Twenty one years after the fact, I sat down at my computer and watched the 1987 "Sugar" Ray Leonard vs. "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler encounter, probably the biggest boxing match of the 1980s, for the very first time. I was not dissapointed.

Featuring two all-time greats going at it for the middleweight title, the bout was a cat and mouse game of epic proportions. Hagler was the aggressor, bull dozing his way toward Leonard for 12 consecutive rounds. Leonard, for his part, was the dancer: dashing in, getting out, shuffling around every inch of the squared circle. In the end the judges were torn, awarding Leonard the split decision victory.

Commentary on the fight has ranged from spite and dissaproval of the decision to agreement and acceptance. Lines have been drawn between those who favor the hard-nosed brawling of Hagler and those who appreciate the dynamic speed and chutpah of Leonard. In the end, little has been settled as the war of words continues to haunt this still fascinating bout.

Both men showed dynamism on that occassion: Leonard for moving up 10 pounds after a 3 year lay-off to face the champion of the middle weight division, and Hagler for never relenting in his pursuit to track down and pulverize the ever-elusive Leonard. But rather than contribute to the back and forth banter on this mesmerizing encounter, suffice it for me to merely give my own scoring of the fight and commend these two warriors on a tremendous match.

Here is the official scoring of the fight:

118-110, 115-113, 113-115 (Leonard by Split Decision)

My Scoring of the Fight:

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
Leonard	10	10	9	10	9	10	9	9	9	10	10	10	115
Hagler	9	9	10	9	10	9	10	10	10	9	9	9	113

Best Round of the Fight: Round 9