Join me on this edition of the show where I am joined by Sunday Times award winning writer and journalist Brian Doogan to talk about his book "The Super Fight" that infamous night of April 6 1987 at Caesers Palace Las Vegas which by the way was a Monday evening perfect for a ppv audience as there was no other sport that evening they wanted to make this the very first 100 million dollar it didn't quite hit that mark but it was still the richest fight in Boxing history.
Brians book goes into great detail about not only the fight but events leading up to it and again remember that Hagler had wanted this fight for years but had reached a point where he never thought it would ever happen, Leonard had fought only once since his retirement in 82 beating Kevin Howard in 84 but such was his level of performance he disappeared from view again only
to emerge ready to shock the world there was more concern about Leonards wellbeing than his ability to win as few if any thought he would and most feared for his health, 46 of 50 writers
picked Hagler.
In the podcast we will look at he build up and training camps, Hagler had long adhered to a strict training regime that included solitude and austerity this time around the surrounds were more glamorous and there was the incident with the orange tree in Bob Hope's garden as for Sugar Ray
well the masterstroke for him was getting Hagler to agree to a 12 round fight as opposed to 15 .
At the bell for the end of the 12th the controversy began as Leonard won a split decision with the general view being that Hagler as champion had done enough to retain his titles however scrutiny of the judges scorecards would add more fuel for the conspiracy theorists 115-113 Hagler 115-113 Leonard with the third judge JoJo Guerra scoring it 118-110 Leonard .
So if you enjoyed reading some of the detail listen in to this edition of the podcast with Brian Doogan and if after you have listened to the show you want to experience what all the controversy is about first hand then watch the video below of the fight and make up your own mind if Hagler was indeed robbed or Sugar Ray really did pull off one of the greatest achievements in Boxing history.
Here is a link direct to the podcast page https://www.talkingsportsbooks.com/podcast-episodes