DOLO FLICKS: REVIEW — The Kings: Part Four: A Champion Never Quits
“People love to follow a good story, and they hope to get a good ending. And we had all that in the 80s. People came to a fight to see right there that something could happen. But the guy buying the ticket doesn’t know. They think it’s just two fighters going against each other like flesh and bone. No, it’s all the emotions. That’s what you’re fighting. In a lot of cases, you’re beating parts of yourself. Both guys know that. Only they understand what they’ve been through. And that’s something that I think makes this sport so special. In the ring, that the one time there is no prejudice. There is no race. There is no religion. There is no politics. It’s just two men. Just two men trying to find themselves. And that’s why people came to watch a boxing match. To see that miracle.”
— Teddy Atlas
The fourth and final installment of Showtime Sports’ documentary series “The Kings” that looks at the careers and lives of Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, Ray Leonard, and Marvin Hagler, reached its conclusion in dramatic fashion.
The fourth episode heavily focuses on the bout between Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler, exploring what happened before and after.
After defeating Thomas Hearns in 1985, Hagler finally reached the zenith of notoriety and popularity he had yearned for his entire career. Appearances on television shows, commercials, and talk shows were plenty as he stood on top of the boxing world.
The episode also examines how Hagler contemplated retirement following the win over Hearns, along with Leonard seeing an opportunity to make a return to the ring after Hagler’s fight with John Mugabi.
After some posturing and negotiating, Hagler finally agreed to face Leonard in a fight that he was able to get all the financial advantages. In contrast, Leonard got the competitive advantages such as the fight being 12 instead of 15 rounds.
At the time, the fight was the richest in the history of the sport, with Hagler taking home roughly $17 million and Leonard earning upwards of $11 million.
Leonard had been out of the ring for almost three years before stepping in the ring with Hagler and fought most of his career in the Welterweight division. Needless to say, Hagler was the heavy favorite and, in some respects, despite the financial gain, was in a lose-lose situation.
“Even if Marvin in the back of his mind, kinda knew he was past his prime, he didn’t think he was gonna have any problem at all with Ray Leonard,” stated Steve Farhood in the episode.
Leonard’s own friends and family were hesitant and worried about his prospects in facing Hagler. The episode tells a story about Leonard almost being knocked out during a sparring session leading up to the Hagler bout. Leonard may have been one of a handful of people in the world that believed he stood a chance at winning against Hagler.
“I thought Ray was on a suicide mission of some sort.” — Larry Merchant.
On April 6, 1987, Leonard stepped in the ring with Hagler at the outdoor arena in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for the middleweight championship.
The episode, much like those that preceded, gave a breakdown of the match, highlighting significant moments and all of the major action.
Hagler-Leonard is one of if not the most debated matches in boxing history. Many observers are adamant that Hagler did more than enough to warrant a victory. Others believe Hagler’s slow start where he fought orthodox instead of in his traditional southpaw stance cost him the fight.
Judge Lou Filippo scored the fight 115–113 for Hagler, and judge Dave Moretti had the fight for Leonard at 115–113.
The third judge Jose Juan Guerra turned in one of the worst scorecards in boxing history, having Leonard winning 118–110. Guerra isn’t interviewed in the episode to explain how he saw the fight.
Despite feeling like he was cheated, Hagler was still present for the post-fight interview and post-fight press conference. There was a level of dignity and honor that Hagler always showed, and he was no different in the face of defeat.
“He overthought it, Hagler,” said Teddy Atlas. “Because he was trying to capture something that was never given to him. Acceptance. What he thought he should have had. And how great he was. So maybe, in the end, he was a co-conspirator in his own demise.”
In many respects, Hagler-Leonard is the final chapter in the “Four Kings” era. Afterward, Hagler walked away from the sport and never returned. The remaining fights featuring Hearns, Leonard, and Duran all felt like epilogues.
Hagler was the one fighter of the four that didn’t overstay his welcome; there weren’t any losses and beatings that took place long after his prime. There was never a moment of sadness at seeing a shell of the fighter that used to be so great taking a beating at the hands of someone he would have destroyed in his prime.
“Now I’m trying to use boxing and not have boxing use me.” — Marvin Hagler
Following the segment on Hagler-Leonard, the episode transitions its focus to Hearns. The winner is often the focal point after a major fight, especially those as significant that took place between the “Four Kings.”
With Hearns, the episode makes it a priority to give attention to the fighter who was on the losing side of his biggest fights and how he managed to forge his own legacy.
“I really didn’t know how to accept it, and I was down on myself because I felt I let the public down, and I felt like I let Emanuel down,” Hearns stated. “I wanted so badly to go back in there to fight Ray and redeem myself. And after Marvin Hagler won that fight, I didn’t know what to do, how to think.”
Hearns would end up becoming boxing’s first four-division and five-division champion, winning titles at welterweight, junior middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavyweight.
In 1994, Ring Magazine named Hearns the greatest junior middleweight in boxing history.
In a rematch with Leonard that took place in 1989, Hearns gained a measure of redemption in getting a draw in a fight that most observers felt he had clearly won.
“Not getting a victory, to me, it was like a letdown,” stated Hearns regarding the rematch with Leonard. “But I knew in my heart, and people knew who won that fight. And that meant a lot to me, too.”
The finale of the episode focuses on the first king, Roberto Duran. In this segment, the political landscape is again explored with the United States invasion of Panama in 1989 and Duran’s supposed ties with Manuel Noreiga.
The final triumph of Duran’s career against Iran Barkley is also shown. The Barkley fight furthered his legacy in winning a middleweight title. He became just the third fighter in history to win titles in four weight classes.
Mike Tyson, who became the biggest name in boxing following the ascension of the “Four Kings,” was used to show how much boxing has changed since the era of Duran, Leonard, Hearns, and Hagler. Tyson is somewhat painted negatively as the anchor for boxing’s continual decline in popularity over the years.
After all four episodes, “The Kings” did its job of showing how important those four men were to boxing. The 1980s may have been the last truly great era in boxing.
Something isn’t great because it lasts forever. Its greatness is measured by what can be remembered. All four “Kings” provided fans with a lifetime of memories. Fights that raised the bar on what boxing could be at its best.
Originally Published at www.frontproofmedia.com on July 01, 2021