Duran, Leonard, Hagler, Hearns?

Question

Four fantastic fighters who between them had some of the best fights of all time. But pound for pound which of them was the best fighter?

RIP Diego Corrales

To all that contributed thanks for the great answers. Its hard to pick a best one out of these, im gonna leave this one up to the boxing answer's commmunity to decide.

Answer 1

GOOD QUESTION THAT ALSO MAKES ME SAD BECAUSE I MISS THOSE DAYS OF THE 4 U MENTIONED. WELL DURAN WAS PERHAPS THE GREATEST LIGHTWEIGHT, HEARNS WAS DOMINANT IN EVERY DIVISION HE FOUGHT IN. HAGLER WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONS EVER BUT THEY ALL HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON, RAY CHARLES LEONARD. A.K.A. ''SUGAR RAY LEONARD'' BEAT ALL THREE. YES HE DID LOSE TO DURAN THE FIRST TIME BUT HE SHOWED WHAT A BRAWLER HE WAS NOT JUST A PRETTYBOY. AND THE REMATCH WITH HEARNS WAS REALLY FOR $$$.

Answer 2

While Leonard has wins over all of the rest. He fought Hagler when he was at the very end of his career. In the last Hearn’s fight, Hearn’s knocked him down, what was it 2 or 3 times and got a draw, Duran won the first fight and totally out fought Leonard and only lost the second fight because he was tottaly out of shape. When it come to pound for pound, where you have to consider, dominance in all weight classes fought in, opposition fought, longevity, and a long list of other factors. The best pound for pound is.Duran followed closely by Hearn’s
I’m a huge Hagler fan but pound 4 pound it’s Duran all the way.

Answer 3

Duran, hands down. He dominated his weight class, which was a tough division at the time, then went up to welter and beat the best fighter there(Leonard).

Leonard waited for Hagler to get old before fighting him and made Hearns wait 8 years to get a rematch(which he lost as anyone who has eyes can tell you). Is it any coincidence that Ray finally decided to fight both after the worst performances of their careers? Sure, the Mugabi fight was exciting, but Marvin was way past his prime and getting hit with shots that would never have come near him in his 1979-83 peak years. Suddenly he looked old and vulnerable and Ray says "OK, I'll fight him now". Why not back in 82-83 Ray? Cuz you were "retired"? He wanted no part of Marvin in his prime.

Same with Hearns. Ray hides under the pretext of "retirement" when Hearns was still dangerous(remember the Duran fight). But as soon as Tommy gets KO'd by Barkley and struggles to barely eke out a controversial decision vs. James Kinchen, suddenly Ray is clamoring for a rematch.

From 1977-82 I respect SRL as a great fighter. After that I lost a lot of respect for him. He ducked Hagler and Hearns when they were at their best. period. He chose to be a "businessman" instead of a fighter.

Answer 4

Pound-for-pound Duran was the best. Next came Leonard, Hagler, and then Hearns. Duran lost to Leonard twice yes, but he accomplished more at LW than anything and that's where he was best remembered. He moved up in weight two weight classes and was the only man to ever beat Leonard in his prime. Overall, for what he accomplished he was the best, any expert will agree. Leonard was right behind him.

Answer 5

I'm sorry but Mayweather shouldn't even be mentioned with these true champions. He couldn't hang with the TRUE welterweight champions. Leonard UD over Mayweather, Duran 15th round KO, Hearns UD, Hagler wins by murder. Manny has a better chance than Mayweather.

Answer 6

Hagler. A true fighter. Hearns was good and from detroit like me but he wasn't tough enough, couldn't take a true punch, Sugar Ray was all flash and won some questionable fights, Duran fought for to long and got dismantled late in his career. Hagler to me was the best pound for pound in that great era.

Answer 7

Sugar Ray Leonard

Answer 8

this is my era ,watched all of them everytime i could.i would say leonard,i think is the best of all-time or at least that i have seen.duran was an awesome lightweight[ my personal favorite of all-time] . hagler was a destroyer definetly the best middleweight of his time.hearns was the most exciting, one punch ko power and a long stiff jab that would bust you up.all were great best era in boxing. you could also add wilfred benitez to the mix.

Answer 9

In his prime and hardest hitter, Duran.

For an entire career, Hagler.

In flashes, Hearns.

Over the course of "best two years"--Leonard.

Hard to pick just one, but I would go with Hagler.

Answer 10

hearns was my favorite to watch, but i think leonard is easily the best.