. Hugh mcilvanney the Sunday times chief sports writer , did a really good one back in the late 80s .Not sure if it's on here .

That was the thing with SRL. He looks like an A list movie star and was well-spoken, which is why he was a great embassador for the sport and had all those endorsement deals. But he had a mean streak in the ring. He liked to show off to entertain the crowd, but at the same time he was heavy handed, had a solid chin, and when he smelled blood he went all out.

The first hearns/hagler fight?

To say the younger generation can’t do it your already seeing the new great such as Tyson fury for one

Exactly a class act GOAT...who unfortunately gets disrespected by most

Also footwork and shutter step and feint

I think Duran winning the first fight against Leonard was the greatest sporting achievement ever

Leonard "ran" from Hagler & "ran" twice from Duran, he definitely didnt go toe to toe with them. Hearns didnt go toe to toe with Hill. Camacho "ran" from Mancini n its Camacho's & Leonards "showing off" that Hammed copied. Besides Hamad hasnt fought in over 20 years. Since the 80s we've had all time great scraps Bowe v Holyfield thrillogy Holyfield v Tyson 1 De La Hoya v Vargas Pacquaoi v Morales & Marquez Morales v Barrera McCollough v Morales Collins v Benn & Eubank Eubank v Watson 2 Benn v McClellan Roy Jones v James Toney Roy Jones v John Ruiz Lewis v Klitschko Calzaghe v Lacey Froch v Ward Froch v Taylor Ward v Kovalev Canelo v GGG Thurman v Garcia Porter v Spence Spence v Brook Fury v Wilder thrillogy Joshua v Klitschko Joshua v Ruiz Boxing has never been better. It went through a dull phase in the mid 2000's but has recovered this past 10 yrs a bit. You are just old, feeling sorry for yerself & being miserable.

He's 55 yrs old in this video (interview was in 2011)

pffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff hagler won

Also the only one to lose to the other 3.

lost to duran 1, hearns got robbed in the 2nd fight, hagler got robbed and denied a rematch

@@VitruvianVictor Hagler got robbed,&robbed,&robbed-7 years and have to go the senate just to get a title fight,? bias like that spoils it all a bit.

Great respect to sugar Ray .... But Hagler was robbed in their fight together !