Leonard and Hagler Keep a Low Profile; One Is Quite Upset

The fight over, the stadium cleared, Monday night’s mega-event fell to the accountants and analysts. The accountants would decide how big it was, the analysts how good.

However, neither fighter was on hand Tuesday to decide if there would ever be another one like it.

Highlights of the aftermath did not include either Sugar Ray Leonard, presumably enjoying himself after Monday night’s stunning upset of Marvelous Marvin Hagler, or the defeated middleweight champion, presumably not enjoying himself.

Instead, emissaries from the Leonard camp showed, shrugging their shoulders over the possibility of Leonard turning his remarkable comeback, after five years of inactivity, into a career renewed. Emissaries from the Hagler camp whined and whined and whined.

Mike Trainer, Leonard’s attorney, said: “He hasn’t indicated anything different than before the fight,” when Leonard promised only the Hagler match. As to Leonard saying immediately after he had won the split decision at Caesars Palace that he planned to put on 15 pounds and fight again, a reference to light-heavyweight champion Thomas Hearns, Trainer said, “I think his emotions got a hold of him.”

Later, Trainer said he doubted Leonard would return because “he needs a mountain to climb” to come back. Hagler was that mountain for Leonard. “I did not get the impression,” Trainer said, “that he was ready to get up and do roadwork.”

Still, Trainer said, “who knows? Remember, I’m 0 for 2 with this guy, predicting comebacks.”

Meanwhile, the Petronelli brothers, Hagler’s handlers, complained of the judging and of the circumstances which dictated a 12-round fight instead of 15.

Said Pat: “This here official, JoJo Guerra, should be put in jail.” That was Pat’s first offer. Later he asked for a ban from the state of Nevada.

It was Guerra, from Monterrey, Mexico, who scored it 118-110 for Leonard, meaning the challenger had won 10 of the 12 rounds. The two other judges both had it closer, 115-113, one for Leonard, one for Hagler.

“C’mon, make it close,” Pat said.

Duane Ford, chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, seemed to agree that the scoring was out of line. “In no way do I criticize an official,” he said Tuesday, “but (in tabulating the round-by-round scoring) I was wondering where a judge was.”

As for Guerra, a judge with a fine reputation, he said the other guys were all wet. “Leonard dictated the fight,” he explained.

In any event, Ford pointed out, the Petronellis had asked for a Mexican judge, believing that the judge originally appointed, an Englishman, might favor Leonard’s boxing style. “It is ironic,” he said during the Petronellis barrage of complaints.

But the Petronellis had other complaints to make. Like being forced to take the fight at 12 rounds instead of 15. “Marvin wanted 15 rounds, needed 15,” said Pat, quoting Hagler as saying, ‘I got to wear him out. He’s good, he’s fast.’ But the Hagler camp was told the fight, sanctioned by the World Boxing Council, would be at 12 or not at all. Hagler, after all, had fought Hearns at 12 and John Mugabi at 12. “What are you gonna do, everybody’d say you’re afraid of Sugar Ray,” Pat said.

That negotiation, incidentally, is believed to have cost Leonard some $2 million out of the guaranteed $23-million purse for the two fighters. Money well spent.

Certainly it was a factor in the decision Monday night. Leonard was obviously fatigued in the later rounds, although Hagler was not exactly fresh by then either. “He collapsed in the 13th round,” said Pat, referring to Leonard’s condition immediately after the fight. “He couldn’t have survived another round.”

The Petronellis were plagued by additional hindsight. “From the opening bell,” said Pat, Hagler “should have come out like an animal.” They felt he lost the early rounds by letting Leonard dictate the fight.

Still, they thought Hagler had won the fight, simply because he had been the aggressor, chasing Leonard in circles. “But you can’t look good against a guy like Leonard,” Goody said.

Angelo Dundee, Leonard’s trainer, was explaining why that wasn’t possible. The strategy was marvelously simple. “Stick and dip,” he explained. “Box him, keep him turning, give him angles. If you let Marvin straight in front of you, you’re licked.”

This meant that Leonard would need the legs he stood on six years ago when he was a welterweight wonder. He didn’t have those legs the whole night, but he did for enough rounds to give him the decision.

The only scare, Dundee thought, was when Leonard occasionally stopped to punch with Hagler. “He got caught up in it, leaning into the ropes and punching. I told him that’s a no-no.”

The elements remain for an attractive rematch, although neither fighter will satisfy the question for a few days. Promoter Bob Arum, hoping for a $100 million gross, would no doubt love to try it again.

Whether it was as huge a commercial success as hoped won’t be known for days. However, HBO, which produced the show, seemed to believe it was an artistic success. The network paid $3 million for the rights to show the fight this Saturday, a record amount for a delayed broadcast. Originally the network was to show it three times. But after the fight, upped that to five.