Fighters who retired at the right time.

[NoSavingByTheBell]

Rocky as he was showing signs of age but would have lost his next fight.

Hagler sticking two fingers at the boxing world for not appreciating his greatness and leaving Leonard hanging.

Ricardo Lopez clears up his draw on his record to win and ride off into the sunset.

Rocky had 2 or 3 good fights left in him. Nino Valdez was scheduled for June/July 1956, and Rocky would have beaten him. Liston was in jail. Patterson was 20 years old. Who was left? Eddie Machen?

I read that his back injury was the reason why he retired at the time he did.

Yes I read the same thing a couple of times. I think Archie Moore ruined Marciano's back, because Archie Moore was probably the most skilled boxer that he ever faced and I believe he made Marciano miss 75% of his punches. Marciano threw 800 punches that night which were pretty much all power punches. If he missed 600 punches, it's no wonder that he threw out his back and ruined his back. If this is the case then Archie Moore ended Marciano's career.

I can believe it because I don't know how a guy can crouch down sideways like Marciano did for the entire fight throwing bomb after bomb after bomb with all his might and all his power behind it without completely destroying his back.

[TitoFan]

Looking back through the thread, I can't agree with Hagler either.

C'mon! He loses a decision to Leonard and just walks away? Ok so he may have tried to get a rematch and wasn't able to. He should've tried harder. Called Leonard out. No way Hagler fights the same stupid fight he fought the first time around.

That must've left such a BAD TASTE in Hagler's mouth. Leonard was and ATG, and maybe even TBE in my book... but his reign wasn't middleweight. That was Hagler's domain. For Leonard to take that away from him had to sting like hell.

Especially when Hagler had already dismantled the fearsome Hearns in 3 rounds. Where the hell was THAT Hagler against Leonard?

No... Hagler didn't retire at the right time.

[NoSavingByTheBell]

Looking back through the thread, I can't agree with Hagler either.

C'mon! He loses a decision to Leonard and just walks away? Ok so he may have tried to get a rematch and wasn't able to. He should've tried harder. Called Leonard out. No way Hagler fights the same stupid fight he fought the first time around.

That must've left such a BAD TASTE in Hagler's mouth. Leonard was and ATG, and maybe even TBE in my book... but his reign wasn't middleweight. That was Hagler's domain. For Leonard to take that away from him had to sting like hell.

Especially when Hagler had already dismantled the fearsome Hearns in 3 rounds. Where the hell was THAT Hagler against Leonard?

No... Hagler didn't retire at the right time.

Yeah I agree with that. Hagler may have been exposed as the stereotypical bully that the first time somebody stands up to them and whips them they just totally collapse and that is the end of them.

I believe he should have fought on. What the hell would he want to go out on a bitter note like that?

Oh and there's no way that Sugar Ray Leonard takes another chance and takes on that beast again....because you just know that the next Marvin Hagler that shows up will literally rip his head off.

I can never understand why Hagler decided to fight orthodox against Leonard to try to prove that he could box as well as Leonard.

[TitoFan]

Looking back through the thread, I can't agree with Hagler either.

C'mon! He loses a decision to Leonard and just walks away? Ok so he may have tried to get a rematch and wasn't able to. He should've tried harder. Called Leonard out. No way Hagler fights the same stupid fight he fought the first time around.

That must've left such a BAD TASTE in Hagler's mouth. Leonard was and ATG, and maybe even TBE in my book... but his reign wasn't middleweight. That was Hagler's domain. For Leonard to take that away from him had to sting like hell.

Especially when Hagler had already dismantled the fearsome Hearns in 3 rounds. Where the hell was THAT Hagler against Leonard?

No... Hagler didn't retire at the right time.

Yeah I agree with that. Hagler may have been exposed as the stereotypical bully that the first time somebody stands up to them and whips them they just totally collapse and that is the end of them.

I believe he should have fought on. What the hell would he want to go out on a bitter note like that?

Oh and there's no way that Sugar Ray Leonard takes another chance and takes on that beast again....because you just know that the next Marvin Hagler that shows up will literally rip his head off.

I can never understand why Hagler decided to fight orthodox against Leonard to try to prove that he could box as well as Leonard.

If anyone ever starts a thread titled "The Stupidest Ring Strategies of All Time", Hagler against Leonard takes top honors.

[Master]

Looking back through the thread, I can't agree with Hagler either.

C'mon! He loses a decision to Leonard and just walks away? Ok so he may have tried to get a rematch and wasn't able to. He should've tried harder. Called Leonard out. No way Hagler fights the same stupid fight he fought the first time around.

That must've left such a BAD TASTE in Hagler's mouth. Leonard was and ATG, and maybe even TBE in my book... but his reign wasn't middleweight. That was Hagler's domain. For Leonard to take that away from him had to sting like hell.

Especially when Hagler had already dismantled the fearsome Hearns in 3 rounds. Where the hell was THAT Hagler against Leonard?

No... Hagler didn't retire at the right time.

Yeah I agree with that. Hagler may have been exposed as the stereotypical bully that the first time somebody stands up to them and whips them they just totally collapse and that is the end of them.

I believe he should have fought on. What the hell would he want to go out on a bitter note like that?

Oh and there's no way that Sugar Ray Leonard takes another chance and takes on that beast again....because you just know that the next Marvin Hagler that shows up will literally rip his head off.

I can never understand why Hagler decided to fight orthodox against Leonard to try to prove that he could box as well as Leonard.

If anyone ever starts a thread titled "The Stupidest Ring Strategies of All Time", Hagler against Leonard takes top honors.

I think Leonard, being the diva that he was at that time, would have asked for more concessions to face Hagler that would have been too unbearable for Marvin to accept so he just called it a day. Leonard was the Canelo of his time.

[NoSavingByTheBell]

Never liked Leonard until he fought Camacho, then I was rooting for him because I didnt like Camacho AND because Leonard was old and the underdog.

[Master]

Never liked Leonard until he fought Camacho, then I was rooting for him because I didnt like Camacho AND because Leonard was old and the underdog.

I loved it when Camacho and Norris kicked Leonard's ass. He deserved it for his shenanigans he used against Hagler, Hearns and Lalonde.

[TitoFan]

Looking back through the thread, I can't agree with Hagler either.

C'mon! He loses a decision to Leonard and just walks away? Ok so he may have tried to get a rematch and wasn't able to. He should've tried harder. Called Leonard out. No way Hagler fights the same stupid fight he fought the first time around.

That must've left such a BAD TASTE in Hagler's mouth. Leonard was and ATG, and maybe even TBE in my book... but his reign wasn't middleweight. That was Hagler's domain. For Leonard to take that away from him had to sting like hell.

Especially when Hagler had already dismantled the fearsome Hearns in 3 rounds. Where the hell was THAT Hagler against Leonard?

No... Hagler didn't retire at the right time.

Yeah I agree with that. Hagler may have been exposed as the stereotypical bully that the first time somebody stands up to them and whips them they just totally collapse and that is the end of them.

I believe he should have fought on. What the hell would he want to go out on a bitter note like that?

Oh and there's no way that Sugar Ray Leonard takes another chance and takes on that beast again....because you just know that the next Marvin Hagler that shows up will literally rip his head off.

I can never understand why Hagler decided to fight orthodox against Leonard to try to prove that he could box as well as Leonard.

If anyone ever starts a thread titled "The Stupidest Ring Strategies of All Time", Hagler against Leonard takes top honors.

I think Leonard, being the diva that he was at that time, would have asked for more concessions to face Hagler that would have been too unbearable for Marvin to accept so he just called it a day. Leonard was the Canelo of his time.

OMG... I could not be more in disagreement.

Diva, maybe. But Leonard faced the best at their peaks without worrying about catchweights or waiting for the planets to align before facing them.

Benitez, Hearns, Duran, Hagler...... etc, etc.

In that regard, Leonard and Ginger couldn't be further apart.

[NoSavingByTheBell]

I felt sorry for Leonard but not that sorry because I never really liked his arrogance but then when he said what happened to him as a young boy about the sexual abuse and the repeated rapes then I really felt sorry for him and I realized that he overcompensated for that horrible abusive experience with his bravado and Golden child personality

[X]

Diva, maybe. But Leonard faced the best at their peaks without worrying about catchweights or waiting for the planets to align before facing them
.

Oh, I'm not convinced about that Tito.

Leonard was a magnificent and courageous fighter, no doubt about that ......

But he was very very carefully matched on the way up, he agreed to defend against an already ageing Duran having his first fight at Welterweight, then didn't have the rubber match until Duran was truly ancient and fat.

He waited at least 5 years for Hagler to get old and for the planets to align, he made huge events from fighting substandard opposition (Kevin Howard, anyone?) and he cherry picked guys later on.

And you couldn't be more wrong about catchweights. Leonard INVENTED catchweights. The entire super middleweight division was invented to weight drain Donny Lalonde. It was a farce that history has looked kindly upon.