OK, boxing fans, I'm not going to ask which of these fine, fine fighters was the best as we could argue about that for days without getting a consensus. I'm simply asking which of these fighters, the Big Four of the late 70's/early 80's boxing scene, was your favourite.
'Sugar Ray' Leonard: By all accounts, a gentleman both in and out of the ring, Leonard was known for his silky skills and willingness to use mind games to outfox (as well as outbox) many of his opponents. His mind games might not appeal to the boxing purists, but they were enough to cause Roberto Duran to simply give up when the two finally fought.
'Marvellous' Marvin Hagler: Probably the best all-rounder of the four, Hagler had a granite chin (as is amply shown by his fight with Tommy Hearns where he shipped tremendous punishment) and his all-round boxing skills were excellent as you'd expect from anyone trained by the Petronelli brothers. Interesting to note that Steve 'The Celtic Warrior' Collins cites Hagler as a principle reason for not only taking up boxing, but also for going over to the States to train with the Petronelli brothers himself.
Roberto 'Hand Of Stone' Duran: Probably the most vicious of the four and, I'd say, the second hardest puncher of them all. He loved to fight toe to toe and possessed a remarkable ability to both give and take tremendous blows when fighting on the inside.
And finally we come to my personal favourite, Tommy 'Hit Man' Hearns: A well-schooled boxer (he was a member of the famous Kronk gym in Detroit where you don't last long if you can't actually box a bit), his great skill was often overshadowed by his frighteningly reckless 'kamikaze' style of fighting. Posessing possibly one of the most vicious right crosses in boxing (as the unfortunate Roberto Duran certainly found out) he was the type to prefer being knocked out to losing on points. A fighter of tremendous courage, Hearns was willing to go toe to toe with anybody, win, lose or draw. He was a huge box office draw and his legendary status comes as a result of eight world titles at seven different weights, his one punch KO of Roberto Duran in the second round of their fight and, of course, the infamous 'War' between him and Marvin Hagler which is surely the greatest three rounder in the history of boxing.
So, make your choice from these four and tell us why. Simple.
