This day in boxing. A look back.

[Master]

That is classic Tito Trinidad, so crisp with his punches and that left hook finish was like watching Julian Jackson KO.

Brilliant fighter and champion. became a fan of his after he beat my favourite fighters Carr and Campus.

[TitoFan]

That is classic Tito Trinidad, so crisp with his punches and that left hook finish was like watching Julian Jackson KO.

Brilliant fighter and champion. became a fan of his after he beat my favourite fighters Carr and Campus.

Not only that... they were both undefeated when he beat them.

[Master]

That is classic Tito Trinidad, so crisp with his punches and that left hook finish was like watching Julian Jackson KO.

Brilliant fighter and champion. became a fan of his after he beat my favourite fighters Carr and Campus.

Not only that... they were both undefeated when he beat them.

Do not remind me, it still hurts. Trinidad would have slaughtered Julio Ceaser Chavez if Don King had allowed it.

[Spicoli]

Titos fight with Anthony Stephens was also a fun scrap. Stephens showed a young Trinidad caught too many right hands but also gave early glimpses of his adaptability and the way he would always storm back after being rocked or dropped.

[TitoFan]

Titos fight with Anthony Stephens was also a fun scrap. Stephens showed a young Trinidad caught too many right hands but also gave early glimpses of his adaptability and the way he would always storm back after being rocked or dropped.

I remember when he was dropped by Campas. I think it was a short left hand or something... and I began thinking of Campas' power and that awesome record he had. But Trinidad recovered and his knockout of Campas was pretty scary to tell the truth. Ref jumped in not a moment too soon.

[Master]

Titos fight with Anthony Stephens was also a fun scrap. Stephens showed a young Trinidad caught too many right hands but also gave early glimpses of his adaptability and the way he would always storm back after being rocked or dropped.

I remember when he was dropped by Campas. I think it was a short left hand or something... and I began thinking of Campas' power and that awesome record he had. But Trinidad recovered and his knockout of Campas was pretty scary to tell the truth. Ref jumped in not a moment too soon.

That was a brutal finish against Campus. Tito was a good finisher and his left hook had scary power. Tito was down early against our Kevin Lueshing too. He gets up and destroyed him.

[Master]

This day in sports history: Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard fight to controversial split decision

For the better part of the first half of the 1980s, newspaper sports sections were filled with stories about a potential bout between Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler.

The seeds of the bout were first sown early in Leonard?s career, on Nov. 30, 1979, at the Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion in Las Vegas. That day, Hagler drew with Vito Antuofermo for the WBA-WBC middleweight titles on the undercard of a show headlined by Leonard against Wilfred Benitez. Leonard stopped Benitez in the 15th to win the WBC welterweight title.

By that point, Hagler was respected, but hadn't gotten nearly the recognition or acclaim that his considerable talents deserved. After the draw with Antuofermo, which most believe Hagler won, Antuofermo declined a rematch. Three months later, Antuofermo lost the title at Caesars Palace to Alan Minter.

Hagler was the most avoided man in boxing, and his promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, told Yahoo Sports that in order for him to get another title fight, it took intervention from Tip O?Neill, the then-Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, both of Massachusetts.

Leonard was just 23 years old and 25-0 when he met Benitez that night, but he was already a full-fledged star. He starred in commercials before he ever had a pro fight. His debut was on national television and his face was on magazine covers month after month.

Before getting to Hagler, though, Leonard had business to take care of. When he won the welterweight title, he sat atop a deep and talented division that included the likes of Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran, Pipino Cuevas and Benitez, all of whom would go on to be Hall of Famers.



By late 1982, though, Leonard had beaten Hearns, Duran and Benitez, and had won a super welterweight title when he defeated Ayub Kalule. He hosted a charity event on Nov. 9, 1982, at the Baltimore Civic Center, and invited scores of celebrities. Howard Cosell served as master of ceremonies. Boxers, including Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and Matthew Saad Muhammad, got up and spoke about Leonard.

Hagler did, as well, fully expecting that Leonard would challenge him at the end of the event.

Leonard and Hearns was The Showdown, Hagler said. We've got to be Fight of the Century.

Leonard got up and acknowledged that a bout with Hagler would be one of the greatest in the history of boxing. As the crowd roared, he stunned everyone when he added, Unfortunately, it will never happen.

He proceeded to announce his retirement because of concerns about his vision as a result of a detached retina.

That left Hagler seething, and he remained bitter and angry at Leonard for years. When Hagler was inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015, referee Richard Steele made it a point to bring the two together and posed with them. Hagler smiled uneasily, the painful memories of the past overcoming him.

Leonard unretired in 1984, defeated Kevin Howard and promptly retired again.

He was no longer an active boxer, but he was still a large part of the sport, calling fights for CBS and HBO. Hagler moved on and built a reputation as arguably the greatest middleweight who ever lived.

In 1985, he stopped Hearns in three fearsome rounds in one of the most frenetic and action-paced major fights in boxing history. He'd also beaten Duran and had finally escaped Leonard's considerable shadow.

Leonard was a fierce competitor and never lost that urge to compete. When he watched Hagler fight John The Beast Mugabi in 1986, he picked up the phone and called his attorney, Mike Trainer.

Years later, Leonard explained it to Yahoo Sports.

Marvin was just destroying everyone, but when I saw that fight, I just felt like there were things there that I could take advantage of, Leonard said in 2016. I always believed in myself, but when I saw that, it really motivated me to get in there and fight him and be the one to end his lengthy streak.

[TitoFan]

That is classic Tito Trinidad, so crisp with his punches and that left hook finish was like watching Julian Jackson KO.

Brilliant fighter and champion. became a fan of his after he beat my favourite fighters Carr and Campus.

Not only that... they were both undefeated when he beat them.

Do not remind me, it still hurts. Trinidad would have slaughtered Julio Ceaser Chavez if Don King had allowed it.

I think so too. Too much firepower.