WAY OT: The Best Round of Boxing of All Time (posted by JUB-JUB)
John U Bacon retweeted this video of Hagler vs Hearns round 1 and holy shit. Never seen anything like it. Of course I'm rooting for Hitman, not knowing anything about the fight before-hand, but Hagler is just relentless too. So evenly matched, so brutal!
The single best round of boxing I've ever seen. https://t.co/ML6gKzq5IF
— John U. Bacon (@Johnubacon) August 19, 2022
August 18th, 2022 at 9:15 PM ^
Rocky Balboa begs to differ.
Did watch the video - and dang, this is pretty incredible.
August 18th, 2022 at 9:17 PM ^
In terms of pure boxing action maybe the most exciting fight of all time.
August 18th, 2022 at 11:08 PM ^
Yeah, I've gotta agree. Two great fighters and great punchers in their primes. This is one of the greatest fights in boxing history.
August 18th, 2022 at 9:19 PM ^
Sugar Ray, Duran, Hagler, Hearns… I think there were about 10 fights between the 4 of them and most were awesome. I may be misremembering the glory days, but watching the clip makes me think I probably remember it pretty well.
August 18th, 2022 at 10:26 PM ^
You’re not misremembering, it was amazing!
August 18th, 2022 at 11:00 PM ^
That was a great era in the non-heavyweight divisions. You had Hector Camacho, Boom Boom Mancini, Alexis Arguello, Michael Spinks, etc. in other non-heavyweight divisions too.
August 19th, 2022 at 8:44 AM ^
Floyd Mayweather is Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker 2.0. 2 of the best defensive boxers of all time.
August 19th, 2022 at 9:25 AM ^
only that once Floyd jumped up to 147 he cherry picked.
August 19th, 2022 at 2:53 AM ^
Wilfred Benitez. Pepino Cuevas. The welterweight div. was loaded back in the day. Tommy had a glass jaw.
Once he earned that 'Hitman' moniker he tried to live up to it every fight. He could box when he felt like it. He should have never lost to Leonard, I firmly believed he won the second one.
August 19th, 2022 at 8:00 AM ^
Hitman got out-boxed in the first fight, and outright ROBBED in the second.
My god, that was a golden era for fighting!
August 19th, 2022 at 8:52 AM ^
I watched the fight at the Michigan Theater on pay-per-view. The uproar was deafening during the first round, when it looked like the Hitman might get him. The fight didn't last long, but they gave us or money's worth.
August 18th, 2022 at 9:19 PM ^
Not much defense on display, what an absolute slugfest.
I'm not sure about "best" round of boxing all time but definitely one of the most brutal exchange of punches ever.
August 18th, 2022 at 10:03 PM ^
Your take is pretty much exactly what I was thinking.
This fight was before my time, but I kept imagining a fight between one of those guys and Floyd Mayweather Jr. I could see Floyd getting through an entire round without getting hit.
Boxing is at its best—and least appreciated—when a boxer wins with defense.
August 19th, 2022 at 6:18 AM ^
taste is taste, but man…i’ve seen too many mayweather bouts where he just danced and danced and danced. whole rounds where nobody landed a solid shot. i gotta see some aggression.
August 19th, 2022 at 8:54 AM ^
Agreed. I would never pay money to watch Pretty Boy Floyd dance for 12 rounds.
August 18th, 2022 at 9:37 PM ^
The Golden Age of boxing, Hagler, Hearns, Leonard, Duran etc. I still will watch boxing but have a trouble ponying up PPV these days most are just not worth it. I remember "The War" well.
August 19th, 2022 at 9:27 AM ^
I'll pay for Errol & Crawford if they get the deal done
August 18th, 2022 at 9:39 PM ^
A lot of you young pups don't know how big of a deal Tommy Hearns was to Detroit sports fans in the late 1970s and early 1980s. That era was exactly like this era in terms of Detroit sports - every team sucked. Until the Tigers got good, every pro team we had sucked back then. That's why it was such a big deal when the Hitman took off.
Detroit Free Press columnist Mike Downey summed it up perfectly: "The best team in Detroit is Tommy Hearns."
August 18th, 2022 at 11:10 PM ^
Hagler was a big deal in the Boston area.
August 19th, 2022 at 9:04 AM ^
Remember reading Mike Downey every morning really enjoyed his columns,I think Mitch Albom came after he left for LA.
August 18th, 2022 at 9:47 PM ^
All offense….until the late 2nd round. Tommy was punched out by then, and Hagler had weathered the storm. And then Hagler put him on Dummytits Street in Round #3.
August 18th, 2022 at 9:53 PM ^
According to his Trainer, Emmanuel Steward, Tommy broke his right hand at some point during the first round. Always wondered why they never rematched, given that hand injury.
August 18th, 2022 at 9:56 PM ^
Maybe so, but the his jaw was shot by the time Hagler clubbed him in the 3rd. There was no way Tommy was going to take too much of Hagler’s punishment.
August 19th, 2022 at 8:04 AM ^
Nope... Hagler hit HARD, especially for a welterweight (or did they fight at middleweight? I forget). The only way Tommy was going to win was by boxing, which he didn't really get a chance to get into. But the longer a punching match went, the more it was going to favor Hagler.
August 19th, 2022 at 10:02 AM ^
The fight was for Hagler’s MW title (which he held for about 12 years).
I think Tommy knew his only shot was to take Hagler out early. Eventually Hagler was going to dial Tommy in, and at that point it was going to be Goodnight Irene anyway.
August 22nd, 2022 at 8:29 AM ^
i don't think hagler ever fought as a welter. but you're right that he was a heavy hitter...not lightning-bolt-down-from-the-sky hard, like hearns, but heavy, thudding shots, particularly inside, that kept coming as the fight wore on. combine that with one of the greatest chins ever, and hearns best shot was probably to take him out early.
just for fun - watch hearns' KO of roberto duran. the killshot is as clean a shot as you will ever see. hearns wasn't the greatest defensive fighter you'll ever see (i mean, obviously), but that right hand was as lethal as anyone else's, possibly ever. man, oh man.
August 19th, 2022 at 10:21 AM ^
If you watched it again after hearing that it was pretty obvious.
August 18th, 2022 at 9:55 PM ^
Coralles v. Castillo 1 - Round 10
August 19th, 2022 at 9:11 AM ^
I was logging in to post this. I am a big boxing fan, and that fight and specifically that round is definitely my favorite. By you mentioning this fight, i realize you are a true boxing fan also. Noobs above are fronting.
That fight and that round was amazing. Truly amazing.
August 24th, 2022 at 9:46 AM ^
man, i hadn't watched that one in a while.
agreed - the greatest comeback i've ever seen. corrales was freaking DONE. down once, down again, spits the mouthpiece, up at 9, then takes a couple more good shots that would've finished anyone in the sport. that he even survived was amazing in itself. but to finish castillo? in the same round? just amazing.
August 18th, 2022 at 10:05 PM ^
That was the most vicious 3 rounds of boxing I ever saw. The Thrilla in Manila was the most damaging boxing match, but it played out over 15 rounds. Hearns-Hagler was extract of mayhem.
August 18th, 2022 at 10:18 PM ^
I might possibly agree with him. If you haven’t seen it, check out “The Kings”. Awesome documentary on Leonard, Hearns, Hagler and Duran. Really cool insight into how all the rivalries intersected.
August 18th, 2022 at 10:53 PM ^
slight deviation from the topic, but the best fight i ever saw was in vegas nearly 30 yrs ago, holyfield vs. bowe II, known as the 'fan man' fight because a guy tried to fly himself into the ring during the fight. he hung up on the ropes and the crowd nearly killed him.
great fight, 12 rounds, with holyfield winning back his heavyweight championship belt from bowe which is a very rare occurence.
link to fight info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riddick_Bowe_vs._Evander_Holyfield_II
August 19th, 2022 at 8:48 AM ^
Bowe was so out of shape for that fight. When that dude was motivated he was just outstanding. Unfortunately, he had trouble staying motivated the majority of the time
August 18th, 2022 at 11:29 PM ^
Sugar Ray L. was a bitch when he fought Hagler
August 19th, 2022 at 8:06 AM ^
Agree. He didn't so much fight and run around the ring for his life. I'll say that all Hagler had to do was land one punch and Sugar Ray would've been out like a light, so I get his approach. But it sucked...
August 19th, 2022 at 9:07 AM ^
MMH screwed up when he agreed to 12 rounds instead of 15.I only liked Sugar Ray during the Olympics.
August 19th, 2022 at 10:06 AM ^
Ray knew that was the only chance he had. If he had tried to brawl like Hearns, he would’ve wound up drooling on himself staring at airplanes right next to Tommy, in roughly the same amount of time.
August 18th, 2022 at 11:59 PM ^
The full fight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmWbOw6KJ6g
August 19th, 2022 at 12:03 AM ^
I watched that round on YouTube for the first time about a year back. Absolutely thrilling.
The best round of boxing that never came to be: Iron Mike clobbering Tony Mandarich. I really wish they would’ve made that happen.
August 19th, 2022 at 12:11 AM ^
Watched it live..... best round of boxing ever and my two favorite boxers ever.....
August 19th, 2022 at 12:21 AM ^
I was in college and the only place to see it nearby was the Battle Creek Armory for $20 pay per view.
We drove there in three cars full of dudes and it was the most spectacular fight I have ever seen.
These two guys hated each other with the hype and the fucking brawled.
August 19th, 2022 at 12:41 AM ^
Watched that fight "live" in a movie theatre near Boston. Crowd was clearly pulling for Marvelous. We were expecting the usual "feel em out" process in Round 1. Got the "last round, win it now" instead.
Clearly the best round of nonstop boxing, ever.
August 19th, 2022 at 12:58 AM ^
Fun fact: Hearns came out to the ring to the tune of The Victors.
August 19th, 2022 at 7:21 AM ^
The morning of the bout, Hearns decided the get a massage on his legs. That is why his legs looked rubbery early in the fight. Of course, Hagler’s assault to the body and head affected Tommy’s ability to remain upright as well.
Both fighters wanted no part of a rematch.
August 19th, 2022 at 7:12 AM ^
Watched that fight live PPV and I knew by mid first round TH hurt his hand, you can tell he is pulling back on it.TH and MMH two absolute warriors.RIP MMH.
August 19th, 2022 at 8:04 AM ^
When Rocky cut Drago. That's probably the best in my book.
Clearly you're asking someone who has never watched a single round of actual boxing a day in his life.
August 19th, 2022 at 8:41 AM ^
Truly was an awesome fight, toe to toe throwing it down. Much different than todays patty cake dance offs in the ring.
August 19th, 2022 at 8:44 AM ^
This was a great round but for my money the best round in a televised fight was Gatti/Ward Round 9 in their 1st fight. Watch it on Youtube. You'll thank me later